Social Issues

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Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed Senate Bill 5 into law March 31 limiting collective-bargaining rights of public employees. Mr. Kasich, a Republican, said he will play a visible role in defending the law in the lead up to a November repeal vote. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Demonstrators protesting Alabama's new law against illegal immigration march through Linn Park in Birmingham, Ala., on June 25, 2011. (Associated Press/The Birmingham News)

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ASSOCIATED PRESS "This will have a lot to say about the shape of the race," Republican presidential candidate Tim Pawlenty said Monday of the upcoming Iowa straw poll. "It will be kind of the opening salvo in the race. And Iowa is in the position to be the launching pad."

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U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION A still from a U.S. Customs and Border Protection ad called “Birdcage” that asks the public's help in stopping “modern-day slavery.” It will be aired in the District, Florida, North Carolina and Georgia.

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Sen. John Cornyn, Texas Republican, who co-sponsored the Military and Overseas Voter Empowering Act, is pressing for its strict enforcement. (Associated Press)

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Arizona state Senate President Russell Pearce, Mesa Republican, speaks at the Capitol in Phoenix on Monday, April 18, 2011. Arizona is entering unusual political territory with a scheduled recall election for Mr. Pearce, the nationally known champion of legislation and ballot measures against illegal immigration. (AP Photo/Matt York)

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Rep. Darrell Issa, California Republican (seen here) and Sen. Charles E. Grassley, Iowa Republican, have concerns about an ATF program that allowed weapons bought in U.S. to be taken across the border to drug smugglers in Mexico. (Associated Press)

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Marriage conference spokeswoman Helen Alvare asks the participants to bring the language and ideas from their culture to find a human solution. (AP/file)

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Polls show emphatically that the French, at least for now, no longer want former International Monetary Fund director Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who at one time was the Socialists' nominee-in-waiting, to run for president. (Associated Press)

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"To Kill a Mockingbird"

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From left: President Obama, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican, and Senate Majority Whip Richard Durbin, Illinois Democrat, meet in the Cabinet Room of the White House on July 13, 2011, regarding the debt ceiling. (Associated Press)

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**FILE** Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (center), Kentucky Republican, is flanked by House Speaker John Boehner (right), Ohio Republican, and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Nevada Democrat, on Capitol Hill. (Associated Press)

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A makeshift memorial was created for the victims of Saturday's triple-shooting in the 1400 block of Parkwood Place Northwest in the District. A recent crime wave has prompted calls for more street-level enforcement from police. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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President Obama sits with House Speaker John Boehner (left), Ohio Republican, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (second from right), Kentucky Republican, and Sen. Dick Durbin, Illinois Democrat, as he meets on July 13, 2011, with Republican and Democratic leaders regarding the debt ceiling in the Cabinet Room of the White House. (Associated Press)

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky (left), with Senate Minority Whip Jon Kyl of Arizona, said he no longer thinks a debt solution is possible "as long as this president is in the Oval Office." Mr. McConnell proposed a backup plan that would, in effect, let the president increase the nation's debt limit with only Democratic votes. (Associated Press)

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**FILE PHOTO ** The controversy over racial preferences in higher education admissions may lead colleges and universities to reexamine how to legally create racial diversity. (Associated Press)

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D.C. Council Chairman Kwame R. Brown talks with Ward 3 council member Mary M. Cheh during a legislative session Tuesday. She has proposed a bill that would use about $13 million in general funds to cover delayed out-of-state-bonds taxation. (Drew Angerer/The Washington Times)

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** FILE ** A group of committed AIDS activists and advocates spearheaded by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) protested Gilead Sciences outside its Foster City headquarters earlier today over Gilead's pricing and policies on its HIV/AIDS medications. (Photo: Business Wire)