Sarah and Nick Jensen, an Australian couple, published a letter saying they're considering divorce after 10 years of marriage — because gay people in the country might soon have the legal right to marry, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

According to the paper, the Jensens believe "widening the definition of marriage to include same-sex couples threatens the sacred nature of the union and leaves the door open to polygamy."

The Jensens' divorce threat letter is lengthy, and can be read in its entirety here. What follows is an exerpt from the text:

"MY wife and I just celebrated our 10-year anniversary. But later this year, we may be getting a divorce. The reason has nothing to do with the state of our marriage. We were married at 21 after being high-school sweethearts for several years before that. In fact, my wife is the only woman I have ever loved, the mother of our children, my perfect match...

After our divorce, we'll continue to live together, hopefully for another 50 years. And, God willing, we'll have more children. We'll also continue to refer to each other as "husband" and "wife" and consider ourselves married by the Church and before God.

So why do this? It will certainly complicate our lives as we try to explain our marital status on the sidelines during Saturday sport. The reason, however, is that, as Christians, we believe marriage is not a human invention.

Our view is that marriage is a fundamental order of creation. Part of God's intimate story for human history. Marriage is the union of a man and a woman before a community in the sight of God. And the marriage of any couple is important to God regardless of whether that couple recognises God's involvement or authority in it.

My wife and I, as a matter of conscience, refuse to recognise the government's regulation of marriage if its definition includes the solemnisation of same sex couples...

When we signed that official-looking marriage certificate 10 years ago at Tuggeranong Baptist Church, we understood that the state was endorsing marriage, as currently defined, as the fundamental social institution - with all that this implied.

But if this is no longer the case, then we no longer wish to be associated with this new definition. Marriage is sacred and what is truly 'marriage' will only ever be what it has always been.

This has been a big decision for my wife and I. Some will accuse of us being bigoted or too hateful to share. But this couldn't be further from our intentions.

The truth is, 'marriage' is simply too important. It is a sacred institution, ordained by God. It has always been understood to be that exclusive relationship where one man and one woman become "one flesh". Any attempt to change the definition of marriage by law is not something in which we are able to partake."

A New Jersey state senator wants to stop smokers from lighting up in vehicles if children 16 and under also are present.

Joseph Vitale said the measure he introduced last month would protect children from being exposed to tobacco products and electronic cigarettes in confined spaces. The Middlesex County Democrat chairs the Senate's Health, Human Services and Senior Citizens Committee.


Violators would face a $100 fine, but would not face surcharges or points on their driving or insurance records. The smoking ban would be a secondary offense, meaning violators could only be cited if drivers are stopped for committing a moving violation.

Many smokers and critics are panning the proposal, saying that it's well-intentioned but not needed. They also believe it will be difficult to enforce.

"Most parents who smoke do what they can to not expose their kids to second-hand smoke," Christine Miller of Ewing said while smoking outside a Trenton office building this week. "In my case, I rarely smoke inside my house and I don't smoke in my car when my daughters (ages 5 and 7) are with me. I know he's seeking to protect kids and I can understand his thinking, but I think there are more important issues that our lawmakers and law enforcement people can be working on."

But the proposal does have supporters, including children's right advocates and nonsmokers.

Security camera footage from outside a Ravenshoe cafe has shown the full force of the traumatic explosion that injured 20 people on Tuesday.

Channel Nine has aired the CCTV footage, which shows people starting to run from the Serves You Right cafe after it was hit by an out of control 4WD ute around midday.

The truck had hit the cafe's gas bottles, sparking a huge fireball.

The footage shows the blast roaring from the cafe doors onto the footpath, with more patrons fleeing the fire.

Witnesses can also then be seen venturing into the blazing shop to pull people out, ripping off clothing and dousing victims with water.

A former Pennsylvania bishop who was sentenced to probation for sexually assaulting a child had his probation revoked this week after he was caught molesting another child.

According to the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, then-Higher Call World Outreach Church pastor Duane Youngblood was sentenced to probation in 2008 after he admitted sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy who he was supposed to be counseling.

In December, Youngblood was sentenced to serve up to 48 month in jail over allegations that he sexually assaulted another boy for more than 2 years during counseling sessions at the church.

The case of Audra West, a Texas hairdresser who was severely beaten in a Florida jail, has received a boost after video emerged showing police officers handling her violently, without physical provocation. The police deny any wrongdoing.

