Human rights and civil liberties
President Pro Tempore Beth Mizell during the Senate Select Committee on Women and Children at the Louisiana State Capitol in Baton Rouge, La. Thursday, April 8, 2021. (Scott Clause/The Daily Advertiser via AP)
Louisiana's latest legislative session moves past pandemic

By Melinda Deslatte 7 hrs ago

This April 2021 photo provided by Christina Theriault, a nurse practitioner, shows her at the Maine Family Planning clinic in Presque Isle, Maine. Theriault says her abortion patients are grateful for the convenience and privacy of telemedicine. “Some are in a bad relationship or victim of domestic violence,” she said. “With telemedicine, they can do it without their partner knowing. There’s a lot of relief from them.” (Courtesy Christina Theriault via AP)
Some GOP-led states target abortions done through medication

By David Crary And Iris Samuels 21 hrs ago

State Sen. Beth Mizell, R-Franklinton, the Senate's second-highest ranking member, speaks about legislative work in response to a report that details Louisiana State University's repeated mishandling of sexual misconduct allegations, on Friday, March 19, 2021, in Baton Rouge, La. (AP Photo/Melinda Deslatte)
Louisiana lawmakers ready for latest session starting Monday

By Melinda Deslatte Apr. 10, 2021 10:14 AM EDT

Cook clerk touts bill's transparency, but critics disagree

By Josh Mcgee Of Injustice Watch Apr. 10, 2021 01:01 AM EDT
CHICAGO (AP) — Cook County Circuit Court Clerk Iris Martinez has walked back a campaign pledge to give the public more access to records from her office under...

Gun rights advocates sue lawmakers over virtual meetings

By Randall Chase Apr. 09, 2021 07:00 PM EDT
DOVER, Del. (AP) — Gun rights advocates have filed a federal lawsuit challenging continued virtual meetings of the Delaware General Assembly after Democrats...

FILE - In this Thursday, Dec. 31, 2020 file photo, an electronic sign advises travelers to wear face masks and practice social distancing while passing through the main terminal of Denver International Airport in Denver. On Friday, April 9, 2021, The Associated Press reported on stories circulating online incorrectly asserting the federal government wants to require Americans to present a health passport or vaccine certificate “on demand,” including for domestic travel. While private businesses are considering vaccine passports for certain activities, Biden administration officials have said the federal government will not mandate vaccine passports. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski)
NOT REAL NEWS: A look at what didn't happen this week

By The Associated Press Apr. 09, 2021 04:33 PM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, March 30, 2021 file photo, a banner encouraging workers to vote in labor balloting is shown at an Amazon warehouse in Bessemer, Ala. Vote counting in the union push in Bessemer is expected to start as early as Thursday, April 8, but hundreds of contested ballots could muddy the outcome if it’s a close race. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves, File)
Amazon warehouse workers reject union bid in Alabama

By Joseph Pisani, Alexandra Olson And Anne D'innocenzio Apr. 09, 2021 11:32 AM EDT

Court rules for Democrats in debate over legislative session

By Kathy Mccormack Apr. 09, 2021 09:00 AM EDT
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal appeals court has vacated a judge's ruling that upheld the New Hampshire House Speaker's refusal to provide remote access to...

Rachel Blackmore poses with The Ruby Walsh Trophy for top jockey during day four of the Cheltenham Festival at Cheltenham, England, Friday March 19, 2021. (Tim Goode/PA via AP)
Blackmore bids to be 1st female jockey to win Grand National

By Steve Douglas Apr. 09, 2021 07:07 AM EDT

Chinese security personnel stand on duty near an art work outside the United States Embassy in Beijing on April 6, 2021. China accused the U.S. of causing humanitarian disasters through foreign military interventions in a report Friday, April 9, 2021 that was the latest broadside by Beijing amid increasingly contentious relations with the Biden administration. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)
China report accuses US of causing humanitarian disasters

Apr. 09, 2021 03:17 AM EDT

President Joe Biden speaks about gun violence prevention in the Rose Garden at the White House, Thursday, April 8, 2021, in Washington. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)
Biden orders gun control actions — but they show his limits

