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Social affairs

Obama demands quick action to raise debt limit
President Barack Obama demanded on Monday that lawmakers raise the nation's $16.4 trillion federal debt limit quickly, warning that "Social Security ...
Court: Escape from Greek lockup was justified
A group of illegal immigrants was justified in escaping from a police lockup last year because of the miserable conditions in their overcrowded cell, ...
Violence plagues Tunisia's politics 2 years later
Two years after the revolution that overthrew an authoritarian president and started the Arab Spring, Tunisia is struggling with high unemployment and ...
Post-election, a push for DC problem solving
Fiscal cliffs and debt ceiling fights are out. Problem-solving is in. Members of Congress, governors and mayors from across the political spectrum ...
Blind Russian girl criticizes adoption ban
A blind Russian high-schooler's impassioned criticism of the ban on adoption by Americans has added a new and compelling voice to the chorus of ...
Miss America journeys from small town to big city
From a hometown of 26,000 people to an adopted home borough of 2.6 million, Miss America's story includes a journey from a small town to the big city ...
Millions of Hindus bathe in Ganges to cleanse sins
Millions of devout Hindus led by naked ascetics with ash smeared on their bodies plunged into the frigid waters of India's holy Ganges River on Monday ...
Hindus now have a fellow believer in Congress
When Dr. Uma Mysorekar looks at the members of the new Congress, the Indian immigrant and practicing Hindu can see that, for the first time, there's ...
Will longer school year help or hurt US students?
Did your kids moan that winter break was way too short as you got them ready for the first day back in school? They might get their wish of more ...
NRA says Congress will not pass weapons ban
As Vice President Joe Biden finalizes a package of recommendations for the president to curb gun violence, the National Rifle Association predicted ...
SHOW BITS: It's after-party time
Show Bits brings you the 70th annual Golden Globes awards through the eyes of Associated Press journalists. Follow them on Twitter where available ...
Newtown weighs fate of Conn. school where 26 died
Newtown residents are divided on what to do with the school building where 26 people were killed, with some favoring demolition and construction of ...
Egypt's Mubarak to get new trial over killings
An Egyptian appeals court on Sunday overturned Hosni Mubarak's life sentence and ordered a retrial of the ousted leader in the killing of hundreds of ...
A disconnect between violence and television
If there's any soul-searching among top television executives about onscreen violence contributing to real-life tragedies like the Connecticut school ...
'Zero Dark Thirty' captures No. 1 at box office
"Zero Dark Thirty" hunted down the top spot at the box office — and easily won it. Sony Pictures' controversial Osama bin Laden raid drama nabbed ...
Gay marriage protest converges on Eiffel Tower
Holding aloft ancient flags and young children, hundreds of thousands of people converged Sunday on the Eiffel Tower to protest the French president's ...
Potential impact of Mubarak retrial
Egypt's highest appeals court on Sunday overturned Hosni Mubarak's conviction and ordered a retrial of the former president for failing to prevent the ...
Thousands march to protest Russia's adoption ban
Thousands of people marched through Moscow on Sunday to protest Russia's new law banning Americans from adopting Russian children, a far bigger number ...
Priest, ex-teacher face sex trial in Philadelphia
A troubled policeman's son who accuses two Roman Catholic priests and a teacher of raping him during boyhood is set to testify at a Philadelphia trial ...
Vatican surprised by bank's credit card block
A senior Vatican official says he is "truly surprised" that the Bank of Italy ordered credit card payments suspended in the tiny city-state and ...
Egyptian appeals court orders Mubarak retrial
A Cairo appeals court on Sunday overturned Hosni Mubarak's life sentence and ordered a retrial of the former Egyptian president for failing to prevent ...
Ex-postal workers' union head Sombrotto dies at 89
Vincent R. Sombrotto, a labor leader who served as president of the National Association of Letter Carriers for 24 years, has died. He was 89.
4 women strip, protest Vatican gay marriage stance
Four women have gone topless in St. Peter's Square to protest the Vatican's opposition to gay marriage. Police quickly took the women away Sunday, and ...
Influential Israeli rabbi released from hospital
An Israeli religious party says its powerful spiritual leader has been released from hospital after a minor stroke, easing concerns his health could ...
Eugene Patterson, 89, voice on civil rights, dies
Eugene Patterson, a Pulitzer Prize-winning editor and columnist whose impassioned words helped draw national attention to the civil rights movement ...