Pope leads top cardinals in atoning for a host of sins ahead of a new phase of reform effort

ROME (AP) — Pope Francis launched the second phase of his big Catholic reform project Tuesday by asking forgiveness for a host of sins, reasoning that the church must atone for its transgressions if it wants to re-establish credibility with the faithful. Fresh off a difficult visit...

FBI to pay $22M to settle claims of sexual discrimination at training academy

WASHINGTON (AP) — The FBI agreed Monday to pay more than $22 million to settle a class-action lawsuit alleging female recruits were singled out for dismissal in training and routinely harassed by instructors with sexually charged comments about their breast size, false allegations of infidelity...

A Black man says a trucking company fired him because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks

A Black man alleges in a lawsuit that an Iowa trucking company fired him as a driver because he wouldn't cut off his dreadlocks, the latest in a series of incidents across the country over an issue activists have dubbed hair discrimination. Drew Harvey, 26, of Crete, Illinois,...

FBI agrees to pay $22 million to settle claims of sexual discrimination at its training academy

California to apologize for state's legacy of racism against Black Americans under new law

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — California will formally apologize for slavery and its lingering effects on Black Americans in the state under a new law Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Thursday. The legislation was part of a package of reparations bills introduced this year that seek to offer...

Taliban who banned women from public spaces say no one faces discrimination in Afghanistan

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — The Taliban said Thursday it was absurd to accuse them of gender discrimination and other human rights violations, as four countries vow to hold Afghanistan’s rulers accountable under international law for their treatment of women and girls. Australia,...

A Black student punished for his hairstyle wants to return to the Texas school he left

HOUSTON (AP) — A Black high school student in Texas who was punished for nearly all of his junior year over his hairstyle has left his school district rather than spend another year of in-school suspension, according to his attorney. But Darryl George, 18, would like to return to...

Tyreek Hill's traffic stop can be a reminder of drivers' constitutional rights

WASHINGTON (AP) — American drivers might universally wince or brace themselves at the sight and sound of flashing red and blue lights and blaring sirens, but all drivers have constitutional rights when pulled over on the road. The question of one’s responsibility to comply with...

French cult film 'La Haine' returns as hip-hop musical with tensions persisting in poor suburbs

Watching “La Haine” nearly 30 years ago, there was a sense of something inexorable about violence in the French suburbs. French director Mathieu Kassovitz’s critically acclaimed black-and-white film opens with video images of news footage of urban riots. The film then follows...

Movie Review: 'The Substance' is brilliantly disgusting and deranged

In its first two hours, “The Substance” is a well-made, entertaining movie. Writer-director Coralie Fargeat treats audiences to a heavy dose of biting social commentary on ageism and sexism in Hollywood, with a spoonful of sugar- and sparkle-doused body horror. But the film’s...