By Alexandra Jaffe, Aamer Madhani And Michael Balsamo Apr. 08, 2021 06:05 PM EDT

Members of the Tennessee House debate a bill allowing most adults to carry handguns without obtaining a permit Monday, March 29, 2021, in Nashville, Tenn. The bill passed the House, 64-29, and can now be signed into law by Gov. Bill Lee. (AP Photo/Mark Humphrey)
Permits won't be needed to carry handguns in Tennessee

By Kimberlee Kruesi Apr. 08, 2021 03:55 PM EDT

Retired Hinds County Circuit Judge L. Breland Hilburn, is photographed June 12, 2015, presiding at a trial in Pascagoula, Miss. Hilburn was 79 when he died April 5, 2021, at University of Mississippi Medical Center of complications from COVID-19. Hilburn in 1994 handed down a life sentence to the white supremacist convicted of killing civil rights leader Medgar Evers. (Tim Isbell/The Sun Herald, via AP)
Judge from Mississippi civil rights murder trial dies at 79

Apr. 08, 2021 12:45 PM EDT

FILE - In this Tuesday, April 19, 2016 file photo a sticker from around 1900 reading: 'Don't buy from Jews' is displayed at an exhibition of antisemitic and racist stickers at the Deutsches Historisches Museum (German Historic Museum) in Berlin, Germany. Before local anti-Jewish laws were enacted, before neighborhood shops and synagogues were destroyed, and before Jews were forced into ghettos, cattle cars, and camps, words were used to stoke the fire of hate. 'ItStartedWithWords' is a digital, Holocaust education campaign posting weekly videos of survivors from across the world reflecting on those moments that led up to the Holocaust. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)
Holocaust survivors use social media to fight anti-Semitism

By David Rising Apr. 08, 2021 12:01 AM EDT

Pro-democracy activists Lee Cheuk-yan, second from right, and Yeng Sum, a former chairman of the Democratic Party, third from right, speak to media after being released on bail at a court in Hong Kong, Wednesday, April 7, 2021. Three veteran Hong Kong pro-democracy activists, including well-known publisher Jimmy Lai, have pleaded guilty to taking party in an unauthorized rally that resulted in violence between police and participants, media reported Wednesday. (AP Photo/Rafael Wober)
Hong Kong activists plead guilty to joining democracy rally

Apr. 07, 2021 08:24 PM EDT

The azaleas are beginning to pop as Dustin Johnson hits his bunker shot to the 12th green during his practice round for the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club on Tuesday, April 6, 2021, in Augusta, Ga. (Curtis Compton/Atlanta Journal-Constitution via AP)
Augusta National plays through debate over Ga voting law

By Paul Newberry Apr. 07, 2021 06:00 PM EDT

Rep. Taffy Howard, left, R-Rapid City speaks in opposition to Noem's edits of House Bill 1217 at the South Dakota state capitol building during the legislative session in Pierre, S.D., on Monday, March 29, 2021. A South Dakota bill to ban transgender women and girls from female sports failed Monday after Noem effectively vetoed the bill. (Grace Pritchett/Rapid City Journal via AP)
Noem pitches transgender sports ban; lawmakers say not now

By Stephen Groves Apr. 07, 2021 05:56 PM EDT

New Hampshire House sends $13.5B budget to Senate

By Holly Ramer Apr. 07, 2021 05:17 PM EDT
CONCORD (AP) — House lawmakers on Wednesday approved a $13.5 billion budget package that Republicans portrayed as responsible “belt tightening” during a...

Davidson Jair, 7, answers questions from a U.S. Border Patrol agent at an intake site after he was smuggled on an inflatable raft across the Rio Grande river in Roma, Texas, Wednesday, March 24, 2021. Davidson traveled from El Salvador in the hope of reaching relatives living in the U.S. The Biden administration says that it's working to address the increase in migrants coming to the border. On Wednesday, President Joe Biden tapped Vice President Kamala Harris to lead the White House efforts at the U.S. southern border and work with Central American nations to address root causes of the migration. (AP Photo/Dario Lopez-Mills)
US envoy talks migration with El Salvador, VP calls Mexico

Apr. 07, 2021 04:17 PM EDT

Idaho governor bans mandated COVID-19 ‘vaccine passports’

By Keith Ridler Apr. 07, 2021 04:02 PM EDT
Idaho Gov. Brad Little issued an executive order Wednesday banning state government from requiring or issuing so-called COVID-19 “vaccine passports.” ...