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Arkansas has approved a law banning most abortions after 12 weeks of gestation, as both houses of the state's legislature vote to override a veto by Democratic Gov. Mike Beebe. The Republican-backed Human Heartbeat Protection Act will become the nation's most restrictive abortion law.
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Unmanned aerial vehicles are starting to show up in American police departments, courtesy of grants from the Department of Homeland Security. But that's caused something of a backlash, and now some state legislatures are considering legal limits on drones to address opponents' privacy concerns.
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There's a new cyberbullying law in North Carolina — but it's not for students who torment other students. It's one of the first of its kind that punishes students who target teachers online. Teachers groups and free speech organizations are split on what the law hopes to accomplish.
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The ACLU argues the portrait, hanging inside a Jackson, Ohio, middle school violates the Establishment Clause. The school says the portrait is not government speech, but protected speech by the students.
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The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday in a case testing whether police must get a warrant before forcing a driver to have his blood drawn. Missouri, backed by the Obama administration, argues that time is of the essence when alcohol is dissipating in a person's bloodstream.
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Before the "don't ask, don't tell" policy was ended in late 2011, many gays were given honorable discharges — but only about half the discharge pay they were owed. A class action suit on their behalf has now been settled and the withheld pay will be released.
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The plaintiffs say that women are already serving in combat roles and that their exclusion is unconstitutional. One servicewoman says the policy prevents the military from assigning the best person for the job.
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The decision lets stand a lower court ruling, which found placing limits on taping police in public spaces unconstitutional. The ACLU said to make the rights of free expression and petition effective, Americans need to be free to gather information on their government.
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The Supreme Court will consider whether to allow a challenge to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act on Monday. Opponents of the law call it unnecessarily intrusive, but that's not actually what's at stake. Rather, the court will examine whether a challenge can be made in the first place.
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In 2011, more than 95,000 young people were locked up in jails and prisons for adults. Thousands spent time in solitary confinement.