Religion in schools
FILE - A 1988 photo provided by China's Xinhua News Agency shows Communist Party Leader Xi Jinping, right, then secretary of the Ningde Prefecture Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), participates in farm work during his investigation in the countryside. Born in Beijing in 1953, Xi enjoyed a privileged youth as the second son of Xi Zhongxun, a former vice premier and guerrilla commander in the civil war that brought Mao Zedong's communist rebels to power in 1949. At 15, Xi Jinping was sent to rural Shaanxi province in 1969 as part of Mao's campaign to have educated urban young people learn from peasants. (AP Photo/Xinhua, File)
President Xi Jinping, China's 'chairman of everything'

By Joe Mcdonald Feb. 02, 2022 08:22 PM EST

FILE - In this Aug. 26, 2020, file photo, first-grade teacher Jessica Johnson asks students if they've been sick or near anyone who's been sick before the start of the first day of school at Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic School in De Pere, Wis. The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday, June 11, 2021, that local health departments do not have the authority to close schools due emergencies like the coronavirus pandemic. (Sarah Kloepping/The Post-Crescent via AP, File)
Court: Local Wisconsin heath departments can't close schools

By Scott Bauer Jun. 11, 2021 10:38 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: New York

By The Associated Press Jun. 02, 2021 02:54 PM EDT
Albany Times Union. June 2, 2021. Editorial: Stop the gunfire The gun violence Albany is experience this year is part...

Editorial Roundup: Pennsylvania

By The Associated Press May. 26, 2021 09:00 AM EDT
Philadelphia Inquirer. May 20, 2021. Editorial: Mayor Kenney is responsible for making new MOVE investigation the last one Philly needs ...

FILE - In this June 23, 2020, file photo, St. Louis County Executive Sam Page speaks during a news conference in Town and Country, Mo. Republican Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a lawsuit on Tuesday, May 11, 2021, over St. Louis County's COVID-19 restrictions. The lawsuit says the county's restrictions are too severe and asks the court to end them. (AP Photo/Jeff Roberson, File)
Schmitt lawsuit challenges St. Louis Co. COVID restrictions

By Jim Salter May. 11, 2021 12:43 PM EDT

FILE - In this April 23, 2021, file photo members of the Supreme Court pose for a group photo at the Supreme Court in Washington. Seated from left are Associate Justice Samuel Alito, Associate Justice Clarence Thomas, Chief Justice John Roberts, Associate Justice Stephen Breyer and Associate Justice Sonia Sotomayor, Standing from left are Associate Justice Brett Kavanaugh, Associate Justice Elena Kagan, Associate Justice Neil Gorsuch and Associate Justice Amy Coney Barrett. Before the Supreme Court this is week is an argument over whether public schools can discipline students over something they say off-campus. (Erin Schaff/The New York Times via AP, Pool, File)
Wary Supreme Court weighs student's Snapchat profanity case

By Mark Sherman Apr. 28, 2021 03:06 PM EDT

The Connecticut State Senate is voting on legislation to eliminate the religious exemption for required vaccinations for schoolchildren, Tuesday, April 27, 2021, in Hartford, Conn. A group is rallying led by the Health Choice 4 Action Connecticut lobbyist organization. (Mark Mirko/Hartford Courant via AP)
Connecticut Senate votes to eliminate religious exemption

By Susan Haigh Apr. 27, 2021 02:50 PM EDT

State Rep. William Petit Jr., R-Plainville, speaks during session at the State Capitol, Monday, April 19, 2021. The Connecticut House of Representatives on Monday was expected to pass a contentious bill that would end the state's long-standing religious exemption from immunization requirements for schools. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)
Bill ending religious vaccine exemption now heads to Senate

By Susan Haigh Apr. 20, 2021 01:14 PM EDT

Cornell to require coronavirus vaccination for students

Apr. 02, 2021 12:24 PM EDT
ITHACA, N.Y. (AP) — Cornell University said Friday it will require students to be vaccinated this fall as it makes plans for in-person instruction. ...

Vaccine status discrimination bill fails to pass in House

By Iris Samuels Feb. 25, 2021 06:43 PM EST
HELENA, Mont. (AP) — The Montana House failed Thursday to advance a bill that would ban discrimination based on vaccination status and prohibit the use of...

