TUPELO, Miss. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- In a landmark decision Tuesday, a regional German court ruled that the Jewish ritual of circumcision, or brit milah, amounts to grievous bodily harm. In rendering its decision, the court found the "fundamental right of the child to bodily integrity outweighed the fundamental rights of the parents." Legal experts in the country expect the judgment to set a controversial precedent, with members of the Jewish community claiming that Germans once again have trampled their rights. The procedure is typically administered by mohels who are not licensed physicians with proper medical training. Because the practice leads to a permanent change in anatomy and is not performed in the same sterile environment as a hospital, the court in Cologne deemed it illegal. As news reached North America, where some U.S. states could be inclined to follow suit, representatives from Mississippi lashed out, saying that no government possesses the right to dictate the choices a person makes about his body.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- More than 12,000 people registered with Be the Match to donate bone marrow just two weeks after "Good Morning America" anchor Robin Roberts announced she was being treated for MDS, a rare blood disease that requires a bone marrow transplant. According to Be the Match, "a significant number of those requests referenced Robin Roberts." Jeffrey Chell, the organization's chief executive, praised Roberts for publicly revealing her crisis to a broad television audience, a decision he described as a "signal of hope." Because of the spike in new registrants -- a 33-percent increase in donors for the month -- Be the Match estimates that 50 to 70 additional lives may be saved this year as a direct result of Roberts calling attention to the issue. Dr. Tremaine Weldowhether, professor of media studies at San Narciso College, was elated by the news. Not because he cares about MDS or Robin Roberts in any meaningful way, but because the situation illustrates a fundamental truth in his area of research: without celebrities to convey important news, embrace causes, or spread awareness of horrible ailments, the public would never understand or involve themselves in those issues.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- As the Supreme Court continues a marathon session of landmark rulings that pave the way for unrestricted racial profiling, limitless campaign contributions by special interest groups and what may turn out to be the end of accessible health care for most Americans, one decision has escaped notice. On Monday, a divided court struck down mandatory life sentences without parole for juveniles convicted of capital crimes. Representing the majority opinion, Justice Elena Kagan wrote: "Mandatory life without parole for a juvenile precludes consideration of his chronological age and its hallmark features; among them, immaturity, impetuosity and failure to appreciate risks and consequences." The court's conservative judges voiced strong dissent. Justice Samuel Alito accused the majority of forcing society to "be exposed to the risk that these convicted murderers, if released from custody, will murder again."

PHILADELPHIA, Pa. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- In a devastating turn of events for disgraced former Penn State coach Jerry Sandusky, who has maintained his innocence after being convicted on 45 counts of sex abuse against children, his adopted son Matt, 33, told police that he was molested repeatedly between the ages of 8 and 15 by his father. In his interview with police, Matt Sandusky recanted his former testimony to a grand jury in which he denied being violated. These secret meetings with investigators took place four days into the trial, although he ultimately did not testify. Still, the senior Sandusky insists that he remains innocent of all charges. His refusal to budge on this stance has caused his lawyers to resort to some odd and seemingly desperate tactics. In March, their primary strategy was to get the case thrown out of court entirely, despite a preponderance of graphic evidence. Their arguments were viewed by legal experts as illogical, detached from reality and "just plain stupid." But on Tuesday, leveraging the statements provided to police by Matt, Jerry Sandusky had them embark on an even more bizarre path.

SAN NARCISO, Calif. (Bennington Vale Evening Transcript) -- In April of this year, minimalist furniture pioneer IKEA divulged plans to bring its own television to market, featuring the company's unique, angular, and functional designs. What really makes the unit, called Uppleva, a hallmark IKEA product is that it bridges the divide between digital entertainment and designer furniture. Uppleva is more than a TV -- it's a bundled entertainment center with an integrated Blu-ray DVD player and audio system. With its sleek contours, Uppleva reminds one of an Apple product -- if Steve Jobs had studied at the Bauhaus. The technology itself boasts nothing extraordinary or even competitive, but it does come with nearly 20 pre-installed apps including YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion. But Uppleva has not been engineered for audiophiles and tech geeks -- it's for consumers who want tangible features in an aesthetically pleasing and user-friendly package. Unfortunately, beta testers have criticized the product harshly for being anything but easy to use. In fact, 48 of the 50 subjects who've had the units for several months claim they can't even finish assembling them.

"I should've seen this coming; it's IKEA after all," said Martin Gruntlich, 33, of Germany. "I mean, I never thought I'd have to put the damn TV together -- and with only a horribly drawn manual, a box of stripped and irregularly sized screws, some glue, and that silly hex wrench. I have an electrical engineering degree, and I still can't make heads or tails of this thing!"

(c) 2012. See disclaimers.