West was on holiday when she was detained at a bar on Fort Lauderdale beach for being drunk in public and resisting arrest in May last year. She was then taken to the North Broward Detention Facility. After spending ten hours in the police station, her period began, and West asked Deputy Kristin Connelly for a tampon.

According to West's lawyer, Gary Kollin, who spoke to RT, Connelly refused the request, asking the detainee to use a "polite" tone. West then rephrased it, but Connelly denied her again, with the inmate then mouthing "F**k you" at the officer.

This was the moment the incident escalated.

Video of the scene of Ukrainian oil depot fire has emerged, showing an ambulance and a fire engine ablaze, followed by a huge blast.

The video shows rescuers and firefighters running away from their equipment, which is engulfed in flames. Within a minute, a huge blast occurs, covering the whole area with plumes of smoke.

Toronto Transit Commission officials say a power failure the night before caused an "unacceptable" communications issue that left the city's entire subway system at a standstill.

Between 125,000 and 150,000 people were affected by the "communication issues" during morning rush hour, officials estimated.

TTC Chair Josh Colle called the shutdown "unacceptable."

"The total shutdown of our subway system this morning, for approximately 90 minutes, was extremely frustrating for everyone," he told reporters on Monday.

"It is deeply troubling that our system can experience such a major technical failure. This needs to be dealt with immediately."

On Monday afternoon, the TTC said in a statement that a power outage at the Hillcrest complex was to blame for the issues.

The complex, which houses the control centre, experienced a power failure on Sunday evening that activated the uninterrupted power supply.

A failure in the system caused its battery to drain, keeping power from getting to the communications system. Crews are still investigating why the uninterrupted power supply system failed.

"Once that is determined, the TTC can implement remedies, as required, to prevent a recurrence."

TTC CEO Andy Byford spoke with reporters Monday afternoon, saying he is "very disappointed with what happened this morning."

Several days ago a Dutch parent posted two images from his daughter's school workbook on his facebook page. The schoolbook is "Themes in Social Studies 1 for VMBO-KGT", VMBO standing for "preparatory middle-level vocational education", and is a school track in the Netherlands, which is similar to high school. The schoolbook is provided to VMBO students (aging approx. 15-16 y/o) during the last two years of this school track.

Part of the description of the workbook reads, "The workbook is updated on an annual basis and contains many current and diverse sources with assignments." The workbook has certainly been updated, as Russia has been painted as quite an unfriendly country, clearly in line with the ongoing Western anti-Russia propaganda.

The following two images were found on page 67 of the workbook, Chapter 7: countries without democracy. The first image shows Russia as the 'evil' country trying to take Ukraine, while Europe is pictured lending a 'helping' hand. One of the questions students are asked, is: "What is Russia doing, and what is Europe doing in this picture?" Well, that isn't difficult to answer: Evil-looking Russia is obviously trying to devour poor Ukraine, while friendly Europe is looking on concerned!

Some 50 hospitals in the United States charge the uninsured and out-of-network patients 10 times what's allowed by Medicare, reports a new public health study.

The study, led by Gerard F. Anderson of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Ge Bai of Washington & Lee University was based on a review of 2012 Medicare costs reports.

"There is no justification for these outrageous rates but no one tells hospitals they can't charge them," Anderson said in a release.

"For the most part, there is no regulation of hospital rates and there are no market forces that force hospitals to lower their rates. They charge these prices simply because they can."

"For-profit hospitals appear to be better players in this price-gouging game," says Bai, an assistant professor of accounting at Washington & Lee University. "They represent only 30 percent of hospitals in the U.S., but account for 98 percent of the 50 hospitals with highest markups."

Those with insurance or seeking in-network care typically pay lower fees negotiated by their insurers.

A Florida police officer was arrested on child abuse charges after he was accused of slamming a teenager to the ground.

Mario Badia, a Kissimmee police school resource officer, was placed on paid administrative leave during an investigation of the May 8 incident, which was recorded on surveillance video.

Witnesses said the 40-year-old officer threw the 13-year-old student down, pinned him to the ground, and twisted the boy's arm behind his back in the front office of Kissimmee Middle School.

The teen had been arguing with his mother when the police officer intervened, authorities said. Badia yelled at the boy and attempted to grab his chin to turn the teen's face. The boy raised his hand to block the officer, who then grabbed the teen's shirt and arm, lifted him up, and threw him to the ground.

The officer "torqued" the student's arm behind his back for more than 40 second as the boy screamed in pain, police said. Badia shoved the teen into a desk after he got up.

Police said the boy never showed aggression toward the officer, who was released on $5,000 bond after his arrest.