Christmas: In his traditional Christmas address Pope Francis denounced the “brutal persecution” of religious and ethnic minorities. “May Christmas bring them hope, as indeed also to the many displaced persons, exiles and refugees, children, adults and elderly, from this region …

Nation: Police early this morning arrested a 22-year-old suspect in the shooting yesterday of four students at a Portland, Ore. high school for troubled kids. They had stopped his car at 1:30 in the morning and found that he had …

The Greenhouse: Diplomats from all over the world are gathering in Lima, Peru to make yet another attempt to hammer out a global agreement to curtail greenhouse gas emissions and slow climate change. But scientists warn that even drastic reductions …

Political Climate: An estimated 100,000 to 300,000 people marched in Manhattan yesterday, calling for action against global warming and climate change. Scientists carried oversized chalkboards and survivors of Hurricane Sandy wore life preservers. The People’s Climate March, as it was …

The Priesthood: An Italian newspaper quotes Pope Francis saying that two percent of priests are pedophiles. “The 2 percent of pedophiles are priests, and even bishops and cardinals,” the paper quotes the pope as saying. ” I find this state …

Ukraine: Pro-Russian separatists have taken positions within the cities of Donetsk and Luhansk in anticipation of an onslaught by Ukrainian troops. Russia appears to be standing by, taking no action, as Ukraine sealed off the border to stop the flow …

The Caliphate: Sunni militants from Iraq have taken a Syrian border post in a sudden move to the west in their fight to carve out a separate state in the Middle East. They also captured a fourth town in Anbar …

Debris: Thailand reports that one of its satellites spotted 300 floating objects in the Indian Ocean not far from where other satellites took pictures of  what could be debris from Malaysian Airlines Flight 370. Searchers are fighting bad weather and …

Ukraine Crisis: Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that he considers the toppling of Ukraine President Viktor Yanukovich to be an “unconstitutional coup” and he reserves the right to use force if necessary to protect Russian speakers in Ukraine. “If I …

SOTU: President Obama vowed last night in his State of the Union message to pull an end-around on an obstructive Congress with executive actions. He said he will increase the minimum wage for federal contract workers from $7.25 to $10.10 …