Health Mar 05

The new rule, announced last week by the Department of Health and Human Services, would prohibit family planning clinics funded by the federal Title X program from making abortion referrals — a provision that critics denounce as a "gag rule."…

Nation Mar 03

It has been a wrenching season for three of America’s largest religious denominations, as sex-abuse scandals and a schism over LGBT inclusion fuel anguish and anger within the Roman Catholic, Southern Baptist and United Methodist churches.

Nation Jan 23

Efforts to change the statute of limitation laws for sex-abuse victims are gaining momentum because of the midterm election results and recent disclosures about abuse by Roman Catholic priests.

Nation Dec 13

The Boy Scouts of America is declining to confirm or deny a report that it may seek bankruptcy protection in the face of declining membership and sex-abuse litigation.

Nation Nov 13

Several Roman Catholic bishops on Tuesday urged colleagues at their national meeting to take some sort of action on the clergy sex abuse crisis despite a Vatican order to delay voting on key proposals.

Nation Nov 12

In an abrupt change of plans, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops opened a national meeting Monday by announcing it will delay for at least several months any votes on proposed new steps to address the clergy…

Politics Nov 07

Medicaid expansion was another multistate topic on the ballot. Nebraska and Idaho voters approved measures to expand Medicaid health coverage to tens of thousands of low-income residents.

Politics Nov 06

The ballot measure will enable more than 1 million ex-felons to regain their voting rights…

Politics Nov 06

In all, 155 statewide initiatives are on the ballot Tuesday in 37 states. Most were drafted by state legislatures, but 64 resulted from citizen-initiated campaigns, including many of the most eye-catching proposals.

Politics Oct 31

Every two years, citizens across the U.S. manage to place some eye-catching measures on state election ballots, posing questions to voters that can be divisive and sometimes historic. But more than half of states offer no such opportunity.