National

Pam Thatcher and her family ultimately moved into her mother's two-bedroom apartment because they couldn't make rent.

'American Winter' Families Struggle To Survive Fall From Middle Class

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Diedre Melson, John Cox and Pam Thatcher are college-educated parents who once considered themselves part of the middle class. Then the Great Recession hit. A new HBO documentary shows their families desperately trying to make ends meet.

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Arkansas Gov. Mike Beebe speaks at a rally promoting the expansion of Medicaid in the state in front of the Capitol in Little Rock on March 7.

Arkansas Medicaid Expansion Attracts Other States' Interest

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Arkansas is proposing to enroll people newly eligible for Medicaid in the same private insurance plans available to individuals and small businesses. It's caught the attention of several other Republican-run states that had been holding out on the Medicaid expansion.

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Opposition Blocks Return-Free Tax Filing In U.S.

9:57am March 26, 2013

In some countries, taxpayers can sign up to receive a tax bill. There was an effort to bring return-free filing to the U.S. but it came up against stiff opposition. David Greene talks to ProPublica's Liz Day about her report on return-free filing. ProPublica is an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest.

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National

Amanda Knox May Face Retrial After Italian Court Ruling

9:57am March 26, 2013

In a surprise ruling, Italy's highest court ordered a retrial of American student Amanda Knox and her former boyfriend for the murder of British student Meredith Kercher. The ruling overturned the 2011 acquittal of the two defendants after they had spent four years in jail.

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Sherrilyn Ifill will become the new president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in January.

National

'Black America's Law Firm' Looks To Big Cases With New Leadership

2:47pm March 25, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

As the Supreme Court takes up fundamental challenges to voting rights laws and affirmative action, the storied NAACP Legal Defense Fund prepares to take on a new leader, Sherrilyn Ifill.

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Demonstrators carry a mock pipeline as they pass the White House to protest the Keystone Pipeline, in Washington, D.C., on Nov. 18, 2012.

After Keystone Review, Environmentalists Vow To Continue Fight

2:33pm March 25, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

A report released by the State Department Friday says the pipeline won't have much of an impact on the development of oil from Alberta. But activists who oppose the project aren't giving in.

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Staff Sgt. Jessica Keown, with the 3rd Brigade, 1st Armored Division at Fort Bliss in El Paso Texas, served with a female engagement team, or FET, in Afghanistan.

National

Women In Combat, And The Price They Pay

2:30pm March 25, 2013

For years, the Army has effectively ignored the ban against women in combat, though it's still hard for them to receive full recognition for what they've achieved. "Battle-fatigued female soldiers" is a new and uneasy concept for American society.

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A statue of golf legend Arnold Palmer stands outside Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa.

'Unprecedented': Budget Cuts Could Hit Some Airport Towers

1:45pm March 25, 2013

by Brian Naylor

Nearly 200 smaller airports, including Arnold Palmer Regional Airport in Latrobe, Pa., are set to have their control towers closed this year as the FAA makes sequestration cuts. Although commercial flights will continue, some say safety is a concern.

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Gay Lobbying On The Hill Has Short Yet Strong History

1:37pm March 25, 2013

by Peter Overby

One argument used by conservatives in the Supreme Court cases is that gay Americans have become so politically powerful that they don't need special attention from the courts. Whether or not that's true, it's clear that advocacy groups for the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community have built a strong network of lobbyists and political activists in Washington.

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National

Free Tax Help Protects Low-Income Filers From Pricey Loans

9:50am March 25, 2013

by Pam Fessler

As this year's tax deadline approaches, hundreds of thousands of low-income Americans are relying on free services to help with returns. The services are an alternative to schemes that often prey on people who need quick cash.

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