Christopher Vondracek

Upcoming Supreme Court cases put private schools’ ‘ministerial exception’ in spotlight

Religious school associations and Republican members of Congress are marshaling support for an April showdown in the Supreme Court over the "ministerial exception," under which private schools invoke their religious status when faced with wrongful termination lawsuits by staff.

February 11, 2020

Planned Parenthood sues HHS for requiring multiple payments for abortion

Planned Parenthood of Maryland filed a lawsuit Tuesday seeking to block a new rule by the Trump administration that would increase paperwork for insurers and patients seeking abortions.

February 11, 2020

Vocational education funding pushed for increase amid overall cuts

The Department of Education is aiming to provide more funds for high schoolers to learn welding, nursing, construction and other trades while cutting its overall spending by 8%.

February 10, 2020

Amazon, Wyndham cited on watchdog group’s ‘Dirty Dozen’ list

A national watchdog group Thursday included companies such as Amazon and Wyndham Hotels on its "Dirty Dozen" list of businesses that facilitate sexual exploitation.

February 6, 2020

Kansas House to vote on abortion amendment Friday

Lawmakers in the Kansas House are set to vote Friday on a proposed amendment to the state constitution that would deny abortion access as a fundamental right.

February 6, 2020

Pope’s crackdown on bishops in play in Minnesota

A bishop in northern Minnesota has been accused of covering up allegations of clerical sex abuse, according to the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis.

February 6, 2020

Christian summer camp appeals dismissal of flag lawsuit

A Christian summer camp is appealing a federal court's ruling to dismiss its religious discrimination lawsuit against Boston for refusing to fly its flag, which bears a cross, with banners from more than 280 other organizations on Constitution Day 2017.

February 5, 2020

Tony L. Dearman touts plans to bolster American Indian education

A Trump administration official Tuesday touted new plans to improve education for roughly 115,000 American Indian students on reservations.

February 4, 2020

Church of Latter-Day Saints to make exclusive handbook available to public

Officials of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints plan to make public later this month the church's handbook for male-only leaders, the latest in ongoing reforms within the Mormon church over the last two years.

February 3, 2020

TikTok says banning pro-life group a ‘human error’

The social media giant TikTok says its recent removal of a pro-life activist group from its site was the result of "human error" and not viewpoint discrimination.

January 31, 2020

Betsy DeVos says ‘Education freedom is inevitable’ ahead of State of Union

Education Secretary Betsy DeVos said Friday that "education freedom is inevitable" in the wake of reports that President Trump plans to make school vouchers a major theme of his State of the Union address on Tuesday.

January 31, 2020

Environmental group cries foul over new bird regulation

An environmental group criticized a new regulation that the Department of the Interior is set to announce that would relax a rule penalizing businesses that cause the deaths of birds.

January 30, 2020

Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas speaks openly for ‘In His Own Words’ documentary

The director of a wide-ranging new documentary about Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says his film isn't just for conservatives, just as a 2018 movie about Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg wasn't just for liberals.

January 30, 2020

America’s worst colleges for free speech list released

A leading free speech advocacy group has released its annual list of the most restrictive campuses in country, placing at the top a private Massachusetts college that fired its sustainability director over a satirical social media post urging Iran to bomb American cultural sites after President Trump had issued a similar threat to Tehran.

January 29, 2020

South Dakota weighs outlaw of bans on plastic bags, straws

As coastal cities ban plastic shopping bags and biodegradable straws thwart drinkers across the U.S., legislators in one red state in the American heartland are weighing a counterstrike -- outlawing the banning of plastic bags and straws.

January 28, 2020

Mohegan Tribe of southeastern Connecticut takes issue with Montville High School mascot

An American Indian tribe in Connecticut says the "Indians" mascot employed by a local high school — after years of blessing the name — is offensive and needs to go.

January 27, 2020

Betsy DeVos clarifies slavery and abortion comparison

U.S. Education Secretary Betsy DeVos on Friday sought to clarify remarks she made this week comparing the legality of slavery and abortion access, saying she was focusing on the "meaning of choice when there is a greater moral question at play."

January 24, 2020

March for Life led by Colorado Christian University students

Nearly 200 students from Colorado Christian University will lead about 100,000 pro-life advocates from around the country Friday in the 47th annual March for Life to the U.S. Supreme Court, where President Trump is set to become the first commander in chief to attend and address the rally.

January 23, 2020

Supreme Court weighs Montana voucher program’s ban on funding tuition to religious schools

The Supreme Court's liberal justices sought Wednesday to school the plaintiffs challenging a Montana voucher program's ban on funding tuition to religious schools, offering history lessons and thought experiments from the bench.

January 22, 2020

Supreme Court’s liberals pounce on school voucher case

The Supreme Court's liberal justices on Wednesday pounced on a Montana voucher program case, peppering attorneys with questions about the program's ban on funding tuition at religious schools.

January 22, 2020