Shortly after marrying her female partner of almost 15 years, Tippi McCullough received a phone call from the principal of Mt. St. Mary Academy giving her an ultimatum: either leave her job or be fired.
A group of protesters rallied outside Mount St. Mary Academy and at the Little Rock Diocese Monday to support McCullogh, who was fired last week. Protesters say McCullough shouldn't have been fired over her personal life. Their message to school administrators and church leaders is to change the rules.
While protesters admit they believe the school was within its rights to take action, they're upset with the rules, saying they don't follow the teachings of compassion and the right to dignity.
In response, Mt. St. Mary Academy issued a statement, saying "As a Catholic school, we adhere to the teachings of the Catholic Church… We recognize that some may disagree with our actions, and we respect their right to do so, [but] as a Catholic school, our actions must be aligned with what we believe."
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Former North Little Rock Mayor Patrick Henry Hays will officially announce his candidacy for Second District Congressman today at 12:30 p.m. at the Senior Center in North Little Rock.
Hays, a Demorcrat, served six terms as mayor of North Little Rock before retiring last December.
The announcement comes shortly after incumbent Congressman Tim Griffin announced he would not be seeking a third term. ———————————
Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe has signed off on a package intended to limit health insurance premium increases for thousands of public school teachers.
Beebe signed the measures into law on Monday. State lawmakers gave final approval to the bills on Saturday during a marathon special legislative session.
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The debut of the Obamacare health insurance exchanges has been anything but smooth.
Three weeks after the exchanges opened, Americans are still having a tough time signing onto the Obamacare websites. And once they manage to get in, many aren't so happy with what they're finding.
The site is plagued with login problems, and some insurers are saying the applications they're getting from the exchanges are riddled with errors. Some forms are missing full names or numbers. Others contain duplicates, with the same person signing up for different plans.
Some people are questioning why the law is called the "Affordable" Care Act. And people with employer-sponsored insurance say their companies are changing their insurance plans, raising premiums and blaming Obamacare.
The president has acknowledged the bugs in the system, and says no one is more frustrated than he is.
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