Social Issues

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ASSOCIATED PRESS PUSHING PEACE: Rep. Dennis J. Kucinich, Ohio Democrat, joined peace activists in an antiwar rally near the White House.

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** FILE ** A World AIDS Day ribbon is seen on the North Portico of the White House in Washington on Monday, Nov. 30, 2009. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

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Abby Johnson and Shawn Carney, the director of Coalition for Life in Bryan, Texas. credit Coalition for LIfe.

** FILE ** Suspected immigration violators wait inside a holding cell before having their immigration status checked by the Harris County Sheriffs Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement as part of the booking process Oct. 26, 2009 in Houston, TX. (Eric Kayne/Special to The Washington Times)

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** FILE ** A Peace Corps volunteer works with local women in Liberia. About one-third of Peace Corps applicants are selected for service. (Peace Corps)

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In this Nov. 4, 2009 photo, Joseph Skinner urges passing motorists to support Question 1 on the Maine ballot, which would repeal a lawmaker-passed law legalizing gay marriage. Gay marriage supporters Ann DiMella and Suzanne Blackburn post their own sign urging people to reject the referendum. (Associated Press/File)

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** FILE ** Rep. John Dingell (D-MI) wields his old gavel as he talks about the issue of health care, during a press conference regarding H-232, the Affordable Health Care Act, on the west steps of the Capitol in Washington, D.C., Thursday, Oct. 29, 2009. (Rod Lamkey Jr./The Washington Times)

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President Obama's address to a crowd in Prague included his go-to phrase, "Let me be clear." Mr. Obama has relied on the four-word introduction to pitch everything from health care, climate change and auto bailouts to his reaction to the Nobel Peace Prize. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** The closing of the detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, was one of President Obama's chief campaign pledges. (AP Photo)

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For the first time since the 1980s, Social Security will dole out more in benefits than it collects in taxes for the next two years. Those deficits will add to the overall federal deficit. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** Rep. Paul Broun, R-Ga., holds up the Republicans version of a health care reform bill, standing with other republicans. (Allison Shelley / The Washington Times)

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The $45 million New Beginnings Youth Center in Laurel. (Photo courtesy D.C. Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services)

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PHOTOGRAPHS PROVIDED BY D.C. DEPARTMENT OF YOUTH REHABILITATION SERVICES The $45 million New Beginnings Development Youth Center in Laurel opened in May, replacing the trouble-plagued Oak Hill Juvenile Detention Center. It houses 60 male youths.

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Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen says a new state law granting same-sex couples marriage-like benefits is unconstitutional.

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getty images President Obama downplays the angry health care debate, telling conservative radio talk-show host Michael Smerconish on Thursday that "passing a big bill like this is always messy."

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Environmentalists say the delta smelt population has declined because state and federal water pumps suck in and kill smelt, which usually spawn in the delta's upper reaches in spring.

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Khavdal Khurman worked in a Soviet run coal mine outside Naliakh, Mongolia, for 11 years. The mine was closed down in 1990 after the democratic revolution, because of safety concerns. Now he picks through the detritus from surface coal shafts for fuel to heat his ger. He survives on a small pension from the government because of mining related illness, but believes the new democracy will lead to a better life for Mongolians. (J.M. Eddins Jr. / The Washington Times)

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In this file photo, Jon Caldara, president of the Independence Institute, fires up the crowd at Colorado's Capitol in Denver during a 2009 rally condemning then-President Barack Obama's proposed health care plan. Mr. Caldara was recently let go from the Denver Post, where he had a regular opinion column. He says the liberal editor who terminated him did so because of his views on transgender rights issues being "insensitive." (Valerie Richardson/The Washington Times) ** FILE **

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** FILE ** Mississippi state Reps. Jeffrey C. Smith (left) and Greg Snowden debate a bill regarding budget appropriations for public utilities staff during a special session of the state Legislature on July 10, 2009. (Associated Press)