Author: Reporter

The House gave final approval on December 8 to legislation protecting same-sex marriages, a monumental step in a decades-long battle for nationwide recognition of such unions that reflects a stunning turnaround in societal attitudes. President Joe Biden is expected to promptly sign the measure, which requires all states to recognize same-sex marriages. It is a relief for hundreds of thousands of couples who have married since the Supreme Court’s 2015 decision that legalized those marriages and have worried about what would happen if the ruling were overturned. The bipartisan legislation, which passed 258-169 with almost 40 Republican votes, would...

The House committee investigating the January 6 attack on the U.S. Capitol will make criminal referrals to the Justice Department as it wraps up its probe and looks to publish a final report by the end of the year, the panel’s chairman said December 6. Representative Bennie Thompson, D-MI, told reporters that the committee has decided to issue the referrals recommending criminal prosecution, but did not disclose who the targets will be or if former President Donald Trump will be among them. “At this point, there’ll be a separate document coming from me to DOJ,” Thompson told reporters at...

Supervisors in San Francisco voted on November 29 to give city police the ability to use, in emergency situations, remote-controlled robots capable of potentially lethal force. By December 6, the Supervisors held another vote in the aftermath of public backlash to halt the policy. The original resolution followed an emotionally charged debate that reflected divisions on the politically liberal board over support for law enforcement. The vote was 8-3, with the majority agreeing to grant police the option despite strong objections from civil liberties and other police oversight groups. Opponents said the authority would lead to the further militarization...

Law enforcement officers who defended the U.S. Capitol on January 6, 2021 were honored on December 6 with Congressional Gold Medals, praised as “heroes” for securing democracy nearly two years after they fought off a brutal and bloody attack by supporters of then-President Donald Trump. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi opened an emotional ceremony, tensions still raw in the stately Capitol Rotunda, which was overrun that day when Trump supporters roamed the halls trying to stop Congress from certifying Joe Biden’s election. “January 6 was a day of horror and heartbreak; it is also a moment of extraordinary heroism —staring...