Civil Rights

As hundreds of gay couples became newlyweds in New York over the weekend, their well-wishers included many far-flung gays aware that their own states may never willingly allow same-sex marriage. In all, 30 states have adopted constitutional amendments...

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — The U.S. Department of Justice says it won't pursue civil rights charges against white Indianapolis police officers involved in the beating and arrest of a biracial teenager. Brandon Johnson suffered a swollen, bruised face...

SOUTH BEND - Protecting the community’s children is everybody’s business. That was one of the messages delivered at the march and prayer vigil Saturday in the same neighborhood where 10-year-old Tramelle Sturgis died Nov. 4. Tramelle, a...

MISHAWAKA -- Faced with a crushing debt and the prospect that he'd have to close the gay nightclub he started 21 years ago, John Shockey popped the words "Save Trumans" on his marquee. All he wanted was to boost business. But Truman's Nightclub, a...

SOUTH BEND - Vernado Malone Sr. knew the little boy by name from the barber shop. The last time Malone saw Tramelle Sturgis alive, the 10-year-old boy was standing in the roadway in front of his house on West Washington Street wearing a cardboard sign...

MOUNT CLEMENS, Mich. (AP) — A Michigan jail inmate says he's being subjected to cruel and unusual punishment because he can't have pornography. In a handwritten lawsuit, 21-year-old Kyle Richards claims his civil rights are being violated at the...

FORT BRAGG, Calif. (AP) — Authorities in California have shot and killed a murder suspect who had been hiding out for a month in the redwood forests of Northern California. Aaron Bassler was suspected in the fatal shootings of a Fort Bragg city...

MEXICO CITY (AP) — Mexico's Human Rights Commission is investigating an elementary school for allegedly forcing sixth-graders to strip down after $13 disappeared. The commission is launching its probe following parents' complaints and a report by...

Federal education officials say schools serving mostly black students are more likely to have inexperienced teachers than those largely serving whites, and few school districts have pre-kindergarten programs targeting low-income students. U.S....

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — Civil rights groups claim an Indiana law set to take effect July 1 gives police sweeping arrest powers against immigrants who aren't criminals. The state argues such fears are based on a misunderstanding of the law. U.S....

CHICAGO (AP) — The conviction rate for sexual offenses reported at six Midwestern colleges — including Notre Dame — is far lower than the national average, according to a  newspaper survey published today, and experts say the numbers are...

OSLO, Norway (AP) — A Norwegian lawmaker says he has nominated WikiLeaks for the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize. Snorre Valen of the Socialist Left Party says the secret-spilling website has promoted human rights, democracy and freedom of speech just like...