Around the State: Church to host Quran-burning 

The Dove World Outreach Center is planning on burning the Quran, the sacred book of Islam, in Gainesville Sept. 11. On its website, it said it is  doing it not as an “act of love nor of hate,” but rather because the “world is in bondage to the massive grip of the lies of Islam.” Gen. David Petraeus has issued a statement insisting that the ritual would be careless. “Images of the burning of a Quran would undoubtedly be used by extremists in Afghanistan — and around the world — to inflame public opinion and incite violence,” he said. 
Around the Nation: Study says magic mushrooms curbs anxiety

The hallucinogen psilocybin, aka magic mushrooms, may help ease anxiety that is attributed to some later stages of cancer patients, researchers said. The effects are similar to those of LSD. The patients who took a single moderate dose were measurably less depressed six months later, compared with a placebo, researchers reported in the Archives of General Psychiatry. Research conducted between the 1950s and early 1970s showed hallucinogens could help improve mood and anxiety. But the research was abandoned, leading the federal government to strictly regulate it after LSD became a popular “street drug.”

Around the World: French workers strike in response to new retirement age

French union workers walked out on the job recently over President Nicolas Sarkozy’s plan to raise the retirement age from 60 to 62. More than 200 demonstrations are scheduled throughout the country. Airlines are going to cut one-quarter of the flights at Paris’ airports. Only two of the country’s five speed trains are active. A new retirement age of 62 would still be among the lowest in Europe. Germany recently rose its retirement age from 65 to 67.