Western media outlets have come under criticism from Christians in Syria for turning a blind eye to atrocities carried out by Takfiri terrorist groups against the Christian community in the war-torn country. A new report by the news service of the Pontifical Mission Societies highlights the massacre of 45 Christians in the village of Sadad, northeast of Damascus. The killing marks the biggest massacre... 

With government intervention now becoming the only viable solution being touted for everything from individual health care and the economy to our personal safety and how we educate our children, it would only make sense that officials in Washington also figure out a way to use their power of confiscation and redistribution to equalize the income playing field. It’s no secret that 48 million Americans... 

US President Barack Obama’s approval rating has declined to an all-time low, amid deep and widespread dissatisfaction with US political system and the nation’s direction, a new poll shows. For the first time since Obama emerged as a national political candidate, more Americans now view him negatively than positively, according to the NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll. Just 42 percent of Americans... 

In what might be the most explicit hostility to such freedoms yet – as well as the most unmistakable evidence of rampant panic – the NSA’s director, General Keith Alexander, actually demanded Thursday that the reporting being done by newspapers around the world on this secret surveillance system be halted. The head of the embattled National Security Agency, Gen Keith Alexander, is accusing... 

Employees of French automaker Peugeot-Citroen (PSA) from Aulnay-sous-Bois, near Paris, demonstrate in protest at job cuts in front of the Paris Motor Show in Paris, September 29, 2012. The French automaker Peugeot has experienced an estimated four billion euros in lost sales after cutting ties with the Iranian automaker Iran Khodro under pressure from an American partner company, Press TV reports. Peugeot’s... 

Joining six continents, 52 countries and over 500 cities, ‘March against Monsanto’ is planning its second mass rally Saturday against the biotech giant and genetically modified food. A number of Agent Orange victims are expected to join the protest. “Saturday is a big day of action against Monsanto. We took our lights out to a local cornfield. Monsanto is bad for our food and bad for our planet,”... 

Democratic Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee used obscure language to characterize the push for a clean resolution which would end the government shutdown, labeling it a form of “martial law.” Advocating for the passage of a clean continuing resolution that would, at least temporarily, end the current standoff in Washington and reopen the government, Lee said there were enough members of Congress... 

California Governor Jerry Brown has signed a law barring state cooperation with any attempt by the federal government to indefinitely detain people. The legislation targets the 2012 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). Brown signed into law AB351, which goes beyond any other state in rejecting federal indefinite detention power, according to the Tenth Amendment Center. The law reads, in part,... 

The US Treasury has warned of catastrophic effects if a political stalemate over raising the government’s debt limit forces a US default on its obligations. The federal government is expected to exhaust its cash reserves by October 17 and if US lawmakers do not reach an agreement to raise the nation’s debt ceiling, the government will not be able to pay its bills and will default on its legal... 

With NASA staff sent home and the Curiosity rover dozing off on Mars, former astronaut Tom Jones tells RT how the US government shutdown will affect the space agency’s projects and deadlines. The National Aeronautics and Space Administration’s 55th birthday celebrations on October 1 were marred as it [NASA] sustained one of the biggest blows of all the governmental agencies due to the stalemate... 

Financial markets in Asia and Europe have been rocked over concerns that the United States’ government might be heading for a partial shutdown. Washington should agree to a new spending bill before the end of the financial year at midnight on Monday amid political divisions that have created a stalemate. If the American lawmakers fail to agree on the budget deal, essential federal services could... 

As a government shutdown looms over the federal budget in the United States, stocks in the country fall sharply and global investors cut allocation to US equities and bonds. All 10 main industries of Standard & Poor’s 500 index dropped on Monday. Microsoft Corp. led the declines with a 1.1 percent fall among the largest companies while shares in finance, telephone and energy tumbled the most. Dow... 

A US National Security Agency employee has abused the US government’s spying tools in order to intercept phone calls of nine foreign women. According to internal files of the US spying agency, the NSA agent intercepted the calls from 1998 to 2003 and twice collected communications of an American without ever being noticed by his managers. The illegal abuse of the NSA’s spying tools was disclosed... 

Just 10 days until a possible US government shutdown, the House of Representatives passed a bill that keeps the government open but defunds the 2010 affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare. The House vote was 230-189. The Republican-drafted continuing resolution, or CR, keeps the government open until December 15. The CR would also cut spending on food stamps for the poor by $40 billion over 10 years. Republicans... 

The trust and confidence of the American public in their federal government’s ability to deal with international and domestic problems has hit a record low, a new poll reflects. Gallup’s annual Governance survey shows that just 49 percent of Americans say they have confidence in the federal government’s ability to handle international problems, an all-time low. The previous record low...