WASHINGTON (AP) — Religious leaders are telling a house panel the Obama administration disregarded basic rights to religious freedom in setting policies for access to birth control insurance for employees of religious-affiliated institutions. Democrats on the Oversight and Government Reform Committee protested Thursday’s hearing on Capitol Hill, saying they weren’t allowed to introduce witnesses who might support the administration stance or speak up for the rights of women to reproductive health coverage. The hearing comes a week after President Barack... Read more

BAGHDAD (AP) — An Iraqi judicial panel said Thursday the Sunni vice president and his employees ran death squads that killed security officials and Shiite pilgrims. The findings, touted as the first independent assessment of the accusations, were likely to only further hike sectarian tensions over the politically divisive case. Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi has denied the charges, and the accusations have angered many Sunnis who see them as part of a campaign by the Shiite prime minister to push... Read more

CRANSTON, R.I. (AP) — A Rhode Island public school district committee on Thursday voted not to appeal a federal court decision ordering the removal of a prayer banner displayed in a high school in a lawsuit brought on behalf of a 16-year-old atheist. The Cranston School Committee voted 5-2 at a public hearing to discuss the suit involving Jessica Ahlquist, a junior at Cranston High School West. After the vote, she said, “I’m thrilled.” The hearing lasted more than two... Read more

Backers of Kan. religious freedom bill cite Obama policy; gay rights advocates see attack TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — Supporters of a proposal in Kansas that’s described as an attempt to protect religious freedoms told state legislators Tuesday that President Barack Obama’s ill-fated mandate for insurance coverage of birth control is a compelling example of why the measure is needed. But gay rights advocates said the primary goal of the conservative and religious groups pushing the bill continues to be nullifying... Read more

BOSTON (AP) — The debate over the line between religious freedom and federal health care mandates has made its way into Massachusetts’ closely watched U.S. Senate race, with Republican Sen. Scott Brown accusing his chief Democratic rival of wanting to “dictate to religious people about what they should believe.” Consumer advocate and Harvard professor Elizabeth Warren has responded by criticizing Brown for signing on to a Republican-backed bill that would allow employers and health care plans to deny coverage for... Read more

Excerpts from recent editorials in newspapers in the United States and abroad: Feb. 14 San Francisco Chronicle on airline ticket pricing: Baffled and bewildered travelers are getting a break this month, but airlines want to take it away. A welcome federal rule for more disclosure of fares faces industry opposition and a challenge from airline allies in Congress. The subject is a familiar one for frazzled ticket buyers: What is this trip really going to cost? Airlines and travel websites... Read more

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jurors picked over the next month to hear a landmark priest sex-abuse case will pore over two boxes of complaint files long buried in “secret archives” of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia. The files contain complaints lodged against dozens of Philadelphia priests over several decades, along with sex-therapy notes, legal advice and other sensitive material, according to summaries read aloud in recent pretrial hearings. The boxes were marked Exhibit 1 at a hearing Wednesday. Defense lawyers for the... Read more

KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Bound together by hatred of the United States and support for insurgents fighting in Afghanistan, a revived coalition of supposedly banned Islamist extremists and rightwing political parties is drawing large crowds across Pakistan. The emergence of the “Defend Pakistan Council” movement has raised suspicions that the group has approval from elements in the powerful military and security establishment, aiming to bolster public support for a hardline position. The group’s rise comes as the military is trying... Read more

JERUSALEM (AP) — He’s considered to be one of the greatest scientists of all time. But Sir Isaac Newton was also an influential theologian who applied a scientific approach to the study of scripture, Hebrew and Jewish mysticism. Now Israel’s national library, an unlikely owner of a vast trove of Newton’s writings, has digitized his theological collection — some 7,500 pages in Newton’s own handwriting — and put it online. Among the yellowed texts are Newton’s famous prediction of the... Read more

CAIRO (AP) — Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood on Wednesday threw its weight behind the country’s military-backed government in an escalating dispute with the U.S. over the funding of pro-democracy groups. Cairo claims that the groups are fomenting protests against the country’s military rulers, and has referred 16 Americans and 27 others to criminal court. Six Americans are barred from leaving the country. The dispute has shaken relations between the two countries, with U.S. officials and legislators threatening to cut aid to... Read more