Most Popular Top Stories

1Gay/Lesbian

Osteen: Gays Aren't "God's Best"

View cohost Whoopi Goldberg asked megachuch pastor Joel Osteen whether gay people are welcome at his Lakewood Church in Houston. Osteen said he welcomes people of different religions and sexual orientations, but that "homosexuality is not God's best."

2Watches

Private Health Insurance the "Worst Product in American History": Former Industry Shill

He's not the first former health insurance company ex-employee to speak of the extent to which the health insurance industry will go to ensure its profits, but he's the latest. Andy Cobb, a former Blue Cross spokesman, is fed up and has teamed with Brave New Films for a new ad.

3US Politics

Healthcare Bill Passes!!!

The House passed its $1 trillion healthcare overhaul late Saturday by the thinnest of margins, becoming the first chamber to vote on such a significant expansion of healthcare since Congress passed Medicare in 1965. The 220-215 vote late Saturday was a victory for House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and President Barack Obama, who came to Capitol Hill to rally his fellow Democrats in the hours before the vote. The bill includes a requirement for individuals to have health insurance and for larger businesses to provide it to their employees. It also includes a public health insurance option that is not tied to Medicare. But most of the $1.052 trillion cost of the bill comes in the form of subsidies to help low- and middle-income people purchase insurance. Supporters called the passage a historic moment on par with the New Deal and the creation of Medicare. They said the bill will finally guarantee health coverage to nearly every American. "This legislation will mean affordability for the middle-class, security for our seniors, and honors our responsibility to our children, adding not one dime to the deficit," said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.).

4US Army

What Might Have Set Off Fort Hood Gunman?

Mental health professionals are scrambling to explain what could have prompted a gunman to go on a rampage in Texas' Fort Hood Thursday, killing 13 people and wounding 30, before being shot by a female police officer who was among the first to arrive on the scene.

5Maine Government

Mob rule

The repeal of Maine’s marriage equality law was excruciatingly disappointing, but not altogether surprising. As Jesse Ventura put it bluntly, "You can't put a civil rights issue on the ballot and let the people decide … If you left it up to the people, we'd have slavery, depending on how you worded it." Indeed, history has proven that when individuals are given the power to legislate issues directly, the majority invariably terrorizes the minority. Time and time again, the mob has used referenda to repeal existing legislative protections such as Maine’s same-sex marriage law and to ensure that elected representatives are unable to pass new civil rights laws by amending state constitutions to define marriage as being between one man and one woman.

6US News

Why won't Obama give you a job?

The White House thinks the stimulus is working, and it doesn't want you on its payroll To hear President Obama tell it, he's been busy creating jobs since taking office. The $787 billion stimulus package, he said last winter, would "save or create 3.5 million jobs." The White House is touting reports from recipients of stimulus funds asserting that they have created or saved 640,000 jobs so far. Yet the national unemployment rate has now hit 10.2 percent, helping explain why Republicans won the governors' races in Virginia and New Jersey last week, just a year after the party's 2008 drubbing.

7Orlando, FL

Shooting reported at Orlando high-rise

A gunman was at large after firefighters and police responded to a reported shooting Friday at a high-rise building in Orlando, Florida, authorities said.

8Jakarta, Indonesia

Republik Indonesia Pengakses Situs Porno Terbesar?

05/11/2009 - 11:01 INILAH.COM, Jakarta- Menteri Komunikasi dan Informatika (Menkominfo), Tifatul Sembiring mengatakan Indonesia menjadi negara dengan pengakses situs porno terbesar di dunia. "Indonesia sampai saat ini paling besar mengakses situs porno," kata Tifatul Sembiring di Jakarta. Ia mengatakan, pihaknya prihatin bila selama ini internet hanya dipergunakan untuk mengakses situs yang tidak bermanfaat. Kenyataan itu menjadi fakta pahit yang harus dihadapinya yang mendorong Tifatul menyosialisasikan cara memanfaatkan informasi yang benar dan baik. "Kita akan kembangkan program INSAN yakni internet sehat dan aman," katanya. Menurut dia, internet adalah giant library atau perpustakaan raksasa yang menyediakan segala macam bentuk informasi. Hal ini membutuhkan kesadaran, katanya, untuk membentuk Indonesia informatif yang bermanfaat. Oleh karena itu, ia menghimbau masyarakat untuk menggunakan produk teknologi dan informasi termasuk internet untuk keperluan yang lebih produktif. Menteri menyatakan tekadnya untuk membentuk visi Indonesia informatif yang berarti masyarakat yang aware terhadap informasi. "Ini artinya masyarakat yang rasional, underbase of information knowledge yang tidak berdasar pada provokasi dan isu-isu," katanya. Pihaknya juga mengaku sangat memahami perkembangan kebutuhan masyarakat yang informatif, murah, dan terjangkau. "Kita masih memiliki indikator yang rendah mulai dari penetrasi komputer yang masih 8 persen, internet 12,2 persen, pengembangan software 80 ribu, dan pengembangan hardware 5.800. Kami harap angka ini bisa dilipatgandakan melalui pameran ini," katanya.[ito]

9Paris, KY

Paris Man Stabbed to Death

Paris Police are investigating an early morning murder. They say 30 year old Derek Stockton was stabbed 3 times in the torso outside his home on Shannon Road.

10US House of Representatives

House nears vote on health care

President Barack Obama walks out of the Cannon Caucus Room with Majority Whip James Clyburn , left, after meeting with House Democrats about health care on Capitol Hill in Washington, Saturday, Nov.