Civil Rights

WASHINGTON — Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi denied claims of discrimination in India during a news conference at the White House Thursday.  “There is absolutely no discrimination,” he said in Hindi. Modi has faced criticism around subduing the Indian press... Read More

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Friday signed an executive order aimed at shoring up and expanding access to contraception in the face of the continued curtailment of abortion rights in several states. The White House announced the president’s intentions... Read More

WASHINGTON — Uganda’s long history of legally-sanctioned violence and stigmatizing of homosexuals and those in same-sex relationships is not just a crisis of human rights, but poses real dangers when it comes to addressing health emergencies and HIV response, according... Read More

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge struck down Arkansas' first-in-the-nation ban on gender-affirming care for children as unconstitutional Tuesday, the first ruling to overturn such a prohibition as a growing number of Republican-led states adopt similar restrictions. U.S.... Read More

WASHINGTON — Just two years after becoming a formal federal holiday, Juneteenth has truly become a national day of celebration and remembrance with public events commemorating the emancipation of enslaved African Americans scheduled from coast to coast. Here in Washington,... Read More

WASHINGTON — First Lady Dr. Jill Biden and Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, were among those in attendance to honor America’s women veterans and recognize 75 years of women’s integration into the U.S. Armed Forces at a “Women Veterans Recognition Day”... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — To its members, it’s a grassroots army of “joyful warriors” who “don’t co-parent with the government.” To anti-hate researchers, it’s a well-connected extremist group that attacks inclusion in schools. And to Republicans vying for the presidency, it... Read More

WASHINGTON — Following an unprecedented spike in anti-LGBTQ+ measures sweeping state houses this year, five transgender rights advocates gathered at a panel on Thursday afternoon to discuss the impact of anti-trans laws and rhetoric.  "It certainly feels like a state... Read More

They are part of a small, vanishing group who lived at the epicenter of the struggle for voting rights six decades ago, an era driven by segregation, violence and the yearning for equality that eventually led to laws bringing the... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Human Rights Campaign declared a state of emergency for LGBTQ+ people in the U.S. on Tuesday and a released “a guidebook for action” summarizing what it calls discriminatory laws in each state, along with “know your... Read More

WASHINGTON — The White House on Thursday released the country’s first national strategy for fighting antisemitism, outlining more than 100 specific steps federal agencies have committed to completing before the end of the year. The plan also includes over 100... Read More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court got rid of a pandemic-related immigration case with a single sentence. Justice Neil Gorsuch had a lot more to say, leveling harsh criticism of how governments, from small towns to the nation's capital, responded to the gravest public health... Read More

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has highlighted efforts by Republican governors and statehouses across the country to embrace proposals limiting the rights of transgender people, signing new restrictions as he moves closer to a presidential bid. The restrictions are spreading quickly despite criticism from... Read More

As Republican-governed states across the nation advance myriad bills targeting transgender young people, America’s faith leaders are starkly divided in their assessment. Some view the legislation as reflecting God’s will; others voice outrage that Christianity is being invoked to justify laws they... Read More

NEW YORK (AP) — Harry Belafonte, the civil rights and entertainment giant who began as a groundbreaking actor and singer and became an activist, humanitarian and conscience of the world, has died. He was 96. Belafonte died Tuesday of congestive... Read More

MONTGOMERY, Ala. (AP) — Alabama and Mississippi closed most government offices Monday for Confederate Memorial Day as efforts have stalled to abolish state holidays that honor the old Confederacy. Legislation has been introduced in the ongoing Alabama legislative session to... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Wednesday extended its order blocking restrictions on the abortion pill mifepristone until at least Friday, meaning they'll be available to women who want them at least through the end of the week. The decision,... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Department of Justice and drug company Danco Laboratories asked the Supreme Court on Friday to continue to afford women access to a popular abortion drug, while the legal battle rages on concerning its use. Mifepristone was approved... Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — The second of two Black Democrats who were kicked out of the Republican-led Tennessee House followed his colleague back to work at the Capitol on Thursday, a week after their expulsion for participating in a gun... Read More

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has appealed a Texas court ruling that would block the sale of the abortion medication mifepristone, the most commonly used method of abortion in the United States. In a filing before the 5th U.S. Circuit... Read More

NASHVILLE, Tenn. (AP) — Nashville officials are poised to vote Monday to reinstate one of the two Black Democratic lawmakers expelled by Republican colleagues for their gun control protest on the Tennessee House floor after a deadly school shooting — essentially, sending him back after a... Read More

TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Republican lawmakers in Kansas approved a plan early Friday to end gender-affirming care for transgender youth, capping a week of intensifying efforts to roll back LGBTQ rights. The Kansas House voted 70-52 to pass a bill requiring the state's medical... Read More

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — In Florida, Republican lawmakers have introduced a bevy of new legislation that will, if passed, restrict certain health educational materials used in state schools. One such bill, House Bill 1069, would limit children below sixth grade from... Read More

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — A South Carolina barbecue chain known for its pro-segregation stance in a landmark 1960s case and its embrace of the Confederate flag in 2000 is facing allegations of racism and sexual harassment by the fired general... Read More

WASHINGTON — A federal appeals court this week blocked possibilities for the Equal Rights Amendment to make it into the U.S. Constitution anytime soon by saying states that ratified it in 2020 were too late. Although the Equal Rights Amendment... Read More

HONOLULU (AP) — In a case that reflects Hawaii's nuanced and complicated relationship with race, two Native Hawaiian men are scheduled to be sentenced Thursday for a federal hate crime in the brutal beating of a white man who tried... Read More

WASHINGTON — Twenty Democratic governors have launched the Reproductive Freedom Alliance, which they’re describing as a “non-partisan coalition … committed to protecting and expanding reproductive freedom in their states.” As outlined in a press release, the alliance was forged to... Read More

WASHINGTON — A judge in Washington, D.C., this week suggested a new legal strategy to revive a federal right to abortion. U.S. District Court Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly said the 13th Amendment could be interpreted to mean women have a constitutional... Read More

Annual tributes and commemorations of the life and legacy of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., which begin nationwide on Friday, typically include a mix of politics, faith and community service. For this year's celebration, the 37th since its federal... Read More

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Federal judges ordered South Carolina lawmakers to draw new congressional maps, ruling Friday that the U.S. House district lines of a seat flipped by Democrats four years ago were intentionally redrawn to split Black neighborhoods to... Read More