National

At Arguments, Supreme Court Takes Halting Steps Into Gay Marriage Issue

5:58pm March 27, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

At oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's law banning same-sex marriage, the justices parried over the history of the institution of marriage. They also debated an essential question: Should the case be in the Supreme Court at all?

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A pro-gay-marriage protester stands in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the first of two days of oral arguments on challenges to laws that limit the definition of marriage to unions of a man and a woman.

National

DOMA Challenge Tests Federal Definition Of Marriage

1:15pm March 27, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition and benefits for same-sex couples. The case involves a woman charged a hefty estate tax when her spouse died, which she would not have owed if her spouse had been a man.

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Some insurers prefer to pay for manual breast pumps, but some working moms prefer more expensive, electric models.

Law Says Insurers Should Pay For Breast Pumps, But Which Ones?

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Kristian Foden-Vencil

Health insurers are obligated to cover pumps to help moms breast-feed. But there is a variety of equipment. Some nursing mothers prefer faster, electric models that cost more. Insurers may say a less expensive manual pump would do just fine.

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Stockton Unified School District Police Officer Myra Franco and Chief Jim West patrol 50 schools in California's Central Valley region. One of the campuses was the site of a 1989 shooting massacre.

How To Be The Good Guy With A Gun At School

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Richard Gonzales

In the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting, there's a raging public debate over placing armed guards in schools. Some say it's impractical, but about a third of American schools already have some kind of armed security. One school police officer in Stockton, Calif., finds the job is part protector, part mentor.

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Good Luck With That 'Perfect' March Madness Bracket. You'll Need It

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Adam Cole

Millions of basketball fans will fill out NCAA tournament brackets this week and try to correctly predict the outcomes of every game. The chances of succeeding are about 1 in 150 quintillion. A group of computer scientists are trying to beat those odds by writing programs that learn to pick winners.

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Snow covers flowers in front of the Supreme Court building on Monday in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, the justices hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage.

In First Of 2 Gay-Marriage Cases, Court Turns To Proposition 8

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

The justices on Tuesday hear a case that stems from a constitutional challenge to the California ban on same-sex marriage that was enacted by voter initiative in 2008. And on Wednesday, the court hears a challenge to the federal law that bars the U.S. government from recognizing gay marriages.

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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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