Politics

A former Obama official expressed his disappointment in the Obama administration's decision to mandate coverage of contraceptive, abortifacient and sterilization services without an exemption for all religious institutions morally opposed to using those services.

The contraception mandate is "inconsistent with who Barack Obama is, at least as I see him," Ambassador Douglas Kmiec, professor of constitutional law at Pepperdine University School of Law, said in a Tuesday interview with The Christian Post. "I've always admired him for his desire to find common ground among people and his desire to not divide people in any way that can be avoided."

Kmiec, a Catholic, was a Republican and had worked in the Reagan and George H. W. Bush administrations, but he supported Obama in 2008. He wrote an editorial about a month before that election arguing that a Catholic can, in good conscience, vote for Obama, because, Obama is a "bridge builder" and someone who seeks to lessen political division in the nation. more >>

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum had his best day yet in the 2012 campaign season by winning a trio of races in Colorado, Missouri and Minnesota. His only problem was he took home no delegates for his efforts.

Santorum, who had lost momentum after his early success in the Iowa caucuses sought to send a message to voters looking for a real conservative.

"Conservatism is alive and well in Missouri and Minnesota," Santorum said at a victory rally in St. Charles, Mo., Tuesday. "I don't stand here to be the conservative alternative to Mitt Romney, I stand here to be the conservative alternative to Barack Obama." more >>

Hispanic congregations in Alabama are reporting declining numbers of worshippers under the enactment of the state's controversial immigration law, one of the strictest in the nation.

Pastor Gomez of First Baptist Church of Center Point said that many of his congregants left because of the law.

"I called them back and some of them returned. But I know of another ministry that is close to me here in town that had around 120, and now it has about 40," said Gomez to Baptist Press. more >>

Tuesday's 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruling that California's voter-approved Proposition 8 is unconstitutional has left pro-traditional marriage groups shaking their heads over what they view as judicial activism.

"Of course we are disappointed," Penny Nance of Concerned Women for America told The Christian Post. "Californians voted overwhelmingly to affirm marriage between a man and a woman and this is a new judicial low. But given the narrow context of the ruling, we fully expect this will be appealed and will go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court."

The 2-1 ruling upheld the decision of a federal judge who said Proposition 8 – which defines marriage as between a man and a woman – violated the equal protection of same-sex couples. The panel said there was no evidence that former Chief U.S. Judge Vaughn Walker, who handed down the ruling in August 2010, was biased in his decision. more >>

After losing to former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney in Florida, Newt Gingrich lost by an even greater margin in last Saturday's Nevada caucuses and this week's three contests don't look promising either.

For all of Gingrich's efforts in trying to close the gap between himself and Romney, it appears his poll numbers are headed in the opposite direction. According to the latest ABC News/Washington Post poll, Romney has a commanding 14-point lead over Gingrich, 38 to 24 percent. As a point of comparison, both men were tied in mid-December with around 30 percent each.

On Tuesday, both Colorado and Minnesota hold their caucuses and Missouri has a primary contest although it is considered "non-binding," with delegates to be determined on March 17. On Saturday, Maine will hold its caucuses. more >>

In an attempt to crack down on fraudulent adoptions in Ethiopia, the U.S. Embassy apparently became overzealous. This past fall, adoptive parents of Ethiopian children believe that officials there had badgered witnesses and falsified information in the case files used to obtain visas for their adopted children.

Concerns about adoptions in Ethiopia increased in the spring of 2010 after several pieces of investigative journalism, including a Dutch documentary and CBS News report, found cases of child trafficking.

Ethiopian parents were being misled into giving up their children. They were promised money, or led to believe that their child was going to the United States to receive an education and would return to them, according to these reports. more >>