Blog Heap of Links for the day 11 March 2015

The International Society of St. Vincent de Paul, a Catholic organization, is reporting that some of its members in Syria were kidnapped by the Islamic State last week and told that if the adults do not deny their Christian faith, they will be decapitated and “their children burned alive in cages.”

"A bill introduced in Texas would remove all penalties for the possession and distribution of marijuana from the state criminal code, effectively nullifying the federal prohibition on the same. … 'I don’t believe that when God made marijuana he made a mistake that government needs to fix,' Rep. Simpson said…"

"The New Hampshire state House approved a bill today that would remove the ban on industrial hemp in the state… opens the door for a full-scale commercial hemp market in the state by treating it as any other crop for farming. … now moves to the state Senate for further consideration. …"

"…man attempted to rob a woman at a drive-up ATM in South Carolina by threatening her with a needle. …pulled her handgun on the robber… police were able to track the man down and he has been arrested. …"

"…Human remains and helicopter parts were recovered Wednesday after seven Marines and four soldiers crashed in heavy fog during military training in Florida. All 11 service members were presumed dead after the the Army National Guard’s UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter went down offshore… Despite the human remains washing ashore, the military still called it a rescue mission Wednesday, said Sara Vidoni, a spokeswoman for Eglin Air Force Base, outside Pensacola. …"