MESSAGE TO THE FOLKS BACK HOME

House passes Homeland Security bill with meaningless anti-abortion rider

House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). Photo: Gage Skidmore, Wikimedia Commons.

Republicans in the House of Representatives attached an anti-abortion rider to a Homeland Security spending bill Thursday. The provision would do nothing to change existing policy and is unlikely to make it past the Senate.

CATCH-22

Egyptian women’s march protesting sexual assaults subjected to violent sexual assaults

Female Egyptian protester via AFP

A group of men attacked a women’s march against sexual harassment in Cairo’s Tahrir Square on Friday and sexually assaulted several of the protesters, witnesses said.

STAND YOUR GROUND

Civil rights commission to investigate ‘stand your ground’ laws for racial bias

Image via David Shankbone, creative commons licensed

The U.S. Commission on Civil Rights voted on Friday to review so-called “Stand Your Ground” laws nationwide to determine if they have a racial bias.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT

Pranksters ‘Jiggly Puff,’ ‘Weedlord Bonerhitler’ sign anti-’Obamacare’ petition

Jigglypuff, a "Pokemon" created by Nintendo, Ltd. Photo: Screengrab via YouTube.

When the National Republican Congressional Committee set about thinking how to engage the Internet in new and unique ways, it probably did not occur to them that sometimes, the Internet tends to engage you right back.

VIGILANTE JUSTICE

Canadian robber sprayed with bear repellant and spanked on bare ass

Canadian robber spanked

A Canadian robber got a face full of bear spray and then a spanking on his naked butt on Tuesday after he tried to rob a convenience store in Gatineau, Quebec.

CASTRATION FILES

North Carolina woman arrested for castrating man with bare hands

joyce-maine-gregory-castration-mugshot

A 35-year-old North Carolina woman was arrested last weekend for allegedly castrating a man with her bare hands, according to the Shelby Star.

Science

U.S. experienced warmest spring ever on record this year

Adding to a slew of recent dire news about the global climate, a report released…

Einstein was right, neutrino researchers admit

A team of scientists who last year suggested neutrinos could travel faster than light conceded…

Mite helps virus destroy bee colonies: study

Huge algae blooms discovered beneath Arctic ice

Tech News

Facebook forced to reveal identities of cyberbullies

A mother has won court backing to force Facebook to reveal the identities of cyberbullies…

Facebook launches app store

Facebook has launched an app store, similar to that for the Apple iPhone, in a…

Media

U.K.’s Cameron to testify in phone hacking probe June 14

Prime Minister David Cameron is to appear next week before an inquiry into press ethics…

El Huffington Post opens in Spain

El Huffington Post opened in Spain on Thursday, poking fun at the government’s handling of…

World

UN: 2 million children could be saved by focusing on pneumonia and diarrhea

More than two million children’s lives in poor countries could be saved in the next three years by focusing on…

Racism rears its head on eve of Euro Cup 2012

Fears over Euro 2012 being overshadowed by racism returned on Friday, after UEFA confirmed that there was racist chanting at…

Iran opens new talks with UN nuclear watchdog

The UN nuclear watchdog was holding fresh talks with Iran Friday in Vienna, where it was expected to push for…

UN tries again to reach Syria massacre site

UN monitors are to try again on Friday to reach the site of a new Syrian massacre after being shot…

U.S. News

WATCH LIVE: Netroots Nation panel on Citizens United

The effects of the Supreme Court’s decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission…

Study: Nearly 14 million young Americans insured after health reforms

President Barack Obama’s package of health reforms has not yet been fully implemented, but nearly…

WATCH LIVE: Netroots Nation ‘War on Women’ panel with Mass. Senate candidate Elizabeth Warren

Netroots Nation has snagged one of 2012′s highest-profile candidates, Elizabeth Warren, who is running for…

CDC: Teens now favor pot over cigarettes

A study released Friday (PDF) by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) found that in…

U.S. military suicides hit 10-year high

The number of suicides among active duty U.S. troops has risen dramatically over the first…