VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis is urging politicians of all faiths to safeguard the rights of the unborn and is exhorting abortion opponents to also assure that children are born into a world where they can live with dignity.

Francis spoke Saturday at the Vatican to an Italian Catholic ...

ATLANTA (AP) — U.S. Rep. John Lewis believes sometimes people have to kneel before they can be heard so he supports NFL players who want to peacefully demonstrate against police brutality and social injustice.

“There’s nothing wrong with kneeling,” Lewis said Friday during a visit to his ...

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Travis Scott to Jermaine Dupri are among the music artists who have been criticized for taking part in Super Bowl-related events, but their shows — and many others — will still go on. That’s despite a political firestorm over whether social justice needs to be addressed at the ...

ATLANTA (AP) — Some entertainers believe social injustice needs to be addressed during the Super Bowl and are ensuring the topic that ignited a political firestorm, engulfing the NFL, will be in the spotlight.

They passionately disagree on how. Some will perform in Super Bowl-related ...

AUSTIN, Texas (AP) — The Texas Legislature opens with Republicans having smaller majorities in both chambers as a result of electoral defeats, which suggests that hot-button social issues could take a back seat to such matters as fixing the state’s flawed school finance system, cutting property ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon rejected a chance to step to the right on hot-button social issues from abortion limits to immigration policy in an election that also swept incumbent Democratic Gov. Kate Brown to victory.

Brown was reelected after a tight race that kindled GOP hopes of a flip ...

Even in deep-red states, voters embraced an array of liberal-backed ballot measures in Tuesday’s election — expanding Medicaid, targeting gerrymandering, boosting minimum wages, legalizing marijuana use.

The results heartened left-of-center activists, who see a path going forward for ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — Oregon voters weren’t afraid to say no this election as they weighed in on an array of hot-button social issues from abortion to immigration to taxes.

Ballot measures to repeal the state’s first-in-the nation immigrant sanctuary law, prohibit state funding of ...

RED VALLEY, Ariz. (AP) — A more than 100-mile (160-kilometer) walk along a Navajo Nation highway that sought to raise awareness of domestic violence and cases of missing and murdered women and girls has left organizers hoping the trek spurs more discussion.

The annual walk from Window ...

Colin Kaepernick is no longer in the NFL — which, when one considers that Derek Anderson and Cody Kessler are getting snaps at quarterback, is fascinating — and the ...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) — San Antonio Spurs coach Gregg Popovich sees one simple way for both the NBA and women to mark real progress in the league.

Hire more women in positions of power.

“I think there just has to be more, more of the same,” said Popovich, who during the offseason

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP) — When new Panthers owner David Tepper signed former Pro Bowl safety and social activist Eric Reid it was another clear sign to players that times are changing in Carolina under his leadership.

Tepper is showing the players in his locker room that he’s eager to listen ...

BOSTON (AP) — In these complex times, a simple question about the quintessential American holiday of fireworks, cookouts and parades isn’t always so simple.

As Americans prepare to celebrate the nation’s 242nd birthday, some feel a deeper sense of patriotism. For others, the social issues ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A spotlight quickly focused on two Republican senators Thursday in the fight to come over President Donald Trump’s Supreme Court nomination — Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, whose support for abortion access will reverberate throughout the debate.

Every vote matters in ...

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Apple CEO Tim Cook intends to continue lambasting U.S. immigration policies and other issues that trouble him to avoid falling into an “appalling silence.”

Cook outlined his views on when CEOs should protest government policies during a Monday evening appearance at

PASADENA, Calif. (AP) — PBS, which dealt with sexual misconduct allegations in its own backyard, will air a series examining the pressing social issue.

The five-part series, ”#MeToo, Now What?” will address how we got here and how “we can use this moment to effect positive and lasting ...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe, once best known as a top Democratic money man and close friend of Bill and Hillary Clinton, reinvented his image during a largely successful four-year term that saw him tirelessly market the state, make major transportation deals and restore ...

FAIRHOPE, Ala. (AP) — The Latest on the Alabama Senate race (all times local):

9:30 p.m.

Wounded by allegations of sexual misconduct, Alabama Republican Roy Moore is embracing his role as outsider in the Alabama race for U.S. Senate.

Speaking at a Tuesday night rally in south ...

THEODORE, Ala. (AP) — Republican Roy Moore, his Senate bid stung by allegations of sexual misconduct, is seeking to steer the Alabama race to hot-button social issues highlighted by his opposition to abortion.

Newly back on the campaign trail since the uproar the accusations caused, Moore ...

THEODORE, Ala. (AP) — Republican Roy Moore, his Senate bid stung by allegations of sexual misconduct, is seeking to steer the Alabama race to hot-button social issues highlighted by his opposition to abortion.

Newly back on the campaign trail since the uproar the accusations caused, Moore ...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Democratic incumbent Mark Herring won a second term as Virginia’s attorney general Tuesday, beating back a challenge from Republican John Adams.

During the campaign, Herring was sharply criticized by Adams for his refusal to defend Virginia’s 2006 constitutional ...

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Candidates in the country’s only two races for governor are in the final sprint before an Election Day that promises to illustrate how much — or how little — things have changed in the age of Trump.

The Nov. 7 races in New Jersey and Virginia are the first ...

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — North Carolina’s Republican leaders said Thursday that a federal court should reject a deal by the Democratic governor that would affirm the rights of transgender people to use restrooms corresponding to their gender identity.

House Speaker Tim Moore and Senate leader ...

LAKEWOOD, N.J. (AP) — Comedian Nick Cannon says he won’t apologize for his performance during a New Jersey Catholic university’s homecoming weekend.

Officials at Georgian Court University, in Lakewood, say Cannon disregarded the terms of his contract and “crossed the line” with offensive ...

The Supreme Court term that, by law, begins on the first Monday in October includes several high-profile cases dealing with controversial social issues or with the potential to affect millions of Americans. The justices probably will not hear the dispute over President Donald Trump’s travel ban, ...