Human rights and civil liberties

Women take part in a rally before the Women's Women's March on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 in New York. Hundred showed up in New York City and thousands in Washington, D.C. for the rallies, which aim to harness the political power of women, although crowds were noticeably smaller than in previous years. Marches were scheduled Saturday in more than 180 cities. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
January 18, 2020 - 3:21 pm

Thousands gather for Women's March rallies across the US

WASHINGTON (AP) — Thousands gathered in cities across the country Saturday as part of the nationwide Women's March rallies focused on issues such as climate change, pay equity, reproductive rights and immigration. Hundred showed up in New York City and thousands in Washington, D.C. for the rallies...
Read More
Evelyn Yang, wife of Democratic presidential candidate Andrew Yang speaks during a rally before the Women's March, on Saturday, Jan. 18, 2020 in New York. Hundred showed up in New York City and thousands in Washington, D.C. for the rallies, which aim to harness the political power of women, although crowds were noticeably smaller than in previous years. Marches were scheduled Saturday in more than 180 cities. (AP Photo/Eduardo Munoz Alvarez)
January 18, 2020 - 2:37 pm

Anti-Trump protests have shrunk. What’s it mean for 2020?

CHICAGO (AP) — Days after President Donald Trump killed an Iranian general and said he was sending more soldiers to the Middle East, about 100 protesters stood on a pedestrian bridge over Chicago’s Lake Shore Drive with an illuminated sign that read “No War in Iran.” Some 200 people marched in the...
Read More
In this Jan. 15, 2020, photo, Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, talks to reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington. In the dawn of what may be her toughest reelection fight, veteran Collins has parachuted into familiar terrain _ the pressure-packed middle of an issue, this time the impeachment of President Donald Trump. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
January 18, 2020 - 1:16 pm

Impeachment lands Sen. Collins in familiar spot: crosshairs

WASHINGTON (AP) — Facing perhaps her toughest reelection fight, veteran Sen. Susan Collins has parachuted into familiar terrain — the heart of a hot-button issue, this time President Donald Trump's impeachment. With Senate trial proceedings starting Tuesday, the moderate Maine Republican says she'...
Read More
The Virginia state Capitol building is surrounded by fencing, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 in Richmond, Va., in preparation for Monday's rally by gun rights advocates. Gun-rights groups are asking a judge to block the Virginia governor's ban on firearms at a massive pro-gun rally scheduled for next week. Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday, Jan. 15, announced a state of emergency and banned all weapons from the rally at the Capitol. (Dean Hoffmeyer/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
January 18, 2020 - 10:59 am

Gun-rights activists gear up for show of force in Virginia

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Police are scouring the internet for clues about plans for mayhem, workers are putting up chain link holding pens around Virginia's picturesque Capitol Square, and one lawmaker even plans to hide in a safe house in advance of what's expected to be an unprecedented show of force...
Read More
FILE - In this Oct. 10, 2017, file photo, the Supreme Court in Washington, at sunset. A Supreme Court that seems more favorable to religion-based discrimination claims is set to hear a case that could make it easier to use public money to pay for religious schooling in many states. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
January 18, 2020 - 8:21 am

Justices taking up bans on state money to religious schools

WASHINGTON (AP) — A Supreme Court that seems more favorable to religion-based discrimination claims is set to hear a case that could make it easier to use public money to pay for religious schooling in many states. The justices will hear arguments Wednesday in a dispute over a Montana scholarship...
Read More
The Virginia state Capitol building is surrounded by fencing, Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020 in Richmond, Va., in preparation for Monday's rally by gun rights advocates. Gun-rights groups are asking a judge to block the Virginia governor's ban on firearms at a massive pro-gun rally scheduled for next week. Gov. Ralph Northam on Wednesday, Jan. 15, announced a state of emergency and banned all weapons from the rally at the Capitol. (Dean Hoffmeyer/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
January 17, 2020 - 7:48 pm

Virginia's highest court upholds weapons ban at gun rally

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia's highest court on Friday upheld a ban on firearms at an upcoming pro-gun rally in the state's capital, an event that authorities feared could erupt in violence at the hands of armed extremists. The Virginia Supreme Court's decision came a day after gun-rights groups...
Read More
These undated photos provided by Floyd County, Ga., Police show from left, Luke Austin Lane of Floyd County, Jacob Kaderli of Dacula, and Michael Helterbrand of Dalton, Ga. FBI spokesman Kevin Rowson said Friday, Jan 20, 2020, that agents assisted in the arrests of the three Georgia men linked to The Base, a violent white supremacist group, on charges of conspiracy to commit murder and participating in a criminal street gang. Details of their cases have been sealed by a judge, Floyd County police Sgt. Chris Fincher said. (Floyd County Police via AP
January 17, 2020 - 7:36 pm

3 more linked to neo-Nazi group arrested in Georgia

WASHINGTON (AP) — Three men linked to a violent white supremacist group known as The Base were charged with conspiring to kill members of a militant anti-fascist group, police in Georgia announced Friday, a day after three other members were arrested on federal charges in Maryland and Delaware. The...
Read More
FILE - In this June 17, 2019 file photo, The Supreme Court is seen in Washington. The Supreme Court will consider Trump administration rules expanding religious, moral exemptions from contraceptive coverage. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
January 17, 2020 - 4:51 pm

Court to look anew at health care law birth control rules

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Supreme Court will consider allowing the Trump administration to enforce rules that allow more employers to deny insurance coverage for contraceptives to women. The justices agreed Friday to yet another case stemming from President Barack Obama's health care overhaul, this...
Read More
In this Jan. 16, 2020, photo, from left, attendees of a black voter outreach event held by President Donald Trump’s reelection campaign at Philadelphia’s First Immanuel Baptist Church assemble for a group picture after the discussion. Trump’s reelection campaign is reaching out to black voters through one of their communities’ most important institutions — black churches. (AP Photo/Elana Schor)
January 17, 2020 - 4:42 pm

Trump's black voter outreach looks in part to the pews

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — In the eight years since he became a pastor at First Immanuel Baptist Church, Todd Johnson says he's seen his congregation's politics make a subtle shift. The Philadelphia church, which recently hosted a Donald Trump campaign event reaching out to black voters, has “more people...
Read More
FILE - In this Dec. 20, 2019 file photo, Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during a news conference at the Pentagon in Washington. After the Pensacola shooting, Defense Secretary Mark Esper ordered a review of the Pentagon's handling of foreign military trainees. The results, announced Friday, put foreign trainees under new limitations, including their travel away from their assigned base; their possession and use of firearms and their access to bases and other U.S. facilities. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
January 17, 2020 - 4:39 pm

Pentagon adding to restrictions on foreign military students

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Pentagon is imposing new restrictions and controls on all international military students at American bases, including barring them from having privately owned firearms on base, in response to a shooting by a Saudi trainee in December that killed three sailors in Florida. The...
Read More

Pages