Government

short readsJul 10, 2014

5 key takeaways from our census of statehouse reporters

To inform citizens about what is happening in America’s 50 statehouses, there are currently 1,592 journalists assigned to cover their workings, according to a new Pew Research report.
reportJul 10, 2014

America’s Shifting Statehouse Press

A new study finds 1,592 journalists reporting from U.S. statehouses where the ranks of newspaper reporters have shrunk, the number of journalists at nontraditional outlets has grown and observers worry about the quality of coverage.
short readsJul 7, 2014

What is a ‘closely held corporation,’ anyway, and how many are there?

The Supreme Court’s long-awaited decision in the Hobby Lobby case says “closely held” corporations can have religious rights that need to be respected. What was it talking about?
short readsJul 7, 2014

For gay newlyweds in some states, ‘limbo’ may last another year

It has happened in four states so far, and may well happen in others – a kind of marital limbo where licenses have been granted and vows exchanged, but the marriages themselves have not been officially recognized.
short readsJul 3, 2014

Chart of the Week: How the Supreme Court justices line up

Supreme Court justices vote together more often than they don’t, but some of that agreement may be surface-only.
short readsJul 2, 2014

The Hobby Lobby impact: A Q&A

The U.S. Supreme Court decision allowing for-profit businesses to opt out of the contraceptive mandate in the new health care law has raised questions about what the ruling might mean for businesses, for future challenges to the contraception mandate, and even for the future of church-state law. We posed these questions to Robert Tuttle, one of the nation’s experts on church-state issues. He is the Berz Research Professor of Law and Religion at the George Washington University.
short readsJun 30, 2014

The Hobby Lobby decision and the future of religious-liberty rights

The Supreme Court expanded the scope of religious liberty rights in a decision that said some for-profit business could opt out of the health care law’s contraception coverage mandate. But the decision was limited to closely-held business.
short readsJun 12, 2014

More Americans say U.S. failed to achieve its goals in Iraq

As Sunni militants make a major military push against the central government in Iraq, the Obama administration is said to have rebuffed requests from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki to use drones to strike at extremist bases. That reported reluctance follows years of U.S. military intervention in Iraq that many Americans say was misguided and failed to achieve its goals.
short readsJun 6, 2014

On D-Day anniversary, only 1 million World War II veterans still alive

By the next decennial anniversary, the VA estimates that their numbers will be down to 81,117.
short readsMay 30, 2014

Four-in-Ten Pakistanis say honor killing of women can be at least sometimes justified

Pakistan’s prime minister called the stoning death this week of a 25-year-old pregnant woman “unacceptable,” but a survey shows that not all Pakistanis share that view.