March 7, 2008

GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS
Is U.S. evangelical vote in play?
Ed Stoddard/Reuters (03/07/2008)
DALLAS - Evangelical Christians who have greatly influenced recent U.S. elections are seen playing a different but once again key role in this November's White House race and analysts say both parties are keen to woo them.

DOCTRINE AND PRACTICE
Religious blade cuts Sikhs from gathering
Rebecca Rosen Lum/Contra Costa Times (03/06/2008)
The U.S. Secret Service gave the World Sikh Council a choice: Leave your ceremonial daggers at the door or forgo a meeting with the pope. So the Sikhs will not join a Washington, D.C. interfaith gathering with Pope Benedict XVI in April.

Two Studies Find Depression Widespread in Utah
Russell Goldman/ABC News (03/07/2008)
The postcard image of Utah is a state of gleaming cities, majestic mountains and persistently smiling people. But new research shows a very different picture of the state, a snapshot of suicide and widespread depression. A recent study by Mental Health America, the country's oldest independent mental health advocacy organization, ranked Utah the most depressed state in the country.

ABUSE CRISIS
Church sex abuse costs skyrocket
Associated Press (03/07/2008: usatoday.com)
NEW YORK — The number of sex abuse claims against Roman Catholic clergy dropped for the third consecutive year, but total payouts to victims nearly doubled to reach their highest level ever, according to a new report for the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

SCIENCE AND MEDICINE
You can't buy happiness, but can you inherit it?
Reuters (03/07/2008: msnbc.msn.com)
LONDON - You can’t buy happiness but it looks like you can at least inherit it, British and Australian researchers said on Thursday. A study of nearly 1,000 pairs of identical and non-identical twins found genes control half the personality traits that make people happy while factors such as relationships, health and careers are responsible for the rest of our well-being.