News

the Web Editors 1-22-2019

DACA supporters hold signs during the Women's March rally in Las Vegas, Nev., Jan. 21, 2018. REUTERS/Steve Marcus/File Photo

The U.S. Supreme Court temporarily closed the door on President Donald Trump's effort to end protections for hundreds of thousands of undocumented immigrants with the justices again silent on Tuesday on three related appeals.

With the lower court’s ruling against the administration and the high court not yet taking action, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program remains in place for now, essentially maintaining the status quo for current DACA recipients. DACA protects about 700,000 immigrants, often called "Dreamers" based on the name of the Dream Act legislation that failed to pass Congress, from deportation and provides them work permits, though not a path to citizenship.

The flag of diversity flutters at the U.S. Embassy in San Jose, Costa Rica June 3, 2016. REUTERS/Juan Carlos Ulate/File Photo

The U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday let President Donald Trump enforce his policy barring certain transgender people from joining or staying in the military as the justices put on hold lower court rulings blocking the plan on constitutional grounds. 

Nathan Phillips, center, prays with other protesters near the main opposition camp against the Dakota Access oil pipeline near Cannon Ball, N.D. Feb. 22, 2017. REUTERS/Terray Sylvester

A Catholic school in Kentucky condemned a group of its students, many of whom wore "Make America Great Again" hats, after they were recorded harassing a Native American Vietnam veteran in a video that went viral on Saturday.

Shutterstock. 

A federal judge on Tuesday rejected the Trump administration's plan to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census questionnaire. U.S. District Judge Jesse Furman in Manhattan said the 18 U.S. states, 15 cities and various civil rights groups that challenged Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross' addition of the question proved it was more likely than not that they would be harmed if it were added.

Yamina Inzunza is accessing new programs available for former foster care students in California. Photo courtesy Youth Today

Studies show that foster youth are the most likely to drop out of school and least likely to graduate high school, much less attend and graduate from college. In California, about 50 percent of foster students graduated from high school in the 2016-17 school year, compared to about 83 percent for all other students, according to the state Department of Education.

Abby Olcese 1-11-2019

Cover of Wylde. Photo courtesy Cave Pictures Publishing on Facebook.

Myth-making is something the creative forces at Cave Pictures Publishing, a new comics publisher, are fascinated by. The publisher aims to use the medium’s possibilities in ways that bring together faith-oriented audiences who may be new to comics, and long-time fans of the medium looking for thematic depth. Wylde, a western-themed horror comic, is currently available on ComiXology. The Light Princess, an adaptation of the George MacDonald fairy tale, arrives in February.

Federal air traffic controller union members protest the partial U.S. federal government shutdown in a rally at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., Jan. 10, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Erns

Hundreds of furloughed federal employees chanting "we want to work" gathered for a union-led march to the White House on Thursday, the 20th day of a partial government shutdown over U.S. President Donald Trump's demand for border wall funding.

"Hey, hey, ho, ho, shutdown's got to go" protesters shouted as they assembled in the bitter cold outside of the AFL-CIO union headquarters, hoisting signs reading "Trump: End the Shutdown," "Reopen Govt" and "Let Me Do My Job."

Anna Sutterer 1-08-2019

Image via PBS documentary Me Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story 

It was this harsh sentence that did not take into account her age and circumstances at the time that sparked an outcry among activities and celebrities alike, calling for her release.

the Web Editors 1-07-2019

LOS ANGELES - AUG 09: Regina King arrives to the Hollywood Foreign Press Association’s Annual Grants Banquet on August 9, 2018 in Hollywood, CA. Shutterstock. 

While accepting a Golden Globe last night, actress Regina King made “a vow” to hire “50 percent women” on every project she produces in the next two years.

the Web Editors 1-07-2019

Image via PBS documentaryMe Facing Life: Cyntoia's Story

Tennessee Gov, Bill Haslam commuted the sentence of Cyntoia Brown Monday morning, the Tennesean reports. Haslam has ordered Brown’s early release set for Aug. 7, after 15 years in prison. Brown is an alleged sex trafficking victim who, at age 16, killed a 43-year-old man who had picked her up and taken her to his home.

Pope Francis attends an audience with members of the Diplomatic Corps at the Vatican, Jan. 7, 2019. Ettore Ferrari/Pool vie REUTERS

Pope Francis warned on Monday against a resurgence of nationalist and populist movements and criticized countries that try to solve the migration crisis with unilateral or isolationist actions.

Members of the U.S. House are administered the oath of office by U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) during the start of the 116th Congress, Jan. 3, 2019. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

As the Democratic speaker, Pelosi will oversee a sweeping series of investigations of Donald Trump, his business interests and the first two years of his presidency, while pursuing a distinctly Democratic legislative agenda.

Christina Colón 1-03-2019

The Chesapeake Bay in Md. Shutterstock. 

Stormwater pollution is the fastest growing source of pollution in the Chesapeake Bay watershed—a 64,000 square mile drainage basin that sprawls across parts of Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, West Virginia, New York, and Washington, D.C. One of the contributors: religious congregations. 

Anna Sutterer 1-03-2019

“The assumption should be that Christian Americans, along with Americans of all faiths and backgrounds, would of course welcome new members of Congress regardless of their religious affiliations.”

Protesters hold a portrait of Hindu deity “Ayappa” as they take part in a rally called by various Hindu organisations after two women entered the Sabarimala temple, in Kochi, India, Jan. 2, 2019. REUTERS/Sivaram

Two women defied a centuries-old ban on entering a Hindu temple in the Indian state of Kerala on Wednesday, sparking protests and calls for a strike by conservative Hindu groups outraged by their visit.

Pope Francis on World Day of Peace in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican, Jan. 1, 2019. REUTERS/Tony Gentile

Pope Francis, in his first message of the new year on Tuesday, bemoaned a lack of unity across the world, and warned against a soulless hunt for profit that benefits only a few.

Jail cells are seen in the Enhanced Supervision Housing Unit at the Rikers Island Correctional facility in New York. March 12, 2015. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid/File Photo

The U.S. Congress on Thursday gave final approval to bipartisan legislation supported by President Donald Trump that would bring sweeping changes to prison sentencing and the treatment of inmates during incarceration and following their release.

Will Young 12-19-2018

The day before Adam Ward was slated to be executed, he sat in a visitation booth at the Allan B. Polunsky Unit in Livingston, Texas with Rev. DeAnna Golsan, a woman he had never met before. During the months prior, the two — Golsan, a Texan pastor who believed in the merit and morality of the death penalty, and Ward, a man who was sentenced to death — had become unexpected pen pals after being connected by Ward’s mother, an attendee of Golsan’s church. Golsan felt she knew him well, yet, upon meeting Ward, she was forced to confront that the 33-year-old soft-spoken man who cared mostly about his mother was somehow slated for death.

Tom Hals, Reuters 12-19-2018

Asylum seekers wait on the Mexican side of the Brownsville-Matamoros International Bridge, July 25, 2018. REUTERS/Loren Elliott/File Photo

A U.S. judge struck down Trump administration policies aimed at restricting asylum claims by people citing gang or domestic violence in their home countries and ordered the U.S. government to bring back six deported migrants to reconsider their cases.