Supreme Court Justices’ views on abortion in their own words and votes

When the Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday over whether Mississippi can ban abortions after 15 weeks, the justices will be focused on an issue that has dominated the term. Not only is there Mississippi’s call to overrule Roe v. Wade, but justices are already considering a Texas law banning abortion at roughly six weeks and […]

‘Gifts from the Heart’ is Biden White House Christmas theme

“Gifts from the Heart” is the theme of President Joe Biden’s first White House Christmas. First lady Jill Biden was scheduled on Monday to unveil decorations matching the theme, said to be inspired by people the couple met as they traveled the country this year. “The things we hold sacred unite us and transcend distance, […]

New omicron COVID-19 variant cause for concern, not panic, Biden tells US

President Joe Biden called the new COVID-19 variant omicron a cause for concern but “not a cause for panic” Monday and said he was not considering any widespread U.S. lockdown. He urged Americans anew to get fully vaccinated, including booster shots, and return to face masks indoors in public settings to slow any spread. Speaking […]

U.S. military in Afghanistan. Photo via CBS News.

Military service members face deadline to get COVID-19 vaccine or face disciplinary action​

Thousands of American service members are facing disciplinary action — up to dismissal — if they are not fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Monday. With vaccination deadlines looming, the two top Marines pleaded with the troops. “We need every single Marine in the unit to be vaccinated,” said General David Berger, U.S. Marine Corps Commandant. […]

Inside the ‘big wave’ of misinformation targeted at Latinos

Before last year’s presidential election, Facebook ads targeting Latino voters described Joe Biden as a communist. During his inauguration, another conspiracy theory spread online and on Spanish-language radio warning that a brooch worn by Lady Gaga signaled Biden was working with shadowy, leftist figures abroad. And in the final stretch of Virginia’s election for governor, […]

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey stepping down as CEO

Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey will step down as CEO of the social media platform, the company announced. He will be succeeded by Twitter’s current Chief Technology Officer Parag Agrawal. Dorsey will remain on the board until his term expires in 2022. Agrawal has been CTO since 2017 and at Twitter since 2011. In a letter […]

Merriam-Webster picks ‘vaccine’ as its 2021 word of the year, plus runners-up

With an expanded definition to reflect the times, Merriam-Webster has declared an omnipresent truth as its 2021 word of the year: vaccine. “This was a word that was extremely high in our data every single day in 2021,” Peter Sokolowski, Merriam-Webster’s editor-at-large, told The Associated Press ahead of Monday’s announcement. “It really represents two different […]

Stage set for Ghislaine Maxwell’s sex trafficking trial

Two years after Jeffrey Epstein’s suicide behind bars, a jury is set to be picked Monday in New York City to determine a central question in the long-running sex trafficking case: Was his longtime companion, Ghislaine Maxwell, Epstein’s puppet or accomplice? Maxwell — who once dated the financier — is accused of acting as Epstein’s […]

Phil Saviano, key clergy sex abuse whistleblower, dies at 69

Phil Saviano, a clergy sex abuse survivor and whistleblower who played a pivotal role in exposing decades of predatory assaults by Roman Catholic priests in the United States, has died. He was 69. Saviano’s story figured prominently in the 2015 Oscar-winning film “Spotlight” about The Boston Globe’s investigation that revealed how scores of priests molested children and […]