| US strike sends message to Syria: what it didn't say Posted: 07 Apr 2017 01:37 PM PDT ![US strike sends message to Syria: what it didn't say]( "US strike sends message to Syria: what it didn't say") The US has launched its first punitive military strikes against the regime of President Bashar al-Assad of Syria since the civil war there began six years ago, a powerful message that Washington will no longer tolerate the use of chemical weapons against the civilian population. President Trump's administration indicated that the strikes, which saw 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles fired at Syria's Shayrat airbase near Homs, were linked only to the chemical weapons attack Tuesday that killed at least 86 people, including 27 children, in Khan Sheikhoun in rebel-held Idlib Province. Recommended: How well do you understand the conflict in Syria?
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| LGBT rights and judicial overreach: How GOP lawmaker sees landmark ruling Posted: 07 Apr 2017 01:01 PM PDT ![LGBT rights and judicial overreach: How GOP lawmaker sees landmark ruling]( "LGBT rights and judicial overreach: How GOP lawmaker sees landmark ruling") When a federal court in Chicago expanded the definition of "sex discrimination" this week, ruling for the first time that federal civil rights protections extended to lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender Americans in the workplace, conservatives like state Sen. J. Stuart Adams of Utah felt this was yet another example of judicial overreach. The Republican majority whip in the Utah Senate, Senator Adams maintains a traditional "originalist" position: words in a text should mean what they were first intended to mean.
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| Neil Gorsuch heads to a Supreme Court changed by his appointment Posted: 07 Apr 2017 09:00 AM PDT ![Neil Gorsuch heads to a Supreme Court changed by his appointment]( "Neil Gorsuch heads to a Supreme Court changed by his appointment") The decision by Senate Republicans to avoid a filibuster by invoking the so-called "nuclear option" on Judge Gorsuch's confirmation – lowering the number of votes required to end debate from 60, which typically necessitates some cross-party support, to 51 – is viewed by many as a blow to a chamber designed to moderate the passions of other political branches. Some legal experts fear that scrapping the filibuster for Supreme Court nominees could transform the high court into a political body similar to Congress: subject to the ideologies of whomever controls the White House. A central concern is that when the White House and Senate align politically, as they do now, more ideological nominees could be confirmed than would otherwise have been possible.
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| In wake of Syria airstrike, approval and criticism from US allies, rivals Posted: 07 Apr 2017 07:22 AM PDT ![In wake of Syria airstrike, approval and criticism from US allies, rivals]( "In wake of Syria airstrike, approval and criticism from US allies, rivals") World leaders rallied around the United States after it launched a missile strike early Friday on a Syrian air base in response to this week's chemical attack, while Russia condemned the move as "aggression" and suspended crucial coordination with Washington in Syria's congested skies. The overnight missile attack, which marked the first time the United States has directly targeted Syrian President Bashar Assad's forces, was condemned by his allies in Russia and Iran but welcomed by the Syrian opposition and its supporters, who expressed hope it signaled a turning point in the devastating six-year-old civil war. The bombing represents Mr. Trump's most dramatic military order since taking office and thrusts the US administration deeper into the complex Syrian conflict.
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| As aid rules tighten under Trump, Africa's family planning clinics gear up for major gap Posted: 07 Apr 2017 03:00 AM PDT ![As aid rules tighten under Trump, Africa's family planning clinics gear up for major gap]( "As aid rules tighten under Trump, Africa's family planning clinics gear up for major gap") With her were a team of nurses and a trailer of rare and precious cargo – birth control, and lots of it. Many jiggled cooing babies on their knees as they listened to her tick off the wide menu of free contraceptives on offer that day, from condoms to tubal ligation. At the same moment, a near-identical scene was repeating itself at eight other sites in rural Zimbabwe.
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| After St. Petersburg bombing, a notable absence: Russian anti-Islam backlash Posted: 06 Apr 2017 02:32 PM PDT ![After St. Petersburg bombing, a notable absence: Russian anti-Islam backlash]( "After St. Petersburg bombing, a notable absence: Russian anti-Islam backlash") Monday's terrorist bombing in St. Petersburg appears to bring Russia and the West closer in many ways. Unlike past terrorist attacks against Russia's heartland, which were rooted in Moscow's savage war to subdue a local insurgency in the north Caucasus, this one was carried out by a Muslim immigrant who security services say had apparent links to Middle East extremists. Recommended: Sochi, Soviets, and czars: How much do you know about Russia?
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