Five people have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the city of Memphis and Elvis Presley’s Graceland, saying they were discriminated against at a Black Lives Matter protest during the annual vigil commemorating the singer’s death. Graceland owner, Elvis ...
Read More »Lawmakers: Put pro-police blue lines on right side of law
Two New Jersey congressmen have introduced legislation to allow towns to paint strips of blue on roadways to honor police after regulators said the tributes crossed the line of federal safety rules. Republican U.S. Rep. Leonard Lance and Democratic U.S. ...
Read More »Trump’s Treasury pick defends his foreclosure actions
Steven Mnuchin, Donald Trump’s pick to lead the Treasury Department, on Thursday defended his handling of thousands of foreclosures during the height of the financial crisis, saying he had worked hard to assist homeowners to refinance so they could keep ...
Read More »Inaugural speeches a catalog of plodding oratory, with gems
Quick quiz: Recall a phrase, any phrase, from either inaugural speech of one of America’s most accomplished political orators, President Barack Obama. Come up empty? Sad! Fact is, inaugural speeches are usually not the finest hours in speechmaking, with some ...
Read More »Few Asian-Americans hold top legal jobs, new study says
When Goodwin Liu joined the seven-member California Supreme Court in 2011, he became its fourth sitting member of Asian descent. The number is remarkable. The other state supreme courts in the U.S. combined have a handful of Asian-American justices. And ...
Read More »California targets dairy cows to combat global warming
California is taking its fight against global warming to the farm. The nation’s leading agricultural state is now targeting greenhouse gases produced by dairy cows and other livestock. Despite strong opposition from farmers, Gov. Jerry Brown signed legislation in September ...
Read More »St. Louis police officer shot in ‘ambush’ attack, chief says
A St. Louis police sergeant was hospitalized in critical condition but expected to survive after being shot Sunday night in what the police chief called an “ambush.” Police Chief Sam Dotson said the 46-year-old officer was shot twice in the ...
Read More »Justice Thomas calls conservatives to continue Scalia’s work
Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says conservatives should make the work of the late Justice Antonin Scalia a “prologue” in the effort to limit the power of the courts and other branches of government. The Supreme Court has too often ...
Read More »After Muslim backlash, lawmaker drops change to no-mask law
Advocates accused a Georgia lawmaker of targeting Muslim women with proposed changes to a 1951 state law passed to unmasked the Ku Klux Klan, creating a backlash that prompted the Republican legislator to quickly discard the idea. State Rep. ...
Read More »Election result triggers flood of immigration questions
Immigration hotlines are buzzing. Legal clinics are seeing an influx of clients. Public schools are fielding frantic questions from parents and students. Since the election, Donald Trump’s tough talk on immigration has stirred anxiety nationwide among immigrants regardless of legal ...
Read More »St. Louis voluntary desegregation program to be phased out
The St. Louis region’s school desegregation program, one of the longest-running and largest programs in the U.S., will begin winding down under a plan approved by a governing board on Friday. The program that allows black city students to attend ...
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