You can recycle your waste, grow your own food and drive a fuel-efficient car. But being socially responsible isn't so easy when it comes to the clothes on your back.
Take Jason and Alexandra Lawrence of Lyons, Colo. The couple eat locally grown food that doesn't have to be transported from far-flung states. They fill up their diesel-powered Volkswagen and Dodge pickup with vegetable-based oil. They even bring silverware to a nearby coffeehouse to avoid using the shop's plastic utensils.
A groundbreaking pronouncement from NBA veteran Jason Collins – "I'm gay" - reverberated on April 29 through Washington, generating accolades from lawmakers on Twitter and a supportive phone call from President Barack Obama.
Hours after Collins disclosed his sexual orientatiion in an essay for Sports Illustrated, Obama reached out by phone, expressing his support and telling Collins he was impressed by his courage, the White House said.
A national group of prominent GOP donors that supports gay marriage is pouring new money into lobbying efforts to get Republican lawmakers to vote to make it legal.
American Unity PAC was formed last year to lend financial support to Republicans who bucked the party's longstanding opposition to gay marriage. Its founders are launching a new lobbying organization, American Unity Fund, and already have spent more than $250,000 in Minnesota, where the Legislature could vote on the issue as early as next week.
Log Cabin Republicans placed a full-page ad in Politico on April 25 that calls on the Republican Party to expand its “big tent” by dropping opposition to LGBT civil rights.
LCR is in the midst of a “relaunch,” and Republican leaders also have been discussing rebranding and reshaping the party to be more inclusive – and successful.
Living in a coastal town or city with seawalls and docks on the waterfront, it can be difficult to notice sea level rise by increments each year. But effects of higher sea level are very clear down a winding dirt road in Georgetown County where acres of what was once a forested wetland have morphed into a salt mash of dead trees jutting toward the sky.
“When you go into the field, you really see a lot of trees dying. That’s the first thing that catches your eye,” said Alex Chow, who teaches biosystems engineering at Clemson University’s Baruch Institute of Coastal Ecology and Forest Science located at Hobcaw Barony, a 17,500-acre wildlife refuge northeast of Georgetown.
Some military chaplains trying to access the Southern Baptist Convention website this week were surprised to find it blocked with a message that it contained "hostile content."
The problem left military officials having to explain to leaders of the nation's largest Protestant denomination that it was an unintentional software glitch.
Illinois physicians could prescribe marijuana to patients with specific terminal illnesses or debilitating medical conditions under legislation approved earlier this month by the state House.
The proposed legislation creates a four-year pilot program that requires patients and caregivers to undergo background checks, limits the amount of marijuana patients can have at a time, and establishes cultivation centers and selling points.
Frustrated at being left out of an immigration overhaul, gay rights groups are pushing to adjust a bipartisan Senate bill to include gay couples. But Democrats are treading carefully, wary of adding another divisive issue that could lose Republican support and jeopardize the entire bill.
Both parties want the bill to succeed. Merely getting to agreement on the basic framework for the immigration overhaul, which would create a long and costly path to citizenship for the estimated 11 million people in the U.S. illegally, was no small feat for senators. And getting it through a divided Congress is still far from a done deal.
Former Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney is bringing high-profile political figures, business leaders and campaign donors to Utah this summer for a retreat to discuss “key opportunities.”
The four-day event will feature speeches from Republicans, including Romney’s 2012 running mate, Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and some prominent Democrats, according to a report in the Boston Globe.
NBA player Jason Collins has come out, becoming the first male athlete to come out while actively playing on a professional U.S. sports team.
Collins, a center, finished the 2012-13 season with the Washington Wizards. He’s also played for the Boston Celtics, Minnesota Timberwolves, New Jersey Nets, Atlanta Hawk and Memphis Grizzlies.
The Santa Fe City Council has passed a controversial resolution recognizing gay marriage as legal in New Mexico.
The vote on April 23 for the largely symbolic measure was 5-1 with two abstentions.
Voters with Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington named U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann their Scoundrel of the Month for March for allegedly skirting campaign finance laws.
The Minnesota Republican sought her party’s nomination for president in 2012 and, at one time, was ahead in the polling.
