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U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack is expected to visit Kentucky on Wednesday, May 27, to hold a community forum and explain projects being funded in rural communities through the American Renewal and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

We figured it would be a good time to show the status of anti-discrimination laws across the U.S., including those passed, in process and those killed by a legislature. 13 states and the District of Columbia currently have laws on the books banning discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity. Those states include: Minnesota; Rhode Island; New Mexico; California; District of Columbia; Illinois; Maine; Hawaii; New Jersey; Washington; Iowa; Oregon; Vermont; Colorado 7 states have laws banning discrimination based on sexual orientation only. Those states include: Wisconsin; Massachusetts; Connecticut; New Hampshire; Nevada; Maryland; New York Pending legislation/killed legislation: Idaho bill died in committee (2/24/09) West Virginia passed bill in Senate (3/14/09) Kansas bill passed committee, now seems to be on hold (3/19/09) New Hampshire House voted 181-149 to kill bill adding Trans protection to existing anti-discrimination law (3/26/09) Delaware passed bill in Hous

WASHINGTON -- Some of the people President Barack Obama is considering for the Supreme Court got significant support from Republicans when they were last before the Senate seeking jobs in the judiciary or executive branches of government.

Allegations of student visa scams bring a promise by the immigration minister to act on breaches of tough new rules.

WASHINGTON -- The path to the Supreme Court is littered with obstacles that can trip up even the most politically nimble nominee. Some of President Barack Obama's possible picks may stumble on their own words.

May 21, 2009 Colorado governor Bill Ritter discreetly signed a bill earlier this week that would give same-sex domestic partners of state employees the same benefits as spouses of heterosexual employees. 'It's an important piece of legislation that will help make sure the state can attract and retain good employees and compete with the private sector,' said Rep. Mark Ferrandino, one of the bill's sponsors. There has been little public protest, but the governor's decision still met with criticism from social conservative groups. 'If the signing of Senate Bill 88 did not disregard the desires of the people, why was it signed in the dark of the night?' Jessica Langfeldt, legislative director of Colorado Family Action, said in a statement. Mindy Barton of Equal Rights Colorado said the publicity isn't as important as the act of signing the bill. 'When you're looking at the short time frame after the close of the session, there's just a landslide of bills the governor is looking at,' Barton

WASHINGTON -- Adults older than 52 may have been exposed to a virus that gives some protection against A(H1N1) flu, explaining why younger people account for the largest percentage of those hospitaliz...

(NIH/National Institute of Mental Health) NIMH is using funds from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to provide grant support for the completion of a project under way to evaluate the effectiveness of a new training program for telephone crisis counselors at suicide hotline centers. The rollout of the new training program, which began in winter of 2008, offers an unrepeatable opportunity to assess the benefits of the training. The information could shape telephone-based suicide prevention services across the country.