Social Issues

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Ecuadorean backers of President Rafael Correa wave flags with his image at a rally in late October. Mr. Correa has been criticized by human rights groups and others as intolerant of dissent, but he's popular among many Ecuadoreans. (Associated Press)

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Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray (center) advocates for D.C. statehood in front of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs at the New Hampshire Statehouse. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray (right) advocates for D.C. statehood in front of the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs at the New Hampshire Statehouse. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Washington Mayor Vincent C. Gray reviews his notes in a basement cafeteria at the New Hampshire Statehouse while there to advocate for D.C. statehood. The mayor is part of a delegation of D.C. officials giving testimony before the the New Hampshire House of Representatives Committee on State-Federal Relations and Veterans Affairs. (Andrew Harnik/The Washington Times)

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Occupy DC demonstrators protest against the Alfalfa Dinner at the Capitol Hilton in Washington on Saturday, Jan. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)

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A car decorated with white balloons is one of hundreds driving around Moscow's Garden Ring road during a protest against Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Sunday, Jan. 29, 2012. (AP Photo/Mikhail Metzel)

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Montgomery County police say (from left to right) Howard Hao Wang, Feng Liu and Mauricio Alex Garcia Guardia operated spas and massage parlors in Rockville that were fronts for prostitution and human trafficking.

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Ali Vanderzanden, with Equality Maine, hugs a friend before a Thursday news conference at the Statehouse in Augusta, Maine, at which a bid to legalize gay marriage in Maine was launched. (Associated Press)

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"Las Aventuras de Don Quijote de La Mancha," a bilingual presentation of the classic "Don Quixote," will open Feb. 25 at the Gala Hispanic Theatre. (Gala Hispanic Theatre)

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Residents retrieve belongings in December after authorities demolished their unauthorized houses in northeastern Delhi, which contains India's most crowded neighborhoods. Some homes are made of a single layer of brick, with extra floors added without support for the weight. Below, narrow streets are lined by buildings jammed together. Experts say a major earthquake is likely to hit the city, but next to nothing has been done to prepare for it, in part because of poverty. (Associated Press)

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House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, California Democrat, leaves the Capitol on Jan. 25, 2012. (Associated Press)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, talks Jan. 24, 2012, to reporters on Capitol Hill following the Republicans' weekly strategy session. (Associated Press)

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Jason Weinstein, an account manager for Workforce1 Healthcare, discusses job opportunities Jan. 25, 2012, with attendees at JobEXPO's job fair in New York. (Associated Press)

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Dan and Vicki McCuistion of Driftwood, Texas, are seen Wednesday, Jan. 18, 2012, in Austin, Texas. The McCuistions have been uninsured throughout their 17 years married. (AP Photo/Eric Gay)

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President Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama, immediately after his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night at the Capitol, tells John Buchanan that Navy SEALs had rescued his daughter, Jessica Buchanan, and Poul Hagen Thisted of Denmark from a camp in Somalia. Ms. Buchanan, 32, and Mr. Thisted, 60, were working for the Danish Refugee Council when they were taken hostage in October.

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President Obama, with first lady Michelle Obama, immediately after his State of the Union Address on Tuesday night at the Capitol, tells John Buchanan that Navy SEALs had rescued his daughter, Jessica Buchanan, and Poul Hagen Thisted of Denmark from a camp in Somalia. Ms. Buchanan, 32, and Mr. Thisted, 60, were working for the Danish Refugee Council when they were taken hostage in October.

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Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (center), Arizona Democrat, is greeted by Rep. Jeff Flake, Arizona Republican, and Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, Florida Democrat, before President Obama's State of the Union address to Congress on Tuesday, Jan. 24, 2012, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)