Civil Rights

KANSAS CITY, Mo.—Kansas City took a step Wednesday toward becoming the second city in Missouri to ban conversion therapy for minors following more than an hour of emotional testimony from a packed room of LGBTQ residents and advocates. Conversion therapy,... Read More

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Supreme Court has declined to reconsider its decision rejecting an appeal from a Dayton-area abortion clinic ordered closed by state health officials. The justices voted 4-3 on Aug. 21 not to review the case, with... Read More

A federal judge blocked an Alabama abortion ban Tuesday that would have made the procedure a felony at any stage of pregnancy in almost all cases. U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson, who was appointed to the bench by President Jimmy... Read More

WASHINGTON — The private prison company running the Homestead detention center that housed thousands of migrant children since 2018 and became a symbol of the Trump administration’s immigration policies will not have its contract renewed, according to an email sent... Read More

WASHINGTON - A bill introduced Tuesday by the chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security would establish a bipartisan commission of non-government experts to examine the ways social media and other online platforms have been exploited to promote and... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court agreed Friday to decide whether Louisiana can lawfully close down abortion clinics if their doctors do not have admitting privileges at a nearby hospital. The case does not threaten to overturn Roe v. Wade, the... Read More

This year's term begins Monday, Oct. 7, and will extend into late June, encompassing the presidential primaries and ending just before the Republicans and Democrats host their presidential nominating conventions. As always, one can expect the Justices' statements from the... Read More

This year's term begins Monday, Oct. 7, and will extend into late June, encompassing the presidential primaries and ending just before the Republicans and Democrats host their presidential nominating conventions. As always, one can expect the Justices' statements from the... Read More

This year's term begins Monday, Oct. 7, and will extend into late June, encompassing the presidential primaries and ending just before the Republicans and Democrats host their presidential nominating conventions. As always, one can expect the Justices' statements from the... Read More

This year's term begins Monday, Oct. 7, and will extend into late June, encompassing the presidential primaries and ending just before the Republicans and Democrats host their presidential nominating conventions. As always, one can expect the Justices' statements from the... Read More

WASHINGTON - Every year, as reliably as the start of Major League Baseball's playoffs, and the arrival of multi-colored fall foliage, the U.S. Supreme Court returns in October to tackle 70 to 80 of the nation's toughest legal questions. This... Read More

WASHINGTON - On the one hand, it's easy to see why some in the party would embrace so-called "free" or "debt-free" college and the forgiveness of student loans. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.,  electrified younger voters with his ambitious proposals in... Read More

WASHINGTON - When it comes to opposition talking points, the myth that Democrats advocate for "open borders" is both the most preposterous -- and persistent -- assertion of the still-young 2020 campaign season. Even Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., a self-described... Read More

A federal judge on Tuesday temporarily blocked a Missouri law banning abortions after eight weeks, one of the most restrictive proposals nationwide. The law, which included no exceptions for rape and incest, was signed by Republican Gov. Mike Parson in... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Trump administration on Wednesday unveiled new regulations that would allow it to indefinitely detain migrant families who cross the southwestern border illegally. The regulations, which will be published in the Federal Register on Friday, voids a long-standing... Read More

A ruling last week by Maryland’s highest court is likely to help redefine the criminal law of marijuana possession as states nationwide search for new legal standards. A unanimous Maryland Court of Appeals ruled that police who smell marijuana can... Read More

WASHINGTON — New York State, Connecticut, Vermont and the City of New York sued the Trump administration Tuesday over its new Public Charge Rule, which aims to deny green cards and visas to immigrants that use or have used government... Read More

The apparent suicide of accused sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein has not only derailed the pursuit of justice for his alleged victims, it also highlighted a slew of problems within America’s federal prison system.  In the aftermath of Epstein’s death on... Read More

Lawmakers are facing increased public pressure to take action and stop the gun violence after two mass shootings in Texas and Ohio killed 31 people over the past weekend.  President Donald Trump and congressional members of both parties appear eager... Read More

Former President Barack Obama didn’t mention anyone by name Monday, but in a lengthy statement posted in response to two mass shootings over the weekend that left 32 people dead, he urged Americans to soundly reject “language coming out of... Read More

President Donald Trump addressed the nation Monday, two days after weekend shootings in Texas and Ohio left 32 dead, calling on Americans to condemn “racism, bigotry and white supremacy” in “one voice,” and vowing to seek a bipartisan response to... Read More

WASHINGTON - The Problem Solvers Caucus on Thursday endorsed H.R. 1980, the Smithsonian Women’s History Museum Act, which will establish a new women’s history museum on the Mall in Washington, as a part of the Smithsonian Institution. Twenty-four Democrats and... Read More

A federal judge approved a legal settlement Tuesday affirming transgender people's right to use restrooms matching their gender identity in many North Carolina public buildings. The consent decree between the state's Democratic governor, Roy Cooper, and transgender plaintiffs covers a... Read More

WASHINGTON - The New Democrat Coalition has endorsed a proposal by Representative Raul Ruiz, D-Calif., to establish enhanced standards of care for people detained at the U.S. border by Customs and Border Patrol. Ruiz’s bill, the Humanitarian Standards for Individuals... Read More

New York Governor Andrew Cuomo celebrated the World Cup champion U.S. women's national soccer team Wednesday by signing legislation guaranteeing women equal pay for equal work in New York State moments before the star athletes were honored with a ticker-tape... Read More

WASHINGTON -- Disputes over illegal immigration are heating up as some long-time foreign residents of the United States who ignored court deportation orders received notice they are liable for hefty fines this week. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement began issuing... Read More

In 2018, 65 percent of Floridians who went to the polls supported a measure aimed at restoring the voting rights of non-violent ex-felons “who have completed all terms of their sentence, including parole or probation.” On Friday night, Florida's Republican... Read More

WASHINGTON - A lawyer for the Justice Department said Wednesday that President Donald Trump has ordered it to find a way to include a citizenship question on the 2020 census, despite an announcement yesterday that the documents were already being... Read More

WASHINGTON - A day after ending their current term with a pair of controversial opinions, the U.S. Supreme Court said Friday it will decide next year whether the Trump administration can shut down Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, a program... Read More

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Supreme Court will not revive Alabama's ban on second-trimester abortions, the justices announcing Friday they are content to have lower court orders blocking the law to remain in place. Though Alabama's Attorney General Steve Marshall regularly... Read More