Every member of Ohio's delegation to the U.S. Congress, including Republicans and Democrats, both senators and Speaker of the House John Boehner signed a letter to President Barack Obama asking him resolve the issue of orphans who have been adopted by American parents, but are not allowed to leave Russia.

Ohio families have been most affected by the ban, the letter states. The Russian government banned all adoptions to the United States in January. By one count, 230 families were already in the process of adopting a Russian child, but had not brought their child home when the ban was put in place.

The letter specifically asks Obama to speak to Russian President Vladimir Putin when he sees him in June. more >>

The American Atheists of Cranford, N.J., announced Friday they will be sending books on atheism to the Georgia Department of Natural Resources to be placed next to Gideon Bibles inside every cabin and lodge at the state's parks.

On April 28, Ed Buchner, the former president of American Atheists, a nonprofit organization that was founded by Madalyn Murray O'Hair in 1963, complained to the Department after he found "nine Bibles" inside his cabin, according to American Atheists.

In a move to avoid controversy, and a potential lawsuit, the decision was made to remove all Bibles from the state's parks that had been donated by The Gideons International, an interdenominational Christian association. more >>

As former President George W. Bush, joined by President Obama and three living former presidents, recently dedicated his library this week in Dallas, it's important to remember that presidential libraries are relatively new. In 1941, while he was still in office, Franklin D. Roosevelt established the first such archive in Hyde Park, N.Y., to preserve personal papers and mementos from his time in office. His successor, Harry Truman, signed the Presidential Libraries Act into law, authorizing the National Archives to help set up and operate these treasure troves of American politics and policy.

There are now 13 presidential libraries. From the beginning, these institutions have been grand storehouses of history. But in recent years, they've also become home bases for former presidents' efforts to make the world better.

That's the context for the George W. Bush Presidential Center. It will be an archive and a museum, certainly, but it will also be a hub for the former president and wife Laura to pursue their long-standing passions, such as fighting disease in Africa and inspiring dissidents in Iran, Burma and Cuba. more >>

The recent scandals that have rocked the White House represent Americans' worst fears about big government: Your government is spying on you; your government is targeting you; and your government is lying to you. Americans should be outraged, but they should not be surprised.

It would be wrong to view the controversy over the IRS scandal as a typical Republican vs. Democrat squabble. The IRS is a powerful agency that can influence nearly every decision Americans make through its authority to tax and regulate. The IRS grows stronger and more powerful the more the federal government spends and borrows.

Organizations and individuals who promote fiscal responsibility, balanced budgets, greater government accountability, and more local autonomy present a threat to the structure that gives the IRS its power. It should not come as a surprise, then, that the culture of the IRS would promote enhanced scrutiny of these groups. more >>

About a week after the Internal Revenue Service admitted to targeting tea party and other conservative organizations for tax-exempt status violations, at least two pro-life groups say they, too, were singled out for unnecessary demands by IRS agents.

In June 2009, an agent from the IRS office in Cincinnati, Ohio, asked Coalition For Life of Iowa to "send in a letter with the entire board's signatures stating that under perjury of the law we would not picket/protest or organize groups to picket/protest outside of Planned Parenthood," the pro-life group said in a statement Friday.

When the group, which was founded in 2004, asked where in the Form 1023 it stated they could not protest at Planned Parenthood, "the IRS never answered our question," said Susan Martinek, the president of the group which has organized and sponsored educational forums. more >>

Phil and Kay Robertson, the patriarch and matriarch of A&E's highest-rated reality show, "Duck Dynasty," were guests on CBN's "700 Club" on Wednesday to talk about their family's success and to share how their faith in Jesus Christ saved their marriage, which is about to hit the 50-year milestone.

The motto of "faith, family and ducks," is a running theme for the Robertson family, whose Duck Commander business in Monroe, La., is the backdrop for the reality television show that beat out American Idol with 9.6 million viewers during their hour-long season finale last month.

The show features Phil and Kay Robertson, Phil's brother, Si, who's a Vietnam veteran, and three of their four sons, Willie, Jason "Jase" and Jules "Jep," and their wives and children, as well as a few of the Duck Commander employees. Everyone in the family has a role in the business, and the TV show follows the antics of the Robertson family as they navigate hunting season and familial relationships. more >>