U.S. News

The Colorado Civil Rights Division is telling a Lakewood, Colorado, baker he must violate his faith and create “wedding” cakes for same-sex duos, even though the state doesn’t recognize such unions.

Republican candidates have begun to retreat in recent weeks from their all-out assault on the Affordable Care Act in favor of a more piecemeal approach, suggesting they would preserve some aspects of the law while jettisoning others.

In an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Brian Williams, Snowden elaborated on some of the revelations made in the leaked documents that rocked the nation last year. So the question remains, is he a patriot or a traitor?

The Alliance Defending Freedom had a major victory over Atheist Mitch Kahle and his wife Holly Huber, when the court dismissed most of a renewed lawsuit against two Oahu churches that falsely accused them of defrauding the government simply for paying agreed-upon rent to the public schools in which they meet.

The National Park Service is launching an initiative to make places and people of significance to the history of lesbian, gay, transgender and bisexual Americans part of the national narrative.

The Houston City Council has approved a controversial gay rights ordinance that critics say would impede religious liberties.

The House Committee on Oversight and Government reform has compiled a scathing report on the Department of Justice’s “Operation Choke Point” program that critics believe is aimed at “targeting industries deemed objectionable” by the Obama administration.

Duck Dynasty’s Phil Robertson kicked off the Republican Leadership Conference at the Hilton Riverside Hotel in New Orleans where he mixed his faith with an admonition to the GOP to return to God.

Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said in a radio interview that gay marriage is likely to become the “law of the land”.

The military’s research arm is taking a different tack in funding a $26 million project to develop a device implanted in the skull. The goal is to stimulate parts of the brain as a way to treat psychiatric disorders including depression, addiction and post-traumatic stress disorder.

The U.S. economy contracted in the first quarter for the first time in three years as it buckled under the weight of a severe winter, but there are signs activity has since rebounded.

In a year when the movement for same-sex marriages continues to make strides across the U.S., Americans remain divided on how people come to be gay or lesbian. More than a third of Americans (37%) believe people become gay as a result of factors such as their upbringing and environment, while 42% say people are born gay. This latter belief is down slightly from 2013, when nearly half (47%) believed people were gay at birth.

House GOP tax writers pushed through a $287 billion tax break for business write-offs on Thursday, beating back Democratic protests that the extension was both fiscally reckless and pointless.

Under a blazing sun, Vice President Joe Biden challenged graduating Air Force Academy cadets on Wednesday to help create a “new world order for the 21st century.”

Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts has introduced legislation calling for the government to investigate “hate speech” on broadcast, cable, and Internet outlets – a bill that is raising concerns from First Amendment advocates and constitutional experts.

A lawsuit alleging that the IRS discriminates against pro-Israel groups will be allowed to move forward, a federal judge ruled this week in Washington, D.C.

Duck Dynasty patriarch Phil Robertson will address the Republican Leadership Conference in New Orleans on Thursday.

A 2010 Pentagon directive on military support to civilian authorities details what critics say is a troubling policy that envisions the Obama administration’s potential use of military force against Americans.

Residents of California’s largely rural, agrarian and politically conservative far northern counties long ago got used to feeling ignored in the state Capitol and out of sync with major urban areas.

A preliminary report released Wednesday found “serious conditions” at the Phoenix Veterans Affairs facility, including hundreds of veterans who were never placed on an official wait list and faulty scheduling practices that meant some veterans would never see a doctor.