Today is Thursday, March 8, the 68th day of 2012. There are 298 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1702 – England’s Queen Anne ascends the throne upon the death of King William III. 1722 – Afghanistan’s Mir Muhammad starts war against Persia. 1765 – Britain’s House of Lords passes Stamp Act to tax American colonies. 1782 – The Gnadenhutten massacre takes place as some 90 Indians are slain by militiamen in Ohio in retaliation... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — New York University students are calling for more support from school officials in light of revelations that the New York Police Department monitored Muslim student associations. About 100 students, faculty members and religious leaders met Wednesday at NYU to show their support for the school’s Muslim community. The president of NYU’s Islamic Students Association says Muslim students are afraid to express their thoughts and opinions. Ahmad Raza says they feel no one is speaking up on... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday he opposed Senate Republicans’ effort that critics say would limit insurance coverage of birth control, then reversed himself quickly in a second interview saying he misunderstood the question. Romney told Ohio News Network during an interview that he opposed a measure by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., that was scheduled for a vote Thursday. “I’m not for the bill,” Romney said before urging the interviewer to move on. Romney later said he... Read more

WASHINGTON (AP) — Presidential candidate Mitt Romney said Wednesday he opposed Senate Republicans’ effort that critics say would limit insurance coverage of birth control, then reversed himself quickly in a second interview saying he misunderstood the question. Romney told Ohio News Network during an interview that he opposed a measure by Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., that was scheduled for a vote Thursday. “I’m not for the bill,” Romney said before urging the interviewer to move on. Romney later said he... Read more

NEW YORK (AP) — A federal appeals court on Wednesday rejected an attempt by New York City to keep churches out of its public schools while a judge decides whether a city law banning them from its school buildings can be enforced. But the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals encouraged a lower court judge to act quickly after she ruled earlier this month that a small Bronx church can continue to meet in a public school for Sunday services,... Read more

Pope Benedict XVI urged infertile couples to shun artificial procreation VATICAN CITY (AP) — Speaking at the end of a three-day Vatican conference on diagnosing and treating infertility, Pope Benedict XVI reiterated church teaching that children should be conceived only through sex between a husband and a wife. “The human and Christian dignity of procreation, in fact, doesn’t consist in a ‘product,’ but in its link to the conjugal act, an expression of the love of the spouses of their... Read more

NORRISTOWN, Pennsylvania (AP) — Medical investigators are conducting tests to determine whether prescription drugs found in the system of the late Cardinal Anthony Bevilacqua were “in the therapeutic range” or at higher concentrations, a coroner said Wednesday. The investigation is complicated by the fact that Bevilacqua, spiritual leader of the Philadelphia archdiocese’s 1.5 million Roman Catholics from 1988 to 2003, was embalmed within hours of his Jan. 31 death. Embalming fluid can skew the results of toxicology tests, Montgomery County... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — An assistant restaurant manager has become the 12th juror seated in the landmark case about how the Archdiocese of Philadelphia dealt with priests accused of molesting children. The 12th juror was chosen Wednesday. The six men and six women are expected to hear evidence for about four months. Ten alternates will also sit through the trial. Monsignor William Lynn is accused of endangering children by transferring two accused priests to new parishes. The 61-year-old Lynn has pleaded... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican and Vietnam have concluded a new round of talks aimed at enhancing their relations, but there was no sign of any breakthrough toward establishing formal ties. The Vatican spokesman said Wednesday that some “concrete progress” had been made with agreement that the pope’s personal envoy to the communist country will be allowed greater freedom of movement to visit Catholics. The two days of talks ended Tuesday in Hanoi with the next meeting to be... Read more

VATICAN CITY (AP) — The Vatican and Vietnam have concluded a new round of talks aimed at enhancing their relations, but there was no sign of any breakthrough toward establishing formal ties. The two days of talks ended Tuesday in Hanoi with the next meeting to be held at the Vatican at a date yet to be set. There are 6 million Roman Catholics in Vietnam, the second largest Catholic community in Southeast Asia after the Philippines. There have been... Read more