Anita Diamant, the prolific writer and Jewish feminist activist, begins her book “The Jewish Wedding Now” with a simple statement: “According to Jewish law, the requirements for a kosher wedding can be summed up in a few words: a bride accepts an object worth more than a dime from a groom; the groom recites a ritual formula to ...Read more

Over the past four years, Congress and state governments have worked hard to prevent the aftermath of the 2024 election from descending into the chaos and threats to democracy that occurred around the 2020 U.S. presidential election.

A new federal law cleaned up ambiguities that could allow for election subversion. New state laws have...Read more

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump has expressed his intention, if elected to a second term, to use the U.S. armed forces to suppress domestic protests. The New York Times reports that Trump’s allies are marshaling legal arguments to justify using National Guard or active-duty military troops for crowd control.

Moreover,...Read more

It was midday on a Saturday, and Simonetta led me from the open front door of her home in southeast Chicago to her sitting room and settled next to her husband, Christopher, on the couch.

In the 1980s, Christopher had worked a few blocks away at U.S. Steel South Works, earning three times the minimum wage with a high school diploma �...Read more

The town of Kelseyville bills itself as one of Northern California’s best-kept secrets — an idyllic wine country community that overlooks the state’s largest freshwater lake, as well as a 4,305-foot volcano that is blanketed in greenery.

But a dispute has erupted over a proposal to change the town’s name because of the history it evokes...Read more

CUILCO, Guatemala — In their native village in southern Mexico, people once lived a tranquil existence. The 30 or so families planted coffee, corn and beans, while some kept chickens and a few cows.

"We were never afraid of anything," said Melina Martínez, 28. "We could come home at night, at 1 o'clock in the morning. It was peaceful."

The...Read more

The red flag signs of a hearing-related issue that requires medical attention include sudden hearing loss, or hearing loss in only one ear. Such symptoms should be taken seriously and assessed by a physician, audiologist Stephanie DiSpigno advises.

DiSpigno treats hearing loss and tinnitus (ringing in the ear), and fits patients with hearing ...Read more

The presidential race gets the hype, but the nearly 6,000 state legislative races across the country in November’s elections could reshape power dynamics in some states.

While Republicans are primed to maintain their national advantage in statehouse control, several legislative chambers could flip, said Ben Williams, associate director of ...Read more

DENVER -- At Raíces Brewing Company, a sea of festival-goers — many wearing the yellow soccer jerseys of the Colombian national team — braved the summer heat on a July afternoon. With cumbia music pounding over the speakers and cold cocktails in hand, they celebrated their culture at Denver’s eighth-annual Colombian Festival.

Attendees ...Read more

KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri will have new laws surrounding Planned Parenthood, property taxes, chicken ownership and more starting Wednesday, Aug. 28.

This year’s session was remarkably unproductive, as the House and Senate passed just 28 non-budget bills, a record low in the modern era.

Republican infighting was a constant this election ...Read more

CHICAGO — Lawyers for former House Speaker Michael Madigan have asked a federal judge to exclude a laundry list of potentially prejudicial evidence from his upcoming racketeering trial, including details about controversial gaming legislation, Madigan’s influence over hiring at Metra, and payments made to a political operative who was ...Read more

Robert F. Kennedy Jr. once lopped off the head of a dead, beached whale with a chain saw, according to his daughter.

The incident came long before the current Donald Trump supporter and former would-be presidential candidate staged a dead bear cub in Central Park to look like a bike accident as a prank — some four years after doctors ...Read more

NEW YORK — New York state officials are conducting a review of college safety plans as pro-Palestinian protests start to resume at some campuses, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Monday.

The governor convened the state police and Division of Homeland Security and Emergency Services with the leaders of more than 200 campuses on Zoom late Monday ...Read more

LAS VEGAS — Jurors deliberated for more than four hours Monday without reaching a verdict in the murder trial of former Clark County Public Administrator Robert Telles, accused of killing Las Vegas Review-Journal investigative reporter Jeff German.

The panel of seven women and five men is expected to resume deliberations at 9 a.m. Tuesday. At...Read more

When Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto walked into teacher Alex Najarro’s classroom at Paradise Elementary School, a student asked if that meant his school was getting a raise.

Not exactly. In Washington D.C., Cortez Masto has been working with Texas Sen. John Cornyn on Reaching English Learners Act. If passed, it would create a competitive grant ...Read more

Narendra Modi on Monday spoke with President Joe Biden about the war in Ukraine following the Indian prime minister’s conciliatory visit to Kyiv and his earlier public embrace of Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The White House, in an account of the call, said Biden “commended” Modi for his visits to both Ukraine and Poland, “and for ...Read more

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. — Billionaire Jared Isaacman could make history for all the right reasons during his Polaris Dawn mission when the hatch opens on a SpaceX Crew Dragon and he ventures out into the vacuum of space.

He’s sold on its safety, especially the sheer amount of development time in the new extravehicular activity suits all four ...Read more

SAN DIEGO — A San Diego federal judge has ruled that California’s ban on knives that automatically open is lawful, and that the weapons more commonly known as switchblades are not protected by the Second Amendment because they’re dangerous, unusual and not commonly used for self-defense.

U.S. District Judge James Simmons Jr. made the ...Read more

A helium leak on the launch pad has forced SpaceX to hold off an overnight launch attempt of the Polaris Dawn mission with billionaire Jared Isaacman and three crewmates for at least one day.

“Teams are taking a closer look at a ground-side helium leak on the Quick Disconnect umbilical,” SpaceX posted on X late Monday. “Falcon and Dragon ...Read more

Myanmar’s junta is on the verge of being expelled from a western-most state bordering Bangladesh, according to a new report, marking one of the biggest military losses since a 2021 coup led to renewed civilian conflict across the country.

The Arakan Army has made rapid advances across Rakhine state since November last year and is set to ...Read more