Social Issues

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, returns to his office after speaking on the Senate floor on Capitol Hill on Sept. 24, 2013. (Associated Press)

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In this photo provided by Queer Nation NY, anti-Putin protestors demonstrate in front of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center in New York, where the Met held its season-opening gala featuring soprano Anna Netrebko and conductor Valery Gergiev, two longtime supporters of Russian President Vladimir Putin. Putin, who has upheld anti-gay laws passed by the Russian legislature, has denied that homosexuals face discrimination in Russia and said the law does not infringe on their rights. (Associated Press/Scott Wooledge, Queer Nation NY)

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Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, is facing a moment of truth in his fight to defund Obamacare, according to many media outlets. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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A Pakistani Christian man mourns over the death of his relative at the site of suicide attack on a church on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013, at Peshawar, Pakistan. The suicide bomb attack killed scores of people Sunday, in one of the worst assaults on the country’s Christian minority in years. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, unleashed a torrent of criticism against Republicans for their stance on Obamacare and the budget. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

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** FILE ** Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo., and the Senate GOP leadership answer questions following a Republican strategy session on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, May 7, 2013. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is at right. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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"Destroying chemical weapons is extremely challenging," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican. A chemical weapons oxidation facility is being constructed in his state. (Associated Press)

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A Pakistani Christian woman mourns the death of her relatives at the site of a suicide attack on a church in Peshawar, Pakistan, on Sunday, Sept. 22, 2013. The bombing was in one of the worst assaults on the country’s Christian minority in years. (AP Photo/Mohammad Sajjad)