YOUR FRIENDS' ACTIVITY

    The Sideshow

    • (AP)The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints has taken a lot of flack over the years regarding the practice of baptizing deceased individuals who were never Mormon. A fascinating new article from Max Perry Mueller in Slate breaks down some of the misconceptions about this practice, while also confirming some of its more controversial details.

      But the most interesting bit of news to emerge here is that not only was American Founding Father and third president of the United States President Thomas Jefferson given a posthumous Mormon baptism, but he was also sealed to former house servant and lover Sally Hemings. The Mormon ritual of sealing is meant to connect spouses and their families in the afterlife.

      "The Mormon People" author Matt Bowman explains to Slate, "Mormons believe that heaven consists of a great network of families bound together through a particular sacramental ritual called sealing. Parents are sealed to children, spouses to each other, ancestors to descendants."

      Mormons did not perform the baptism of the dead on Hemings until April 1991—13 years after the church lifted its membership ban on African-Americans.

      A number of famous individuals, and millions of ordinary people, have been given posthumous Mormon baptisms without the permission of their surviving relatives. Some of the more famous recipients include Elvis Presley, Adolf Hitler, Anne Frank and Pope John Paul II. Shortly after Barack Obama won the Democratic nomination for president in 2008, his own deceased mother, Ann Dunham, received a Mormon baptism, according to Business Insider. However, the church did denounce Dunham's baptism, as it was performed by an individual not directly connected to her family line. The church as stipulated that only direct descendants may perform the baptism.

      Read More »

    • Briley Garth wears a hoodie at a rally for Trayvon Martin in Decatur, Ala., March 28, 2012. (Brennen Smith/AP)

      On Tuesday, a search for Trayvon Martin merchandise on Cafe Press—the popular online retailer of personalized products—turned up dozens of pages of results, with sellers offering shirts and hoodies with various messages of support for the slain Florida teen. By Tuesday afternoon, however, a search for "Trayvon" on Cafe Press yielded no results, as did searches on Wednesday and Thursday.

      What happened?

      It's not entirely clear. Representatives for the San Mateo, Calif.-based company did not return emails and phone calls from Yahoo News seeking comment.

      On Tuesday—the day Trayvon merchandise appeared to be pulled from the store—news that Martin's family had filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office to trademark "I am Trayvon" and "Justice for Trayvon" was leaked to the press. (The move was criticized by some who said the Martins were trying to capitalize on their son's killing through financial gain.)

      Perhaps Cafe Press decided to respect the family's proposed trademarks, though that seems unlikely, given that the family's application covered their use in DVDs and CDs—not T-shirts and hoodies.

      Cafe Press could also be guarding itself against a legal or ethical backlash over facilitating the sale of racially charged products. In 2011, the company pulled what it said were offensive T-shirts and stickers emblazoned with fake permits that advocated "immigrant hunting." (Earlier this week, the mug shot of George Zimmerman, Martin's shooter, appeared on a T-shirt under a derogatory phrase. A photo of a Florida rapper, Plies, wearing the shirt was posted on Twitter, sparking outrage among Zimmerman's supporters.)

      Or perhaps the company was merely being extra cautious ahead of its IPO. On Thursday, Cafe Press Inc. went public, with its initial public offering priced at $19 a share.

      Read More »

    • (Image credit: Canadian Royal Mint)The Canadian government announced on Thursday that it plans to pull the penny from circulation at the end of 2012, saying the copper-coated currency is more expensive for the Royal Canadian Mint to produce than its actual currency value.

      "Pennies take up too much space on our dressers at home. They take up far too much time for small businesses trying to grow and create jobs," said Finance Minister Jim Flaherty. He also said it costs 1.5 cents to produce each penny.

      "We will, therefore, stop making them," he said.

      Nonetheless, the news has been causing quite a stir across Twitter today.

      The U.S. faces a similar dilemma, where it costs nearly two cents to produce a single penny. U.S. pennies are in fact composed primarily of zinc, and have a thin copper coating. The Wall Street Journal wrote that the Obama Administration has proposed using less expensive materials in the production of pennies and nickels, but public misinformation on the perceived value of coins would likely stir up controversy.

      It could also be disastrous news for at least one Portland, Oregon, nightclub.

      During the 2008 presidential campaign, Obama discussed phasing out the penny, saying, "We have been trying to eliminate the penny for quite some time—it always comes back. I need to find out who is lobbying to keep the penny." However, Obama said that fellow presidential Illinois native Abraham Lincoln shouldn't be phased out from our currency. "Oh, you think it's Illinois? You're blaming us?" he joked. "I will seriously consider eliminating the penny as long as we find another place for Lincoln to land." Lincoln, of course, already graces the front of the $5 bill.

      Read More »

    Pagination

    1. 424
    (1,624 Stories)

    News for You »

    • Accused Kidnapper Ariel Castro Preyed on His Daughters' Friends, Emily Castro Says

      Two of the Kidnapped Women Were Friends With Ariel Castro's Daughters

    • Armed groups bomb Libyan military posts in Benghazi

      BENGHAZI (Reuters) - Armed groups attacked military posts in Libya's second city Benghazi with bombs and a rocket-propelled grenade, an army commander said on Saturday. Nearly two years after the uprising that ended Muammar Gaddafi's 42-year rule, the government still exerts little control over the armed brigades that helped overthrow him. Oil-producer Libya is largely split into fiefdoms of such brigades that are competing for influence. No one was hurt in the four overnight attacks on three Benghazi army posts, said the military commander, Hamed Belkhair. ...

    • After nearly 30 years, Camp Lejeune coming clean

      CAMP LEJEUNE, N.C. (AP) — Purple wildflowers sprout in abundance around the bright-yellow pipe, one of several jutting from the sandy soil in this unassuming patch of grass and mud. A dirty hose runs from the pipe to an idling truck and into a large tank labeled, "NON-POTABLE WATER."

    • Bea Arthur topless painting fetches $1.9M in NYC

      A painting of actress Bea Arthur topless has sold for $1.9 million at a New York City auction. The painting is by artist John Currin and is titled "Bea Arthur Naked." It sold at Christie's auction ...

    • Hulk, Ant-Man & Doctor Strange Focus Of Marvel's Phase Three

      On the heels of "Iron Man 3" hitting the billion-dollar mark this week, Marvel Studios is opening up about which superheroes they intend to bring to the big screen in coming years.

    • Ex-Pa. officer once hailed as hero faces charges

      PHILADELPHIA (AP) — A former Philadelphia police officer once hailed as a hero and given a seat next to the first lady at a speech by President Obama has been arrested and charged with rape and other crimes.

    • Birth of anteater has Conn. zoo staff puzzled

      GREENWICH, Conn. (AP) — An anteater has given birth at a Connecticut conservation center, prompting officials there to wonder how the mother conceived.

    • Marine daughter seeks dignity for 'Devil Dog pups'

      JACKSONVILLE, N.C. (AP) — As she flipped through the cemetery register, Mary Blakely's eyes filled with tears. On line after line, the entry read simply "Baby Boy" or "Baby Girl," followed by a surname and a burial date.

    Show More

    Follow Yahoo! News