Religion and politics

Courtney Normand, director of the Planned Parenthood-affiliated political group Safe & Healthy Youth Washington that is supporting a sex education requirement for public schools, poses for a photo Thursday, Sept. 24, 2020, in Arlington, Wash. Democrats in the famously liberal state say they want to protect young people from sexual abuse, diseases and infections. But the increasingly outnumbered and aggrieved Republicans have taken issue with the content of the standards as they rally for local control. The resulting referendum on the November ballot marks the first time in the country that such a decision on sex ed will be decided by voters. (AP Photo/Elaine Thompson)

Sex ed mandate sparks bitter Washington state ballot fight

Sep. 28, 2020 4:07 PM EDT

SEATTLE (AP) — Democrats in the Washington state Legislature thought they had passed a routine sex education requirement for public schools earlier this year. But a coalition of Republicans and religious conservatives launched a swift, historic backlash that's led to a bitter partisan fight and an effort...

State Rep. Attica Scott speaks during a news conference, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, in Louisville, Ky. Breonna Taylor's family attorney Ben Crump is calling for the Kentucky attorney general to release the transcripts from the grand jury that decided not to charge any of the officers involved in the Black woman's death. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings)

Officer charged in Breonna Taylor case pleads not guilty

Sep. 28, 2020 4:02 PM EDT

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — The lone Kentucky detective charged in connection with the fatal shooting of Breonna Taylor pleaded not guilty Monday. Brett Hankison’s plea comes five days after a grand jury indicted him on three counts of wanton endangerment for firing into the home of Taylor’s...

File - In this Saturday, Aug. 8, 2020 file photo LGBT rights supporters protest against rising homophobia in Warsaw, Poland. Ambassadors to Poland from some 50 countries and international organizations have expressed their support with an open letter published Sunday, for the LGBT community in the country. (AP Photo/Czarek Sokolowski)

Poland rejects international criticism over LGBT rights

Sep. 28, 2020 11:09 AM EDT

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Polish leaders on Monday rejected suggestions that LGBT people are deprived of any of their rights in the country, after an open letter from 50 ambassadors and international representatives cited a need to work for "non-discrimination, tolerance and mutual acceptance." The...

French President Emmanuel Macron speaks during a press conference on the situation in Lebanon, Sunday, Sept.27, 2020 in Paris. Lebanon's prime minister-designate Moustapha Adib resigned Saturday amid a political impasse over government formation, dealing a blow to French President Emmanuel Macron's efforts to break a dangerous stalemate in the crisis-hit country. (AP Photo/Lewis Joly, Pool)

Macron 'ashamed' of Lebanon's political leaders amid crisis

Sep. 28, 2020 6:36 AM EDT

PARIS (AP) — French President Emmanuel Macron assailed Hezbollah and the entire Lebanese political class Sunday, and warned of a new civil war if they can’t set aside personal and religious interests to unlock international aid and save Lebanon from economic collapse. But Macron said France...

FILE - In this Monday, Sept 21, 2020 file photo, ultra-Orthodox Jews wear face masks during a morning prayer in a synagogue separated by plastic partitions, in Bnei Brak, Israel. For Israel's ultra-Orthodox Jews, coronavirus restrictions have raised numerous questions about how to maintain their religious lifestyle during the outbreak. A religious publisher in Jerusalem released a book in July with over 600 pages of guidance from 46 different rabbis. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty, File)

Rabbis ponder COVID-19 queries of ultra-Orthodox Jewish life

Sep. 28, 2020 2:06 AM EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) — Must an observant Jew who has lost his sense of taste and smell because of COVID-19 recite blessings for food and drink? Can one bend the metal nosepiece of a surgical face mask on the Sabbath? May one participate in communal prayers held in a courtyard from a nearby balcony? Months into...

President Donald Trump walks with Judge Amy Coney Barrett to a news conference to announce Barrett as his nominee to the Supreme Court, in the Rose Garden at the White House, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

Biden urges pause on Trump court pick until after election

Sep. 28, 2020 1:46 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump is pushing for quick confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett while his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, implored the Republican-led Senate to hold off on voting on her nomination until after the Nov. 3 election to “let the people decide.” ...

President Donald Trump speaks during a campaign rally at Harrisburg International Airport, Saturday, Sept. 26, 2020, in Middletown, Pa. (AP Photo/Steve Ruark)

AP FACT CHECK: Trump's dubious claims on health care, court

Sep. 28, 2020 1:31 AM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump isn't providing all the facts when he promises that people with preexisting medical problems will always be covered by health insurance if “Obamacare” is ruled unconstitutional. Eager to get conservative Judge Amy Coney Barrett quickly confirmed to the...

Trump vows quick court vote, Biden urges delay for Nov. 3

Sep. 27, 2020 7:58 PM EDT

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Donald Trump said Sunday that confirmation of his Supreme Court nominee Amy Coney Barrett will go “quickly” but his Democratic rival, Joe Biden, implored the Republican-led Senate to hold off on voting on her nomination until after the Nov. 3 election to...

In this image made from UNTV video, Imran Khan, Prime Minister of Pakistan, speaks in a pre-recorded message which was played during the 75th session of the United Nations General Assembly, Friday, Sept. 25, 2020, at UN headquarters. (UNTV via AP)

At UN, Pakistani leader says India sponsors anti-Muslim hate

Sep. 27, 2020 1:08 PM EDT

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan on Friday assailed India’s Hindu nationalist government and its moves to cement control of Muslim-majority Kashmir, calling India a state sponsor of hatred and prejudice against Islam. Khan said at the annual U.N. gathering of world...

FILE- in this Thursday, March 26, 2020 file photo, Afghan Sikh men mourn their beloved ones during a funeral procession for those who were killed on Wednesday by a lone Islamic State gunman, rampaged through a Sikh house of worship, in Kabul, Afghanistan. Afghanistan’s dwindling community of Sikhs and Hindus is shrinking to its lowest levels. With growing threats from the local Islamic State affiliate, many are choosing to leave the country of their birth to escape the insecurity and a once-thriving community of as many as 250,000 members now counts fewer than 700. (AP Photo/Tamana Sarwary, File)

Facing IS, last embattled Sikhs, Hindus leave Afghanistan

Sep. 27, 2020 4:14 AM EDT

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s dwindling community of Sikhs and Hindus is shrinking to its lowest levels. With growing threats from the local Islamic State affiliate, many are choosing to leave the country of their birth to escape the insecurity and a once-thriving community of as many as...

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