Salon.com > Stacey Leasca

Westboro Baptist threatens to picket funerals of marathon victims

Tue, 16 Apr 2013 12:00:00 +0000

Today has been a day that has tried the soul of a city.

In the hours since the two explosions rocked the streets of Boston, messages of love and support have saturated the internet — but these inspiring and compassionate posts were not universal.

In fact, the commentary streaming across the Twitter feed of the Westboro Baptist Church was both hostile and hateful.

The Westboro Baptist Church, based in Topeka, Kansas, is a small, virulently homophobic, anti-Semitic hate group that regularly stages protests or pickets institutions and individuals they think support homosexuality or otherwise subvert what they believe is God’s law.

Who was Ambassador Stevens?

Wed, 12 Sep 2012 14:22:00 +0000

A statement released by the White House from President Obama has confirmed the death of Christopher Stevens, the US ambassador to Libya.

In the statement Obama said:

Chris was a courageous and exemplary representative of the United States. Throughout the Libyan revolution, he selflessly served our country and the Libyan people at our mission in Benghazi. As Ambassador in Tripoli, he has supported Libya's transition to democracy. His legacy will endure wherever human beings reach for liberty and justice. I am profoundly grateful for his service to my Administration, and deeply saddened by this loss.

A Libyan official told Reuters that Stevens was killed while he and the others working in the US embassy were being rushed from a consular building as it was stormed by militants angered over a US-made film that they say insults the Prophet Mohammad.

US crop prices may spike

Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:37:00 +0000

Corn and soybean prices soared to record highs today amid concerns that the worst U.S. drought in 50 years has no end in sight, the Financial Times reported.

According to the Financial Times, corn surpassed $8 a bushel for the first time, hitting a record $8.055, while soybeans also hit a fresh peak at $17.115.

"Currently, almost 61 percent of the country (not including Alaska and Hawaii) is in drought, compared to 29 percent a year ago," Brian Fuchs, a climatologist at the National Drought Mitigation Center, explained to USA Today. Fuchs added that even with the variability of the climate, "this is a rare event." He believes nearly 78 percent of the U.S. corn-growing regions are in drought.

The worst of it isn't over yet. Bloomberg reported that due to the extremely low output of crops like corn and soybeans, the U.S. may be looking at higher food inflation into 2013.