Shooting rampages filled today's headlines. In Alabama, a man killed a dozen people, including the members of his own family. Over in Germany, a 17-year-old boy attacked a high school, killing at least 16 people. When attacks occur, European countries often hurry to tighten gun laws. Following two school massacres within a year, Finland announced plans today to raise the minimum age for handgun Read more

A gunman in Alabama killed 11 people yesterday, including his mother, his grandparents, his aunt and uncle, the wife and child of a sheriff deputy, and himself. — CNN Stocks opened with a gain again today, as Wall Street hopes to extend big gains made yesterday. — MSN Pakistan arrested hundreds of opposition activists today and banned protests in two regions ahead of a planned rally outside Read more

Proven-American (I assume) senator Richard Shelby has an issue with his President. Saturday the Republican from Alabama said: Well his father was Kenyan and they said he was born in Hawaii, but I haven't seen any birth certificate. You have to be born in America to be president. Shelby was responding to a question from a constituent about whether there was any truth to the rumor that Obama Read more

With the housing situation the way it is and homeowners throwing in all kinds of perks to entice buyers this almost fits in — almost. The Blumberg Family Relocation fund is offering Jewish families up to $50,000 to come live in Dothan, Alabama — a mostly Christian town that calls itself the Peanut Capital of the World. While the numbers of Jews living in the South has risen overall, they're Read more

New reports are claiming that by January 2010, state employees in Alabama will be charged $25 per month for insurance (that's normally free to state workers) if they have a body mass index (BMI) of 35 or greater or if they are not making any process in slimming down — though how the progress will be measured is still being determined. This comes after insurance companies are finding that obese Read more

Giving up buttered grits for health care? As Alabama ballooned to take the #2 spot (right behind #1 ranked Mississippi) in the national obesity rankings, the state is cracking down on free health care payouts for state workers who are overweight. It's issued a get-slim-or-pay-up ultimatum for the nearly 40,000 workers on the state's insurance plan. They'll have a year to lose weight or start Read more

80 years ago Alabama passed a law that gave sheriffs $1.75 a day to cover the cost of prisoner grub. If they didn't spend that much, they got to keep the leftover dough. Most Alabama counties still operate under this system, with the same per diem — and some sheriffs are actually making money on top of their salaries. The precise amount of profit is impossible to figure — sheriffs buy food Read more