Pope greeted by kissing gays
BARCELONA, Spain, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Pope Benedict XVI, in Spain for the second time, was greeted by 200 gay couples who kissed to protest the Catholic Church's rejection of same-sex marriage.
Following the pope's consecration of the Sagrada Familia church in Barcelona Sunday, the gay couples went outside and kissed in protest of church policies, Radio France Internationale reported. More than 6,000 people attended the consecration.
About 20,000 people celebrated same-sex marriages in the past five years in Spain, where it is easier to get an abortion and end a marriage.
The pope also spoke out against abortion.
"For this reason the church resists every form of denial of human life and gives its support to everything that would promote the natural order in the sphere of the institution of the family," Benedict said.
Benedict surprised some Spaniards Saturday when he began his trip to Spain from Santiago de Compostela, a popular route for Catholic pilgrims, the report said.
Illegal mosque demolished -- causes anger
JERUSALEM, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- Hundreds of police converged on the southern Israeli Bedouin town of Rahat where an illegally built mosque was demolished before dawn Sunday, officials said.
The town's residents demonstrated during the demolition and threw stones at police, forcing them to use tear gas to disperse the crowd, Ynetnews.com said.
Many police remained in the town fearing riots may erupt after the structure was pulled down, the Web site said.
During the morning five local residents were detained, the site said.
Police Commissioner Dudi Cohen praised the police forces calling the operation "complex and sensitive."
"We acted with resolve to enforce the rule of law and relayed a message that Israel Police will not ignore illegal activity while remaining sensitive to the Muslims' feelings," Yohanan Danino, police chief of the southern district, told reporters.
Danino said all legal channels were exhausted before the decision was made to demolish the mosque, which was constructed without the necessary permits on public property, the Web site said.
Mayor Faiz Abu-Seheban said the mosque's demolition is a "crime committed by the State and government against an entire public. I am shocked and furious."
He said the town's residents would declare a general strike in protest.
Unions expecting GOP retribution
WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- U.S. labor leaders say they expect to face some serious payback from Congress for their backing of Democratic candidates in the midterm elections.
An expected hostile Congress led by pro-business Republicans will likely roll back regulations on business and also attack laws on union organizing, union officials said.
"The loss of the U.S. House of Representatives is a real setback," said Gerald McEntee, president of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees union.
The Detroit Free Press said Sunday one of the expected casualties will be the so-called card check law aimed at making it easier to unionize workplaces. Other losses for labor are expected to include prevailing wage laws, layoffs and cuts to the National Labor Relations Board.
Union leaders say they also suspect the Republicans will push for a new free trade agreement with South Korea that they fear will cost additional American jobs, the Free Press reported.
Republicans counter that unions are interested only in protecting union jobs rather than supporting policies that will create jobs in general, the report said.
Deadline for Ground Zero settlement Monday
NEW YORK, Nov. 7 (UPI) -- A surge of plaintiffs is expected to sign on to a settlement on toxic exposures at New York's Ground Zero, sources told the New York Daily News.
The deadline to opt-in on the settlement, known as the Zadroga bill, is Monday, and provisions for future healthcare may convince many of the approximately 10,000 plaintiffs to accept the offer by the deadline, the report said.
"Expect a last-minute rush," a source told the Daily News.
"The chances are that three or four years down the road, I'm going to be a lot sicker," retired police officer Gene Klein told the newspaper. "I have no recourse down the road, other than the Zadroga."
About 85 percent of the plaintiffs have already agreed to accept the settlement, sources said. The agreement requires a 95-percent acceptance rate or else the deal will be scuttled.
Those workers who don't agree to the Zadroga deal will have to pursue individual lawsuits, which legal analysts say could take years to settle.
