but he added that the roman catholic church couldn t permit same sex marriages. and who ll claim the major prizes at this year s grammy awards? all you need to know about music s biggest night. hello, welcome to bbc news. iran s supreme leader is pardoning a large number of prisoners, including some of those arrested during the past months of protests. the pardon by ayatollah khamenei comes on the eve of the anniversary of the islamic revolution in 1979, a date on which he regularly offers an amnesty to some prisoners. but the iranian state media says it excludes those facing charges of spying for foreign agencies, murder and bodily harm, as well as the destruction or arson of state property. taraneh stone from the bbc s persian service says those freed have several conditions attached to their release. the supreme leader has agreed to pardon and commute sentences of tens of thousands of people who are in prison or who are waiting for sentences. the letter from the judiciary
and healthy new years eve. we are continuing to follow the breaking news out of the vatican. pope benedict the 16th has died at the age of 95. the vatican says the retired pope passed away early this morning. his funeral will be held on january 5th in st. peters square. presided over by pope francis. that is the man who became leader of the catholic church after benedict resigned from the role in 2013. msnbc looks back on his life and legacy. it was a resignation that shocked the catholic church. pope benedict, less than eight years after his election, he became the first pope and seven centuries to voluntarily retire. he said that he lacked the strength of mind and body to do the job. he felt like he was being prevented from being the pope in a way that he felt the pope should be present for the people of god. he was born joseph rat singer in wartime germany. in the deeply catholic weijia bavaria. he and his brother george people became priests. both eventually landed
What does the chaos in congress mean for the American People . The drama here at the capitol threatens to inflict some real pain in communities across america. A strike involving more than 75,000 Health Care Workers is indeed getting underway after Kaiser Permanente and a coalition of unions failed to strike a deal. This is the Largest Health care strike in u. S. History. The workers are telling us what they are looking for and how it could affect patients. Norah the Urgent Search Tonight as police look for who opened fire during a universitys homecoming week. The new details. The future of the Catholic Church. What pope francis is signaling after mass at the vatican. Bishops are meeting right behind me to discuss controversial topics, like blessing samesex unions. To the delight of some, but to the dread of others. At this facility in georgia, they are recycling used batteries from electric vehicles. It is all part of a growing supply chain around evs in the u. S. We are going to show