Bring your pets to church, Haitian immigrant priest tells worshippers. ‘I am not going to eat them.’

CONCORD, N.H. (RNS) — As pet lovers gathered in a church garden here Saturday (Oct. 5) with dogs and photographs for the annual Blessing of the Animals, they were greeted with an assurance unlike any in years

West Virginia lawmakers OK bills on income tax cut, child care tax credit

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Bills aimed to reduce West Virginians’ income tax burden are headed to the desk of Gov. Jim Justice. One would reduce the state personal income tax by 2%. Another would provide a tax

Disputes over access to the vote intensify as Ohioans begin to cast ballots

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Several disputes over voter rights in Ohio were unresolved Tuesday as the state began accepting early ballots in this fall’s election for president, a key U.S. Senate race and a redistricting measure. Republican

North Dakota wildfire victim was about to return home to South Africa for the birth of his daughter

BISMARCK, N.D. (AP) — A South African man who died due to a North Dakota wildfire over the weekend was planning to return to his wife within weeks in time for the birth of their first child.

Philadelphia judge receives unpaid suspension for his political posts on Facebook

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — A Philadelphia family court judge has been suspended without pay for the last three months of his time on the bench after the Court of Judicial Discipline determined his politically charged social media

If the polls just closed, how can AP already declare a winner?

WASHINGTON (AP) — Control of the White House and the narrowly divided Senate and House may hang in the balance on Nov. 5, but don’t expect election night to be all nail-biters and barn burners. Chances are

Not everything will run perfectly on Election Day. Still, US elections are remarkably reliable

WASHINGTON (AP) — On Election Day, some voting lines will likely be long and some precincts may run out of ballots. An election office website could go down temporarily and ballot-counting machines will jam. Or people who

How voting before Election Day became so widespread and so political

WASHINGTON (AP) — Voters had plenty to argue about in the 1972 election, but they overwhelmingly agreed that when it came time to vote, they would do so in person on Election Day. The act of voting

Not all elections look the same. Here are some of the different ways states run their voting

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. general election on Nov. 5 will decide the country’s direction, but it is far from a nationally administered contest. The 50 states and the District of Columbia run their own elections, and

The AP has called winners in elections for more than 170 years. Here’s how it’s done

WASHINGTON (AP) — One question will be asked over and over on election night: Who won? The Associated Press will answer that question for nearly 5,000 contested races across the United States and up and down the