Social Issues

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Edwin “Boo” Barcus Jr. faces 20 years to life in prison when he is sentenced June 7 for running a commercial sex business that prostituted juvenile girls in Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia and Florida.

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Maryland state Sen. J.B. Jennings has introduced “straightforward” legislation to address overreaction from officials if children playfully reference guns in school.

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This undated image provided by the Whitefish, Mont., Police Department shows TV personality Gregory Rodriguez, who was shot and killed by Wayne Bengston, while Mr. Rodriguez was visiting Mr. Bengston's wife. Mr. Bengston later committed suicide. (AP Photo/Whitefish Police Department)

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**FILE** Maryland Gov. Martin O'Malley speaks at a rally in support of repealing the state's death penalty in Annapolis on Jan. 15, 2013. O'Malley, who said he will be making repeal a priority, argued that the death penalty is a waste of resources that could be better used to fight crime in more productive ways. (Associated Press)

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Michelle and I are committed to fighting obesity ... in children. (Illustration by Henry Payne for the Detroit News)

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Sgt. Michael Murphy, a reconnaissance Marine with Force Reconnaissance Company, II Marine Expeditionary Force, poses as he jumps out of a CH-53 Super Stallion helicopter Jan. 22. (Credit: U.S. Marine Corps)

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** FILE ** House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, holds a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday, March 7, 2013. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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Jessica Allen Jessica Allen takes care of her wounded husband, Chaz, while also tending to their children and earning a living as a tax preparer. “You feel like you’re out in the middle of the ocean, and you feel like you’re treading water. It’s exhausting, I’m not going to lie,” she said.

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From left, Diane Millich, a member of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe in Colorado and domestic abuse survivor, Attorney General Eric Holder, Vice President Joseph R. Biden and Sen. Susan Collins, Maine Republican, listens to President Obama speaks at the Interior Department in Washington on March 7, 2013, before signing of the Violence Against Women Act. (Associated Press)