National

Tom Perez, President Obama's nominee to lead the Labor Department, has been an aggressive advocate for civil rights.

Labor Nominee's Civil Rights Work Draws Praise, Controversy

1:28pm April 15, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

Tom Perez has been one of the most aggressive advocates for civil rights in decades. He prosecuted a record number of hate crimes cases and got huge settlements from banks that overcharged minorities for home loans. But Republicans say he has questions to answer about a whistle-blower case.

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Robert Oliver, 27, dances on the corner of 28th and Crenshaw in west Los Angeles, dressed in a Statue of Liberty costume outside the offices of Liberty Income Tax.

Tax Day Is This Statue Of Liberty's Last Day Of Work

1:28pm April 15, 2013

by Nina Gregory

At the corner of Crenshaw Boulevard and 28th Street in Los Angeles, you'll find Robert Oliver wearing a Statue of Liberty costume and dancing to promote Liberty Tax Service. "I'm never embarrassed to be out here," he says. "I'm proud of what I do."

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National

Is Immigration Overhaul On America's Doorstep?

4:52pm April 14, 2013

A bipartisan group of senators is on the cusp of unveiling a plan for immigration reform. Sen. Robert Menendez (D-N.J.), one of the so-called "Gang of Eight," talks to host Jacki Lyden about the effort. We also hear from some of the thousands of demonstrators who gathered on the National Mall for a pro-reform rally this past week. NPR's Ted Robins tells us what the economic effect of legalizing 11 million workers could be, and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.) talks about bringing undocumented workers out of the shadows.

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United Farm Workers members were among the crowd that filled the lawn on Capitol Hill during an immigration rights rally Wednesday.

Immigration Debate Puts Farm Workers Union In Spotlight

9:58pm April 13, 2013

by Don Gonyea

The United Farm Workers seemed to be all over Washington this week — lobbying members of Congress and gathering for a big immigration rally outside the Capitol. The union has gotten "a huge injection of leverage" from its role in the immigration debate, one analyst says.

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Week In News: Guns In U.S., Threats Abroad

6:09pm April 13, 2013

The gun control debate continued to dominate the news this week with President Obama coming out strongly in support of reforming the current gun control laws alongside the Newtown families. Host Jacki Lyden speaks with James Fallows, national correspondent with The Atlantic, about that story along with the bird flu in China, North Korea and the Postal Service.

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Down To The Putt: Golf Analytics Gain Traction

6:09pm April 13, 2013

by Tom Goldman

Numbers crunching has become a big deal in sports. Analytics have been slower to take hold in the tradition-bound game of golf, but it is happening. NPR's Tom Goldman reports on the phenomenon from the tournament most steeped in tradition, the Masters.

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First lady Michelle Obama greets students at Harper High School in Chicago on Wednesday. Twenty-nine current or former Harper students have been shot in the past year, eight of them fatally.

'We Have To Do More': Michelle Obama's Next Four Years

10:07pm April 12, 2013

by Ari Shapiro

This week marked a new step in Michelle Obama's evolution as first lady. In her hometown of Chicago, she delivered one of the most emotional speeches of her career. Obama almost never ventures into the top political controversy of the day, but her role may be changing.

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John Curtis with his 11-year-old son, John Wikiera.

National

Adoptive Dad Dreamed A Dream That Brought Him A Son

4:19pm April 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

John Curtis never thought he would be able to be a dad. But in 1998 he held his son against his chest. It was "like we fit," he says.

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Startup CEO Wields Small Antenna In TV Streaming Battle

1:30pm April 12, 2013

by Dan Bobkoff

Television networks are up in arms. The new company Aereo is charging a monthly fee to provide a high-definition feed of the basic over-the-air channels, and the stations aren't seeing a penny of it. But CEO Chet Kanojia thinks he's figured out a legal loophole.

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Thick jets of processed sewage arc out 30 to 40 feet from giant moving spreaders at Birmingham Farm in Kansas City, Mo.

Cities Turn Sewage Into 'Black Gold' For Local Farms

12:07pm April 12, 2013

by Frank Morris

Cities are finding beneficial and lucrative ways to dispose of solid waste, while also helping farmers. But a lot of sewage still ends up in landfills or being processed at big, industrial incinerators.

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