Blog Posts by Lylah M. Alphonse, Senior Editor, Yahoo! Shine

Roseanne Barr -- yes, comedian and actor Roseanne Barr -- is running for President.What do you think of when you think of Roseanne Barr? Her semi-autobiographical TV show, "Roseanne," with its afghan-covered couch? Her reality TV show, "Roseanne's Nuts"? Her cringe-worthy 1990 performance of "The Star-Spangled Banner"?

How about President of the United States of America?

It's no joke: The comedian and actress registered with the Federal Election Commission in late January, The Washington Post reports, and formally announced her candidacy as a Green Party candidate late last week, via Twitter.

"I am running for Green Party nominee for POTUS," she Tweeted to more than 101,000 followers. "I am an official candidate. I am4 the Greening of America&the world. Green=peace/justice."

We have to admit, her campaign slogan -- "vote for me, I'll fix this s---" -- is kind of catchy and to the point. But Roseanne Barr? Green? How? And why?

"Both the Democratic and Republican parties are bought and paid for by corporate America and cater to the needs of the highest bidder as

Susan G. Komen for the Cure founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker announced that the group will continue to fund Planned Parenthood.The Susan G. Komen Foundation's reversal on its Planned Parenthood funding is a testament to the power of social media and the influence wielded by women everywhere. But the public outrage over the charity's grant-giving decisions may affect Komen for years to come.

Related: Planned Parenthood decision puts spotlight on Susan G. Komen Foundation's politics

Just three days after the breast-cancer charity, well-known for it's iconic pink ribbon symbol and its "Race for the Cure" marathons, confirmed that it would end grants to Planned Parenthood, Komen founder and CEO Nancy G. Brinker announced that her organization would once again fund breast cancer screenings at certain Planned Parenthood locations. In a statement on Friday, Brinker publicly apologized for how her organization chooses to award funding -- a move that underscored the damage done to the Komen brand.

A  combination of forces led Brinker to the stunning apology. A heated debate quickly spread across the Internet, on

Rick Santorum asks why people buy iPads and then complain about drug prices.Republican presidential hopeful Rick Santorum defended drug companies on Wednesday, comparing lifesaving drugs to luxuries like iPads and telling one mom that she should be willing to pay whatever the market price is for an expensive medication for her sick son.

"People have no problem paying $900 for an iPad," Santorum said in Colorodo. "But paying $900 for a drug, they have a problem with - it keeps you alive. Why? Because you've been conditioned to think health care is something you can get without having to pay for it."

The mother, who said her child is on the drug Ablify to treat schizophrenia, explained that on paper it costs more than $1 million a year to treat her son. Santorum said that drug companies need monetary incentives, and that they'd stop developing new medications if they couldn't make a profit.

"He's alive today because drug companies provide care," Santorum told a largely Tea Party crowd. "And if they didn't think they could make money providing that drug, that

The issue went from breast cancer to politics after Susan G. Komen For the Cure cut funding to Planned Parenthood. (AP Photo/The Indianapolis Star, Alan Petersime)When officials from the breast-cancer charity Susan G. Komen for the Cure confirmed that they would no longer fund breast-cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood, cutting off hundreds of thousands of dollars in grants, the backlash was immediate.

The Komen website was briefly hacked and an ad for their Marathon for the Cure was changed from "Help us get 26.2 or 13.1 miles closer to a world without breast cancer" to "Help us run over poor women on our way to the bank." The discussion raged on blogs, Facebook, and Twitter. Pro-choice groups and individuals posted information about other ways to support women's health and breast cancer research. And donations to Planned Parenthood -- including ones through Yahoo! For Good -- skyrocketed.

By Wednesday afternoon, Planned Parenthood had received more than $400,000 in donations from 6,000 people, plus an additional $250,000 gift to their newly launched Breast Health Emergency Fund from Dallas philanthropist Lee Fikes and his wife, Amy, The

Mitt Romney wins the 2012 Florida primary.Here's the latest in political news so far this week:

Romney wins Florida

Mitt Romney won the Florida primary on Tuesday with more votes than Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum combined. In his speech after the votes were tallied, the former Massachusetts governor took aim at President Barack Obama rather than the other GOP contestants. "You were elected to lead, you chose to follow, and now it's time to get out of the way," Romney said. He took 47 percent of the vote; 32 percent went to Gingrich, 13 percent voted for Santorum, and 7 percent voted for Ron Paul. Exit polling showed that Romney led among seniors and Hispanic voters, while Gingrich was the favorite of evangelicals, Tea Party voters, and those who self-identified as "conservative."

Colbert's SuperPAC hits $1 million

As of Monday, Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert's political action committee -- "Americans for a Better Tomorrow, Tomorrow" -- has raised $1,023,121.24 in donations. "I'm rolling seven digits deep!" Colbert told

The Susan G. Komen Foundation has decided to cut funding for Planned Parenthood. The funds had been earmarked for breast-cancer screenings.One of the nation's largest breast-cancer charities, Susan G. Komen for the Cure, has cut off its grants to Planned Parenthood, saying that it will no longer give money to the organization because it's under investigation by Congress.

The grants, which totaled about $680,000 in 2011 and $580,000 in 2010, were earmarked for breast-cancer screenings at Planned Parenthood clinics. The women's health organization, which also provides abortion counseling and services at some of their nearly 800 health centers, is the focus of an investigation launched by Republican Representative Cliff Stearns of Florida at the urging of anti-abortion groups, who insist that Planned Parenthood has violated Title X by using public money to pay for abortion services. Planned Parenthood representatives have repeatedly denied the allegations.

Related: Coping with a breast cancer diagnosis

The investigation began in September but has no official time table, which means that Komen may suspend its grants

As governor of Massachusetts, Mitt Romney made a similar decision about religious organizations and contraception.Calling it "a direct attack on religious liberty," Mitt Romney's campaign criticized the Obama administration's decision to require religious hospitals and universities to provide birth control coverage in accordance with the Affordable Care Act, even if it goes against the employers' religious beliefs.

But what the Republican presidential hopeful didn't mention was the fact that, as governor of Massachusetts in 2005, Romney required religious hospitals to do nearly the same thing.

Back then, he vetoed a bill requiring all hospitals -- even Catholic ones -- to offer emergency contraception to rape victims. But when the Massachusetts state government overturned the veto, he switched sides on the issue, insisting that requiring religious hospitals provide the so-called morning-after pill was "the right thing."

"I think it's, in my personal view, it's the right thing for hospitals to provide information and access to emergency contraception to anyone who is a victim of rape," he said

A bacteria found in dirt may act like a natural antidepressant.Even if you don't love gardening, digging in the dirt may be good for your health -- and it has nothing to do with a love of nature or the wonder of watching things grow. The secret may be in the dirt itself: A bacteria called Mycobacterium vaccae that acts like an antidepressant once it gets into your system.

That's right. A living organism that acts like a mood-booster on the human brain, increasing serotonin and norepinephrine levels and making people feel happier. It was accidentally discovered about 10 years ago, when Dr. Mary O'Brien, an oncologist at the Royal Marsden Hospital in London, tried an experimental treatment for lung cancer. She inoculated patients with killed M. vaccae, expecting the bacteria -- which is related to ones that cause tuberculosis and leprosy -- to boost their immune system. It did that, The Economist reported in 2007, but it also improved her patients' "emotional health, vitality, and general cognitive function." Later experiments with mice confirmed