For California residents dealing with unwanted, same-sex attraction, certain members of the state Legislature have a clear message: What you want for your life isn’t as important as what we think you should want. In fact, what you want isn’t really valid.

How else can one read California Assembly Bill 2943? The bill passed the California State Assembly in April and awaits a hearing in the state’s Senate Judiciary Committee. 

On the floor of the Kansas House chamber in May, Rep. Diana Dierks warned her fellow lawmakers of going down the path of SS agents in 1940s-era Nazi Germany.

The cause for the Republican’s alarm: a bill protecting faith-based adoption agencies that operate according to religious beliefs when finding families for needy children.

Sometimes the work of a reporter feels like something akin to an iceberg. I don’t mean work that’s cold, isolated, and potentially destructive, though journalism apart from heart and humility can become just those things. 

When Cecile Richards stepped down as president of Planned Parenthood last week, glowing profiles celebrated her leadership of the nation’s largest facilitator of abortions.

But Richards’ legacy is dark.

Nearly 4 million unborn children died in Planned Parenthood centers during her 12-year tenure.

These are hard days for members of Willow Creek Community Church. The Chicago-area megachurch is grappling with reports that its decadeslong pastor, Bill Hybels, made inappropriate advances toward several women. 

Hybels denied the allegations, but told his congregation, “I placed myself in situations that would have been far wiser to avoid.” He had planned to retire in October after 40 years of ministry, but stepped down from his post in early April.

When journalists at major American newspapers write obituaries for the news sections of their publications, the opening sentence usually identifies the reason the deceased person is widely known.

If tradition holds, future obits likely will remember Capt. Tammie Jo Shults as the Southwest Airlines pilot who deftly landed a heavily damaged jetliner with a gaping hole in the side, saving the lives of 142 passengers and five crew members.

The big news story of the week is the remarkable heroism of Capt. Tammie Jo Shults—the Southwest Airlines pilot who calmly landed a heavily damaged jetliner with a single functional engine and a hole gaping in the side of the plane.

Sadly, one passenger died after an engine exploded in midair during the Southwest flight on Tuesday morning. Jennifer Riordan didn’t survive the blunt impact of debris that broke a window, despite the efforts of passengers who pulled her away from the hole and tried to revive her.