Virtual 24-hour hearing planned for vaccine exemption bills

By Susan Haigh Feb. 05, 2021 02:29 PM EST
Connecticut lawmakers plan to hold a 24-hour, virtual public hearing on a contentious proposal to eliminate the state's religious exemption from vaccinations...

Topeka prison reports 89 virus cases to lead state hotspots

Jan. 24, 2021 05:05 PM EST
TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — At least 89 coronavirus cases have been reported at the Topeka Correctional Facility since Jan. 8 to make the prison the largest current...

Justice Department backs private schools in virus challenge

Dec. 11, 2020 07:13 PM EST
KALAMAZOO, Mich. (AP) — The U.S. Justice Department said Friday it's on the side of Michigan faith-based schools that are challenging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer's...

People make their way at a departure lobby of Haneda airport in Tokyo Saturday, Nov. 21, 2020. Japan is scaling back on the government-backed “GoTo” campaign to encourage travel and dining out, as the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases reached a record for the third day straight, Saturday. (Kenzaburo Fukuhara/Kyodo News via AP)
Asia Today: South Korea mulls steps as new virus cases rise

Nov. 20, 2020 09:24 PM EST

FILE - In this April 14, 2020, file photo the Rocky statue is outfitted with a mock surgical face mask at the Philadelphia Art Museum in Philadelphia. Philadelphia is banning indoor dining at restaurants and plans to shutter gyms, museums and libraries as the city battles a resurgence of the coronavirus, officials announced Monday, Nov. 16. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Philadelphia bans indoor gatherings, broadens virus rules

By Michael Rubinkam Nov. 16, 2020 10:51 AM EST

FILE - In this May 17, 2016 file photo, Oklahoma state Sen. Ervin Yen, R-Oklahoma City, is pictured on the Senate floor in Oklahoma City. Oklahoma's Republican Gov. Kevin Stitt is drawing his first challenger for 2022. Even as ballots are still being counted in the 2020 presidential race, Oklahoma City physician and former Republican state Sen. Ervin Yen filed candidacy paperwork this week to run for governor in 2022. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki, File)
Republican physician seeks to oust Oklahoma governor

By Sean Murphy Nov. 05, 2020 07:31 PM EST

Mississippi family sues school in 'Jesus Loves Me' mask ban

By Emily Wagster Pettus Nov. 04, 2020 01:46 PM EST
JACKSON, Miss. (AP) — A Mississippi couple is suing a school district because they say their 9-year-old daughter was told she could not wear a mask with the...

Ultra-Orthodox Jews of the Kiryat Sanz Hassidic sect pray on a hill overlooking the Mediterranean Sea as they participate in a Tashlich ceremony during a nationwide three-week lockdown to curb the spread of the coronavirus in Netanya, Israel, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Israel moved to further tighten its second countrywide lockdown as coronavirus cases continued to soar. (AP Photo/Ariel Schalit)
Israeli leaders bicker as virus lockdown goes into effect

By Joseph Krauss Sep. 25, 2020 08:22 AM EDT

An Israeli woman rides past banners encouraging people to wear face masks in Tel Aviv, Israel, Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Wednesday announced plans for a strict, two-week nationwide lockdown in a bid to slow a raging coronavirus outbreak. (AP Photo/Sebastian Scheiner)
Israel tightens second lockdown as coronavirus cases soar

By Joseph Krauss Sep. 24, 2020 04:06 AM EDT

FILE—In this file photo from Sept. 9, 2020, Vice President Mike Pence, left, speaks with Marjorie Dannenfelser, president of the Susan B. Anthony List, an anti-abortion group, at Cornerstone Ministries church in Export, Pa. a Pittsburgh suburb. Trump's selection of Mike Pence to be his vice president has often been cited as a turning point in getting evangelicals, who make up about 1 in 5 voters, to rally behind Trump four years ago. (Alexandra Wimley/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP, File)
Evangelicals at base of Trump hopes for Pennsylvania repeat

By Mark Scolforo Sep. 19, 2020 10:59 AM EDT