nbcnews:

Life-saving surgery for baby with swollen head brings parents joy, relief

(Photo: Arindam Dey / AFP - Getty Images)

Doctors carried out life-saving surgery Wednesday on an Indian baby suffering from a rare disorder that caused her head to swell to nearly double its size, in a case that aroused sympathy worldwide.

Read the complete story.

nbcnews:

‘Time has come’: North Korea readies rockets

(Photo: Jon Chol Jin / AP)

Isolated and impoverished nation is “not a paper tiger” and its repeated attack threats should not be dismissed as mere bluster, a U.S. official warns.

Read the complete story.

breakingnews:

Syria accuses rebels of using ‘chemical weapons’

AFP Syria’s government has accused rebel forces of using chemical weapons, with state media saying ‘terrorists’ had fired ‘rockets containing chemical materials’ in Aleppo province, killing 15 people.

‘Terrorists fired rockets containing chemical materials on Khan al-Assal in Aleppo province, and preliminary information suggests 15 people were killed, mostly civilians,’ the state news agency SANA and Syrian state television said.

Photo: Syrian troops take position in a heavily damaged area in Aleppo, on January 12, 2013 (AFP)

reuters:

Conclave to elect new pope to start on March 12: Vatican

Roman Catholic cardinals will start their conclave to elect a successor to Pope Benedict on the afternoon of Tuesday March 12, the Vatican said in a statement on Friday.

A total of 115 cardinals will take part in the elaborate ritual, which continues until one man receives a two-thirds majority. The vote follows Benedict’s surprise abdication last month after a troubled, eight-year reign.

READ ON: Vatican battles to maintain secrecy ahead of conclave

theatlantic:

Old Earth, Young Minds: Evangelical Homeschoolers Embrace Evolution

More Christian parents are asking for mainstream science in their children’s curricula. Will religious textbook companies deliver?

Read more. [Image: Kate Mitchell Hisey]

theatlantic:

Sex Ed Without Condoms? Welcome to Mississippi

Under HB 999, each school district is allowed to choose a curriculum from a pre-approved list selected by the State Board of Education. The law does not, however, require the Board of Education to consult with the Department of Health as it approves curricula. So non-health professionals have worked in a vacuum, approving abstinence-only programs like Choosing the Best and WAIT Training. Neither program has been deemed effective by the US Department of Health and Human Services. And both have come under fire over the years for teaching erroneous information about the transfer of HIV and relying on virginity pledges and in-school mock wedding ceremonies.

Read more. [Image: Shutterstock]

yahoopolitics:

Painful spending cuts may have led the White House to halt public tours, but President Barack Obama and Republican senators could need to loosen their belts, not tighten them, after their peacemaking dinner at a superswank Washington, D.C., restaurant on Wednesday. How swank? The eatery featuresa menu with a $1,776—per person—price tag, excluding tax and tip.

 

Amid spending cuts, Obama and GOP to dine in style

(Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP)