Homeland Security waives contracting laws for border wall
President Donald Trump’s administration is waiving federal contracting laws to speed construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall By ELLIOT SPAGAT…
MIT to caption online videos after discrimination lawsuit
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology has agreed to make its website and online educational videos more accessible to people who…
Televangelist, ex-pastor settle lawsuit alleging sex abuse
A confidential settlement has been reached in a former Ohio megachurch pastor’s lawsuit alleging televangelist Ernest Angley sexually abused and…
Professor suspended for calling police on black student
An Indiana university says a white professor accused of discrimination after he called university police to his classroom because a…
Virginia lawmakers reject assault weapon ban
Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam’s push to ban the sale of assault weapons has failed after members of his own party…
W.Va. governor denies racism over ‘thugs’ basketball comment
West Virginia Gov. Jim Justice says it’s absurd to accuse him of racism for calling a high school girls basketball…
Girls sue to block participation of transgender athletes
The families of three female high school runners have filed a federal lawsuit seeking to block transgender athletes in Connecticut…
New Philadelphia police chief starts amid surge in homicides
Philadelphia’s new police commissioner starts work Monday amid a surge in homicides so far this year and calls for action…
Texas lawmakers are drafting a hair discrimination bill
The Texas Legislative Black Caucus announced it’s working on a bill that would ban discrimination based on hair textures and…
ICE sued over treatment of 5-year-old with head injury
The mother of a 5-year-old Guatemalan boy has sued U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement over the medical care he has…
Colorado university to offer cannabis-related degree
University officials in Colorado have received state approval to offer a cannabis-related degree program February 8, 2020, 5:45 PM 2…
Purdue University to offer free tampons, pads in bathrooms
Purdue University will offer free tampons and other feminine hygiene products in campus bathrooms in response to student advocates who…
ACLU sues ICE over search warrants in Dallas-area raid
The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas is suing the U.S. government over a raid near Dallas where immigration officials…
Virginia lawmakers pass protections for LGBTQ people
Virginia lawmakers have passed comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that advocates say makes the state the first in the South to enact…
School: Dolls of black figures on tree-like racks removed
Michigan State University officials say its performing arts center has removed a gift shop display featuring dolls depicting prominent black…
Colorado baker who sparked Supreme Court case has book deal
The Colorado baker whose refusal to design a cake for a gay wedding led to a landmark Supreme Court ruling…
UC Berkeley Law School strips itself of racist namesake
The University of California, Berkeley’s prestigious law school has stripped itself of a 19th century namesake who espoused racist views…
Kansas considers requiring ‘In God We Trust’ in classrooms
Conservative Republicans are pushing for a law in Kansas to require the posting of the national motto of “In God…
Texas teen who won’t cut dreadlocks gets $20K for college
A black Texas teenager who was told his dreadlocks violate his high school’s dress code is gaining the support of…
Priest gets 60 days in jail for bubble-wrapping boy
A Michigan priest accused of wrapping a teenager in bubble wrap has been sentenced to 60 days in jail By…
‘I’m being raped’: Weinstein accuser details alleged assault
NEW YORK — As she tried to fight off Harvey Weinstein’s advances, Mimi Haleyi told him “no, no, no” before…
Coroner: 2 new Mississippi inmate deaths were from beating
A coroner says two inmates were beaten to death in an understaffed Mississippi prison that has been shaken by deadly…
Florida ex-mayor gets 4+ years in prison for charity fraud
The former mayor of a Florida city has been sentenced to more than four years in prison for defrauding a…
Thousands gather for Women’s March rallies across the US
WASHINGTON — Thousands gathered in cities across the country Saturday as part of the nationwide Women’s March rallies focused on…
California rejects unique intersex surgery ban for some kids
California has rejected a ban on medically unnecessary treatment for babies born with ambiguous or conflicting genitalia By ADAM BEAM…
12 shot, five dead, in single day of shootings in Baltimore
Authorities say 12 people have been shot, five of them fatally, in eight separate weekend shootings in Baltimore January 12,…
Refugees shot dead in Libya were pushed out of UN facility
Two Eritrean asylum-seekers have been shot dead inside their accommodation in the Libyan capital By SAMY MAGDY Associated Press January…
Tennessee inmates ask court to stop execution scheduling
Attorneys for Tennessee death row inmates argue that mental issues, poor legal representation, newly surfaced evidence, and racism in the…
Foundation: Damage to historic copter hit by car exceeds $6M
A South Carolina aviation foundation says a Vietnam War-era helicopter hit by a car sustained millions of dollars in damage…
Police arrest 7 in New Year’s Eve mob sexual assault
A senior security official says police have arrested seven young men for allegedly taking part in a mob sexual assault…
New York education leader appears on child sex crime charge
A high-ranking New York City education official accused of arranging a sexual encounter in Wisconsin with someone he thought was…
Methodists propose split in gay marriage, clergy impasse
A group of United Methodist Church leaders from around the world and across ideological divides is proposing an amicable separation…
Pakistan issues health IDs for trans people to improve care
Pakistan has begun issuing special health ID cards for transgender people as way to lessen health care discrimination By ASIM…
Heterosexual couples form 1st civil partnerships in England
Heterosexual couples will now be able to choose a civil partnership instead of a marriage in England and Wales By…
Nigerian man dies in ICE custody after sex abuse conviction
A Nigerian man has died in federal immigration custody after he was convicted of a sex offense and assault in…
Pope offers hope against darkness in Christmas Day message
Pope Francis in his annual Christmas Day message is offering hope against darkness that cloaks conflicts and relationships in large…
Trumps wish Americans ‘Merry Christmas’ as they mark holiday
President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are wishing Americans a Merry Christmas as they celebrate the holiday with…
Pope denounces ‘rigidity’ as he warns of Christian decline
Pope Francis is warning that “rigidity” in living out the Christian faith is creating a “minefield” of hatred and misunderstanding…
Woman forced to remove hijab in jail settles for $120K
A Minnesota Muslim woman has received $120,000 to settle her lawsuit alleging she was forced to strip in jail and…
Possible ‘white power’ hand signs at Army-Navy game probed
Officials at two military academies say the schools are looking into hand signs flashed by students during the Army-Navy football…
Florida officer charged with violating women’s civil rights
A Florida police officer has been indicted on federal charges following allegations that he sexually assaulted several women December 13,…
Inmate’s suicide shows need for reforms, advocates say
ALBANY, N.Y. — The final two months of Cachin Anderson’s life in New York’s prison system were filled with warnings…
Stolen pit bull to make cross-country trip back home
A pit bull that was stolen from its owner in Montana and taken across the country to West Virginia is…
Police: Man using racist slurs killed in Waffle House fight
The Georgia Bureau of Investigation says a man was shot to death at a Waffle House after calling other patrons…
El Salvador archbishop apologizes over priest sex abuse case
El Salvador’s top Roman Catholic cleric apologized Sunday for the alleged sexual abuse by a priest of an unidentified minor…
White nationalists seen filming at lynching victim memorial
Men carrying a white nationalist flag were caught on security cameras trying to film in front of a new memorial…
Police officer retires after far-right group ties revealed
A Connecticut police officer has retired after a civil rights organization raised concerns about his membership in a far-right group…
Norway arrests US far-right activist, seeks deportation
Norwegian authorities have arrested a high-profile U.S. white supremacist scheduled to speak at an international far-right conference in Oslo and…
US judge blocks Trump’s health insurance rule for immigrants
A federal judge in Portland, Oregon, on Saturday put on hold a Trump administration rule requiring immigrants prove they will…
Coal plant on tribal land to close after powering US West
Ron Little nestles into a familiar seat aboard a train locomotive and slides the window open, leaning out to get…
After bishops call for married priests, pope urges new ways
On the heels of a landmark call by Amazon region bishops for married men to become priests, Pope Francis on…
Authorities break up mixed-gender party, arrest 15 in Iran
Iran’s semi-official news agency says Iranian authorities have arrested 15 men and women at a mixed-gender party at the Iranian…
Large anti-government procession heads to Pakistan’s capital
Thousands of supporters of an ultra-religious political party led by a firebrand cleric took part Sunday in an anti-government procession…
Chicago strike negotiations ongoing; Monday classes canceled
More than 300,000 Chicago students will miss another day of classes as teachers in the nation’s third-largest school district remain…
4 more parents to plead guilty in college admissions scandal
Four more parents are pleading guilty in the college admissions bribery scandal, and a Texas man accused of helping to…
Washington state to vote on affirmative action referendum
More than two decades after Washington state voters banned affirmative action, the question of whether one’s minority status should be…
Chicago teachers say pay bump can’t fix deeper problems
Chicago teachers beginning a massive strike Thursday have rejected offers that would increase their pay, hoping that will keep pressure…
ACLU says Census Bureau should stop driver license requests
A civil rights group is asking state motor vehicle agencies across the U.S. to reject a request from the U.S.…
Immigrant kills himself in ICE jail: Official
Federal authorities say a Cuban man has died by apparent suicide while being detained at an immigration jail in Louisiana.…