Smallpox

So, the big story this episode is Leslie and Ben's engagement party, to which Leslie has invited both of Ben's very estranged parents. Things seem to be going ok after Ben's mom arrives (and is promptly given a glass of wine) but then Ben's dad shows...

Some traditional Mohawks are treating the naming of the nation’s first Native American saint with skepticism and fear that the Roman Catholic Church is using it to shore up its image and marginalize traditional spiritual practices.  They see the...

VATICAN CITY -- Sunday was a big day for Catholics in North America. Thousands of miles away in Rome, Pope Benedict XVI named 17th century Mohawk Kateri Tekakwitha the first Native American saint. Another newly named saint is Marianne Cope, a German-born...

In the 17th century, she was known as “Lily of the Mohawks,” a Catholic convert scarred by smallpox and ostracized by her tribe but unshaken in her faith. After Sunday, she will be known as St. Catherine Tekakwitha, the first Native...

It was a harrowing time to live in Western Maryland. As the French and Indian War raged, hapless settlers found themselves in the midst of raids so fearsome that a fort was needed — one with stone walls 4 feet thick and 20 feet high in places...

DENVER — As Chris Lindley drove to work that morning in August 2008, a call set his heart pounding. The Democratic National Convention was being held in Denver, and Barack Obama was to accept his party's presidential nomination before a crowd of...

While Clara Barton’s care of the wounded and dying during the Civil War is the stuff of legend, it took the hands of just about every area woman and girl over the age of 13 to tend to the thousands of patients from the Sept. 17, 1862, Battle of...

In case you haven't heard, it's the 150th anniversary of the Civil War — at least the parts right here in Washington County. In the next couple of weeks, Boonsboro and Sharpsburg re-enactments of local battles will commemorate American history as...

CHICAGO (Reuters) - At an ill-fated press conference in 1984, U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Margaret Heckler boldly predicted an effective AIDS vaccine would be available within just two years. But a string of failed attempts - punctuated by a...

For the first time in history, slightly more than half of newborn Americans are people of color. It is projected that by 2050, the majority of Americans will be from minority populations. This demographic shift has serious implications on a myriad of...

WASHINGTON (AP)— President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama will honor a diverse cross-section of political and cultural icons — including former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright, astronaut John Glenn, basketball coach Pat...

This month, leaders from around the globe announced a road map for ending preventable child deaths within a generation. Essentially, the ambitious plan aims to assure that every child has the same opportunity for a fifth birthday and a future beyond...