Outside the Beltway

The House has passed a bill that would place real restrictions on the National Security Agency’s data mining program. Now, it moves to the Senate.

The first of what is likely to be many defamation suits related to Rolling Stone’s discredited campus rape story has been filed.

As expected, the Republican-controlled House passed a bill that would ban most abortions after twenty weeks. It also happens to be completely unconstitutional and has no chance of actually becoming law.

House Republicans are set to vote on a bill banning abortion in almost all cases after twenty weeks. What they can’t do is explain where the Constitution gives Congress the power to do this.

The Baltimore Police Department will finally be under the Federal microscope. But it took the death of Freddie Gray for it happen.

Two Republican candidates for President say that Republican elected officials should simply ignore the Supreme Court if it strikes down bans on same-sex marriage.

A Federal Appeals Court has ruled that the N.S.A.’s data mining program is illegal, but its ruling may not have a very big impact.

Some people in the media can’t seem to get it through their heads that speech they consider hateful is entitled to as much protection as speech that they support.

Two men were killed last night before they could carry out what appears to be a planned attack on an anti-Islam event in Texas.

Two of Chris Christie’s closest aides were indicted in connection with the Birdgegate scandal today, a third plead guilty, and Christie’s Presidential ambitions are pretty much dead.

Big news out of Baltimore and, perhaps, the beginning of justice for Freddie Gray.

Republicans on Capitol Hill are talking about fundamentally changing what it means to be an American, and it’s a bad idea.

In a marked departure from recent cases, the Supreme Court rules that states can impose significant restriction on solicitation of campaign contributions in judicial elections.

A sharply divided Court heard argument today on an issue that has sharply divided the nation.

There is no excuse for last night’s rioting in Baltimore, but that should not deflect attention from the problems with that city’s police.

Ta-Nehisi Coates is insightful and eloquent. He’s wrong in this instance.

Just over a week after a death at the hands of police that remains incredibly suspicious, Baltimore is the sight of violent riots.

Tomorrow promises to be an historic day at the Supreme Court, but it’s been a long legal, political, and social battle.

Ted Cruz and Steve King think the Court should be prevented from hearing any case involving same-sex marriage. Because they know they’re losing.

The former CIA Director received no jail time and a nuisance-level fine in exchange for a guilty plea to espionage charges.

In a 6-3 vote that defied traditional expectations, the Justices have limited the ability of police to detain people on the side of the road for long periods of time.

An elite FBI Forensics unit gave flawed and false testimony in cases over a period that lasted more than 20 years.

When it comes to marijuana policy, Chris Christie is stuck in the past.

The parents of the youngest victim of the Boston Marathon bombing argue that his killer should be spared from the death penalty.

TSA abuse stories had kind of disappeared from the news, but they’re back now in a big way.

A volunteer for an Oklahoma Sheriff’s Department killed a suspect thanks to what can only be described as extreme criminal negligence.

Many of America’s top law firms have declined to accept cases defending bans on same-sex marriage, and that’s okay.

Legislators in Tennessee have taken the “gun rights” argument further than it was ever intended to go.

A new poll suggests that the American public does not support laws that give religious exemptions to businesses that want to discriminate based on sexual orientation.

An unsurprising outcome as we approach the second anniversary of the bombing at the Boston Marathon.

Thanks to one civilian with a camera, a police officer is facing charges in what appears to clearly be an improper shooting.

A bill pending in Louisiana seems likely to become the next national focus in the debate between marriage equality and claims of ‘religious freedom.’

A review of Rolling Stone’s now discredited report of a sexual assault at the University of Virginia reveals a shocking failure of journalistic ethics.

Another case of teenagers ‘sexting,’ another dumb overreaction by law enforcement.

A federal judge has ordered the people of California to foot the $100,000 bill for sexual reassignment surgery for someone serving a life sentence for murder.

Indiana’s RFRA will be amended to address most of the concerns of its opponents. That counts as a victory.

As expected, New Jersey’s senior Senator has been indicted.

The Justice Department will not pursue contempt charges against Lois Lerner because it has determined that she did not waive her rights under the Fifth Amendment.

A tale of Kafkaesque torture by Comcast Customer Service reveals that the person who really made the mistakes here was the homeowner.

We’re down to debating whether bigots should have to sell cakes to gay people.

Arkansas, North Carolina, and Virginia may soon see the same battle over RFRA laws that is playing itself out in Indiana

Kentucky has offered the Supreme Court a defense of its ban on same-sex marriage that seems laughable.