Social Issues

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Austin Ehlinger helps hold a banner during a Guns Across America rally at the Texas state Capitol, Saturday, Jan. 19, 2013, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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Community activist Najee Ali holds an action figure depicting Calvin Candie, Leonardo DiCaprio's character from the Quentin Tarantino film "Django Unchained," during a news conference on Jan. 8, 2013 in Los Angeles. The slavery-era figures are raising questions about whether they're appropriate. Ali, director of the advocacy group Project Islamic Hope, plans to call for the removal of the toys from the market, calling the action figures "a slap in the face of our ancestors." (Associated Press)

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Rep. George Miller said, “Americans shouldn’t have to wait for hours and hours to cast a ballot.” He has submitted legislation to address that. (Associated Press)

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Syrians struggle to get pillows and blankets distributed at a camp for displaced civilians, in the village of Atmeh, Syria. Other Syrians have escaped the conflict by going to neighboring countries, taxing the ability of those nations and international relief agencies to help them. "In terms of the overall numbers, it is very clear the region is facing a humanitarian disaster that is deepening by the day," said Sharon Waxman, of the International Rescue Committee's Commission on Syrian Refugees. (Associated Press)

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"This is a jobs budget," said Maryland Gov. Martin O’Malley of his proposal that creates 8,200 jobs for school construction, 1,900 for a rental housing works initiative and about 16,240 jobs in transportation projects. (The Washington Times)

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From left: Hinna Zeejah, 8, Taejah Goode, 10, Julia Stokes, 11, and Grant Fritz, 8, who wrote letters to President Obama about the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., watch as the president jokes about being left handed as he signs executive orders outlining proposals to reduce gun violence on Jan. 16, 2013, at the White House. (Associated Press))

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Lynn and Chris McDonnell, parents of Grace McDonnell, who was killed in the Newtown, Conn., school shooting, listen as President Obama talks about their daughter during a Jan. 16, 2013, news conference at the White House on proposals to reduce gun violence. (Associated Press)