Most Popular Top Stories

1Bill Richardson

Being gay is not a choice. What if it were?

This past Friday, I hung out with one of my buddies to eat pizza, talk politics and laugh at Sarah Palin. We went through our routine of taking up interesting political topics and eventually wound up discussing homosexuality. My friend asked if I knew that Bill Richardson had once said that being gay is a choice. I couldn’t believe it. This was a man who ran for president — in a Democratic primary. How could he have been so naïve? After extensive Googling, I discovered the governor later claimed he made a mistake. The problem is that thousands of people in America make this mistake every day. Many religious groups have created camps dedicated to turning gay people straight. As I thought of these groups, something sparked in my mind: What if they were right? What if being gay is a choice?

2Wheat Ridge, CO

Anti-Obama billboard in suburban Denver, Colorado stirs controversy; asks for birth certificate

Call it Freedom of Speech. A billboard recently erected in Wheat Ridge compares President Barack Obama to a terrorist and questions his U.S. citizenship. The billboard, located at 4855 Miller Road, shows two cartoonish images of Obama wearing a Muslim turban and reads "PRESIDENT or JIHAD?" It also says "BIRTH CERTIFICATE - PROVE IT!" alluding to the conspiracy theory which claims Barack Obama was born in Kenya rather than Hawaii, which would disqualify him for the office of President. The words "WAKE UP AMERICA! REMEMBER FT. HOOD!" appear on the bottom of the billboard. The sign belongs to a car dealership. "Since Fort Hood, I've had it," owner Phil West told FOX 31 News Friday. "You can't suggest things. You can't profile. You gotta call a spade a spade."

3Opinion

Obama inspires; Palin connects

There are two great political speakers in the America today. Sarah Palin is the other one. Barack Obama's speaking skills are his signature talent. He's a platform performer, a speechmaker in the great tradition, a kind of teleprompter Cicero. The campaign to become President owed more to Mr. Obama's oratorical mastery than to any other element. His speech on race in America, necessitated by revelations of the ugly thoughts and sentiments of his hometown preacher, Rev. Jeremiah Wright, was the most important event of his campaign. If it had failed, his candidacy would have been doomed. Under pressure – the great test of the real speechmaker – he delivered. The other great speech of the U.S. campaign season was Sarah Palin's on receiving the vice-presidential slot on the McCain ticket. This was a speech delivered under even greater pressures than that of Mr. Obama. John McCain's choice of Ms. Palin had been early and widely criticized, and in some quarters ferociously reviled. She had never really been under the national spotlight before. The entire media were focused on her with an intensity almost unseen in the annals of vice-presidential politics. If she'd been just “okay,” or messed up, John McCain's campaign was over. It was the highest of high-stakes gambles.

4Kansas City, MO

Woman Arrested After Cutting Line Claims Racism

Share + Nov 19, 2009 2:40 pm US/Central ST. LOUIS 1 of 1 A Missouri woman was arrested after a line-cutting altercation at a Wal-Mart in 2007.

5Offbeat

Woman Loses Disability Insurance Over Facebook Photos

We've discussed how using Facebook and other social networking sites can get you fired, or even keep you from getting a job. In this case, a Canadian woman lost her disability insurance payment because of Facebook photos.

6Home Listing

Three bodies found in field

Three bodies were found in a field Sunday just outside Cave City. The bodies were found by two hunters in a field in the 9100 block of Happy Valley Road, said Trooper Charles Swiney from Kentucky State Police in Bowling Green.

7Toy

Boycott Burqa Barbie

What will they think of next? A be-headed doll? Thata TMs right. I am talking about the new Burqa Barbie doll which is now on display in Florence, Italy, to celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Barbie doll. ... A woman, a girl, in a chador, chadari, burqa, cannot see that well. You cannot hear what she is saying. She cannot hear you. A woman in a burqa can’t run, or even walk that well. She stumbles. Inside, she has to balance a baby, a shopping bag, maybe a pair of glasses perched on her nose, slipping. If it’s hot, she is sweltering. If it’s sunny, she is still deprived of sunlight and Vitamin D. The burqa violates a woman’s human rights. It poses a danger to a woman’s health, both mental and medical.

8Criminal Defense Law

Plea Deal in Heather Ellis Trial

After a week at trial, a plea deal was reached in the case of Heather Ellis. She's the woman who was charged with assaulting two police officers after a fight that started in the checkout line at a Kennett, MO, Walmart.

9Stoughton, MA

Ex-Stoughton detective charged with lying

A former Stoughton police detective was charged today with making false statements to FBI agents during an ongoing corruption investigation.

10US Politics

Obama touts Asia trade to create jobs

Sunday, November 22, 2009 WASHINGTON: US President Barack Obama, back from a tour of Asia, called on Saturday for the United States to produce more goods to sell across the Pacific, touting trade as a way to revive the troubled US economy.