Social Issues

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Dr. Lucy Wilson, with fellow Maryland public health official Josh Sharfstein, holds a news conference to explain response efforts to an outbreak of meningitis that may be linked to steroid injections. (Associated Press)

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Dr. Mohammad N. Akhter on Thursday outlined the District’s plans for a virtual marketplace where the uninsured and small businesses can buy health insurance to comply with the Affordable Care Act. (Associated Press)

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This Jan. 23, 2012, photo shows Douglas Benson and his partner Duane Gajewski listen to their lawyer Peter Nickitas talk during a news conference about the lawsuit over the statewide vote to ban Gay marriage in Minneapolis. The lawsuit seeking to overturn Minnesota's current law against gay marriage is back before a Hennepin County judge who dismissed it months ago. (AP Photo/The Star Tribune, Richard Sennott)

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Moroccan women protest the scheduled arrival of a Dutch ship advocating safe and legal abortions in Smir, Morocco Thursday oct 4 2012. Their signs read "no to abortion." Moroccan authorities sealed a port where a Dutch abortion ship was set to arrive , while demonstrators protested against its arrival . (AP Photo/Paul Schemm).

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James Womack, director of Hand Up Ministries, walks through the gate which has a sign prohibiting women or children inside the community, in Oklahoma City, Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. Hand Up Ministries is a non profit faith-based organization that offers help to men and women coming out of the prison system to re-enter society. The grounds currently house 150 sex offenders and 7 other felons. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)

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** FILE ** Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney and President Obama speak during the first presidential debate, at the University of Denver on Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012, in Denver. (AP Photo/David Goldman/Eric Gay)

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Barbara Amaya, a survivor of human trafficking for sexual exploitation, speaks at a discussion on "The Face of Human Trafficking in America" co-hosted by the Women's Federation for World Peace and the Washington Office of Peace and Security Affairs of the Universal Peace Federation held at the Washington Times, Washington, D.C., Wednesday, October 3, 2012. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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A red Salvation Army bell sits on a table at a the temporary site of the Bevin Bros. manufacturing in East Hampton, Conn., Wednesday, Oct. 3, 2012. The 180-year-old New England company that made the tiny bell that tinkles every time an angel gets its wings in the holiday classic "It's a Wonderful Life" is resuming production months after the factory was destroyed in a fire. The factory, which is now making bells for Salvation Army bell-ringers, is returning with government grants and private investment. (AP Photo/Jessica Hill)