FRANKFORT, Ky. — A federal judge nominated to the bench by then-President George W. Bush has ruled in favor of a professing atheist who sued the Kentucky Department of Motor Vehicles for rejecting his application for a specialty license plate that reads “I’m God.” “[T]he law as applied to Mr. Hart is neither reasonable nor viewpoint […]
ATLANTA, Ga. — The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals in Georgia has allowed a free speech lawsuit filed by a Christian school in Florida to continue after a lower court judge initially dismissed the legal challenge, which centers on the Florida High School Athletic Association’s (FHSAA) prohibition against loudspeaker prayer at football games. “The lower […]
HANFORD, Calif. — A California mother has been charged with first-degree murder after her baby boy was born stillborn and medical examiners found high levels of methamphetamine in the child’s system. Chelsea Becker, 25, had already lost custody of three other children who were born with a meth addiction, two of whom live with Becker’s […]
MANHATTAN — A federal judge nominated to the bench by then-President Barack Obama has struck down a rule recently issued by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) that sought to protect the conscience rights of medical professionals and others who have objections to abortion or physician-assisted suicide. Judge Paul Engelmayer of the Southern District […]
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Second Circuit Court of Appeals will soon hear the case of a New York foster and adoption agency that is facing an ultimatum from the State to either allow placement in homes where there is not both a mother and a father or discontinue its child placement services altogether. The court […]
AUSTIN, Texas — A Texas bill that will make sending unwanted sexually explicit photos to another person a criminal offense in the state is set to become law on Sept. 1. Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2789 into law on June 10 after it passed the House 122-12 in April and unanimously in the […]
SANFORD, N.C. (WTVD) — A Sanford man is suing his former employer, the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, the Town of Siler City, and the Town of Apex for religious discrimination. Manuel Torres said he is deeply religious and his beliefs prohibit him from being alone with a woman who is not his wife. Evangelicals sometimes […]
PHILADELPHIA (USA Today) — A lawsuit filed on Monday against the Boy Scouts of America says hundreds of former Scouts have come forward in recent months with accounts of sexual abuse, allegations from across eight decades that reach nearly every state. Lawyers began collecting the accounts this spring as they prepared a suit, which […]
PHILADELPHIA — The Third Circuit Court of Appeals has unanimously ruled that a Christian cross included on a Pennsylvania county’s official seal does not violate the Establishment Clause of the U.S. Constitution, pointing to a recent ruling from the U.S. Supreme Court that allowed a cross veterans monument to remain on public property. “The Establishment […]
PORTLAND, Ore. — A man in Oregon who identifies as a woman has sued his government employer and its insurance companies for declining to cover facial feminization surgery that would make him appear more female to strangers. The 59-year-old man, who goes by the name Christina Ketcham, says that others still refer to him as […]