WAR ON WOMEN

Wisc. House votes to ban private abortion coverage

wisconsin-protest-2011-wikimedia

The Republican led Wisconsin assembly voted to ban private insurance coverage for abortions and mandate abstinence-only sex education classes Wednesday morning.

RIGHTS

Uganda LGBT group sues U.S. evangelist for ‘persecution’

Evangelical leader Scott Lively (Current TV)

An LGBT rights group in Uganda filed a lawsuit against an American Christian evangelical leader alleging that he conspired to persecute people on the basis of their sexual identity.

CAMPUS NEGLECT

Jury finds VA Tech negligent

Wikimedia Commons image of candlelight vigil, VA Tech, 2007

A jury has ruled that officials at Virginia Tech were negligent the day of the infamous shooting rampage that left 32 people dead and 25 injured.

WHAT FAKE TWITTER ACCOUNT?

Assad aide persuaded Twitter to remove fake accounts, emails reveal

assad.afp

Twitter removed all but one account using Syrian president’s name and half of those using first lady’s after complaint Twitter closed down a string of accounts purporting to be authored by the Syrian president and the first lady.

MEET THE PARENTS

‘Red Deer Cave people’ may be new species of human

deer.shutterstock

Stone age remains of people with a penchant for venison could represent a new human evolutionary line.

RAPE VICTIM SUICIDES

Moroccan girl commits suicide after being forced to marry her rapist

Sad Arab woman (Shutterstock)

A 16-year-old Moroccan girl has reportedly killed herself after a judge ordered her to marry the man that raped her.

Science

New frog species discovered in New York City

NEW YORK — Amazed biologists have uncovered a new species of frog in the jungle…

Anti-smoking efforts save 800,000 U.S. lives: study

WASHINGTON — Higher taxes on cigarettes, limits on selling to kids and campaigns to educate…

Egyptians design ‘faster, cheaper’ hepatitis C test

Scientists use Thoreau’s journal notes to track climate change

Tech News

Canada to allow foreign ownership for small telecoms

OTTAWA — Canada will lift foreign ownership restrictions on small local telecommunications firms, Industry Minister…

Homeless people turned into Wi-Fi hotspots at SXSW

A global advertising firm used homeless people as roving Wi-Fi hotspots, sparking controversy among technology…

Media

Judge deals death blow to copyright troll Righthaven

Righthaven LLC., a law firm that became known as a “copyright troll” for filing hundreds…

Poll: Majority of voters want Limbaugh fired

A majority of Americans say that conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh should be off the…

World

Dissidents occupy Cuba church to press pope on change

HAVANA — With a papal visit looming, dissidents occupied a Catholic church here in a bold show of activism, demanding…

Secret Assad emails lift lid on life of leader’s inner circle

By Robert Booth Messages show Bashar al-Assad took advice from Iran • Leader made light of promised reforms• Wife spent…

Autistic London teen wins damages over police restraint

An autistic teenager with epilepsy won damages on Wednesday from the Metropolitan Police after he was forced into handcuffs and…

Suspected suicide bomb attack at Afghan air force base during Panetta visit

A member of NATO-led forces was injured in an “incident” as US Defence Secretary Leon Panetta arrived at a military…

U.S. News

Gingrich: Opponents ‘can’t comprehend’ my big ideas

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says his ideas are so big that the news media…

Senate passes major transport bill

WASHINGTON — The US Senate on Wednesday passed a $109-billion highway bill that serves as…

Pennsylvania Democrats say ‘misguided’ voter ID law wastes $11 million

The Democratic Party of Pennsylvania condemned a voter ID law passed by the state legislature…

In U.S., sickness from imported foods on the rise

WASHINGTON — People in the United States are getting sick more often from imported foods…

Obama warns Iran window of diplomacy ‘shrinking’

WASHINGTON — US President Barack Obama on Wednesday warned Iran that the window for diplomacy…