Worn by some Muslim women, an abaya is a long, loose-fitting, robelike garment that covers the entire body, except for the face, hands and feet. Through the abaya, women can express their religious identity and dedication to following Islamic guidelines regarding modest attire.

In more conservative social circles, the abaya is part of...Read more

The U.S. is moving toward a government shutdown. House and Senate appropriators are divided on spending levels, policy riders and additional items, such as support for Ukraine.

As a political scientist who studies the evolving budget process, as well as brinksmanship in Congress, it is clear to me that this episode prompts many ...Read more

The United States’ top humanitarian aid representative, Samantha Power, was dispatched on a fact-finding mission on Sept. 26, 2023, to a registration point on the border with Armenia for those fleeing the Armenian-populated enclave of Nagorno-Karabakh. What she found was frustration: “Sanction Azerbaijan or go back to your country! We don...Read more

DETROIT — Following a bloody weekend in April that included six shootings downtown, Detroit police Chief James White launched a strategy to get a handle on the problems that annually plague Detroit during warm weather, including violent outbreaks in large crowds, raucous parties and drag racing.

When White announced his 12-point crime-...Read more

NEW YORK — Winsome Pendergrass watches as her fellow Black New Yorkers take selfies in front of Brooklyn's Central Library. Rap lyrics penned by hometown hero Jay-Z cover the Art Deco facade to promote an artistic exhibit dedicated to the hip hop mogul.

But Pendergrass feels more drawn to the weekend farmers market she frequents across the ...Read more

Bob Menendez has faced potentially career-ending federal bribery allegations before and emerged unscathed — a fact that New Jersey’s senior U.S. senator touted Monday in his first public remarks on the indictment filed against him last week.

“Prosecutors get it wrong sometimes. Sadly, I know that,” the three-term Democrat said at a ...Read more

In a rural area of Michigan’s Thumb region, a small state park preserves a collection of sandstone carvings that date back many hundreds of years. One of the carvings, a figure with a bow and arrow, symbolizes ancestors shooting their knowledge ahead seven generations.

Some might say that arrow landed in 2019.

That year, descendants of those...Read more

If you or someone you know is in crisis, please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 988 or contact the Crisis Text Line by texting HOME to 741741.

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Jason Lance thought Jan. 21, 2010, was a day like any other until the call came.

He had dropped off his 9-year-old son, Montana, at Stewart’s Creek Elementary School in The ...Read more

On his way to the southern border, Jose Ramos spent six days wading through the treacherous stretch of jungle that connects South and Central America, known as the Darien Gap.

Ramos left his hometown in Venezuela to escape poverty — he was earning the equivalent of $10 a month there. He was taken in at the U.S. border and allowed to enter the...Read more

WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Tommy Tuberville said he objected to efforts by a top military official to recruit and promote racial minorities in the armed forces, saying equal opportunity threatens military readiness.

“Let me tell you something. Our military is not an equal opportunity employer,” the Alabama Republican said in an interview ...Read more

PHILADELPHIA — As drizzle fell Tuesday evening, around 100 supporters of Eddie Irizarry gathered outside City Hall to protest a Philadelphia judge’s earlier decision to dismiss all charges — including murder — against former city Police Officer Mark Dial, who shot and killed Irizarry during a traffic stop in Kensington last month.

The ...Read more

NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge found Donald Trump liable for wide-scale fraud Tuesday for lying about his net worth for years — stripping him of his New York business licenses in a stunning setback for the former president days ahead of state Attorney General Tish James’ sweeping case against his family-run real estate empire.

In a ...Read more

NEW YORK — A Manhattan judge found Donald Trump liable for wide-scale fraud Tuesday for lying about his net worth and stripped him of his New York business licenses in a stunning setback for the former president on the eve of state Attorney General Letitia James’ sweeping case against his family real estate empire.

In a 35-page order, State...Read more

VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. — President Joe Biden told striking United Auto Workers members outside of a General Motors Co. parts distribution center on Tuesday that "you deserve a significant raise" as he became the first chief executive in more than 100 years to visit a picket line while in office.

Biden, asked whether the UAW should get the ...Read more

ATLANTA — The Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum planned to celebrate the former president’s birthday on Sunday, when he turns 99.

Now it’s moving its public festivities to Saturday, just to be sure.

The reason? The Atlanta-based library and museum, like many other federally funded sites, will be shuttered starting Sunday if ...Read more

A Russian admiral Ukrainian forces listed among the 33 officers killed in an attack on a Black Sea navy base over the weekend showed up on a video conference call attended by Russia’s top military brass.

But still and brief footage of Adm. Viktor Sokolov, seemingly seated with a pillow behind his head, is prompting discussion over whether ...Read more

LOS ANGELES — It seemed like an unlikely, but effective, resolution: To keep another gun store from opening up in Culver City and replacing one that was shutting down, city officials decided to buy the controversial shop itself.

The Martin B. Retting gun store along Washington Boulevard, emblazoned with a huge mural of a rifle and the word �...Read more

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. — Defense lawyers in the YNW Melly double murder case are demanding a dismissal of the charges, accusing prosecutors of withholding incriminating information about their lead detective.

Over the summer, attorneys for the rapper, whose real name is Jamell Demons, filed a complaint against Miramar Police Detective Mark ...Read more

America’s largest bank, JPMorgan Chase, has agreed to pay the U.S. Virgin Islands $75 million in a landmark settlement over allegations that the financial institution benefited from and helped facilitate the sex trafficking of underage girls and women by Jeffrey Epstein.

While JPMorgan admitted no culpability, the settlement — along with ...Read more