Christopher Vondracek

Virginia Tech study calls for revoking frat charters

Officials at Virginia Tech say in a new report that a slew of suspended fraternities in Blacksburg should have their status revoked by national charters, contending that their activities are a "serious threat" to the university's reputation.

July 15, 2019

Profanities, ‘blasphemes’ spike in 3rd season of ‘Stranger Things,’ says family streaming service

The latest season of Netflix's popular paranormal series "Stranger Things" has gotten saltier in its language, says a new report from a family video streaming service.

July 12, 2019

Oklahoma judge bucks trend, lets abortion ban stand

An Oklahoma judge on Friday kept in place a law banning one of the most common abortion procedures used in the second trimester, upending a nationwide trend.

July 12, 2019

Judy Keane’s tweets, Catholic bishops’ silence irk liberals

Liberal Catholics are criticizing the spokeswoman for the D.C.-based U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for the conservative politics she shares on her personal Twitter account.

July 11, 2019

Activists demand Squire Patton Boggs drop nations that persecute religious minorities as clients

Rallies in more than a dozen cities across the country on Wednesday called on a powerful lobby firm to drop its foreign government clients that persecute religious minorities.

July 10, 2019

Pope Francis announces seven women will be named to Curia

Women seeking a greater voice in the all-male hierarchy of the Catholic church are hailing Pope Francis' announcement that women will be named to a ministerial board of the Vatican's powerful Curia.

July 9, 2019

Supreme Court to take on Montana’s ‘unusual’ religious-education voucher case

The Supreme Court announced Friday it would add Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue to its fall calendar for oral arguments, setting up a potentially significant gain that could allow more states to establish voucher-style programs that funnel public dollars into private education.

June 28, 2019

Bernie Sanders, Kirsten Gillibrand short on answers for possible post-Roe country

The second field of 10 Democrats vying for their party's presidential nomination debated Thursday night in Miami, but one question stumped two candidates: what to do in a possible post-Roe v. Wade world?

June 28, 2019

South Dakota colleges grapple with new intellectual diversity law implementation

South Dakota education officials are wrestling with how to implement a new law requiring college campuses to support conservative and liberal thought days before it takes effect on Monday.

June 26, 2019

House members seek to strip Medals of Honor from 20 Wounded Knee Massacre soldiers

Three House members have introduced a bill calling on Congress to strip Medals of Honor from 20 soldiers who participated in the Wounded Knee Massacre of 1890.

June 25, 2019

Supreme Court protects privacy of businesses working for federal agencies

The U.S. Supreme Court ruled Monday that federal agencies can withhold from the public proprietary information about the private businesses with which they work.

June 24, 2019

Charities Aid Foundation survey: Donations decline in U.S.

The U.S. ranks as one of the most giving nations on the planet, despite a report showing charitable donations by individual Americans declining in the past year.

June 20, 2019

Connecticut high school track runners argue transgender policy violates Title IX

Three high school track athletes in Connecticut are tired of losing to transgender girls, and have asked the Department of Education to intervene on their behalf.

June 19, 2019

Education Department investigates anti-Semitic bias at Duke-North Carolina conference

The Education Department is investigating claims of anti-Semitic bias at a University of North Carolina academic conference that organizers said was focused on the conflict in the Gaza Strip.

June 18, 2019

Media violence researchers urge cable industry to adopt Dutch system of age-based TV ratings

Two leading media violence researchers are asking the cable industry to adopt the Dutch system of entirely age-based ratings for TV content to curb aggression in young people.

June 17, 2019

Nonreligious group quits lawsuit to end tax exemption for ministers’ housing

A nonprofit group that advocates for "freedom from religion" has missed a key deadline in its effort to end a tax exemption for ministers' housing allowances.

June 15, 2019

Sexual abuse survivors protest U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops meeting in Baltimore

Holding signs, a small group of sexual abuse survivors convened Tuesday outside a hotel at the Inner Harbor where the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was holding its annual meeting.

June 11, 2019

China’s treatment of Uyghur minority scrutinized at Heritage Foundation event

Barbed wire enclosures at agricultural campuses should be only for livestock, not Muslim political prisoners in China's reeducation camps, the U.S. ambassador for international religious freedom says.

June 7, 2019

Ohio libraries cancel LGBTQ-themed youth events on eve of Pride Month after criticism

Two libraries in suburban Columbus, Ohio, canceled LGBTQ-themed youth activities on the eve of Pride Month festivals, including one called "Drag 101," after criticism from a high-ranking state politician.

June 6, 2019

Jim Jordan, Mark Meadows say Republicans left out of D.C. school voucher negotiations

Congressional Democrats are trying to squeeze Republicans out of the negotiations over reauthorizing the only federal school voucher program in the nation, according to a letter two GOP congressmen have sent to the Education Department.

June 2, 2019