Law

Mexico is defending an undocumented immigrant arrested under a new Florida law

5:10pm September 21, 2023

by Greg Allen

Mexico's government is providing legal help for an undocumented immigrant arrested in Florida under a state law making it a crime to transport undocumented workers — in this case a crew of roofers.

RICO case against cop city protesters in Atlanta stirs concerns about free speech

4:26pm September 21, 2023

by Odette Yousef

The case against 61 people who oppose a planned police and fire training facility in Atlanta is charting new – and to some, concerning – territory.

Anti-abortion demonstrators gather outside Planned Parenthood's Water Street Health Center in Milwaukee on Monday, Sept. 2023. Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin began offering abortions at the clinic that day after not doing so for more than a year.

Abortions resume in Wisconsin after 15 months of legal uncertainty

11:39am September 21, 2023

After Roe v. Wade was overturned, a law still on the books from 1849 left the legality of abortions in dispute in the state. This week, Planned Parenthood resumes services.

National

Baton Rouge police are under investigation for 'brave cave' tactics

7:27am September 21, 2023

Several lawsuits accuse the Baton Rouge police department of maintaining a so called "brave cave" in a warehouse that's been used for strip searches and beatings. The FBI is investigating.

Morning news brief

6:01am September 21, 2023

House Republicans can't agree on a stopgap government spending bill. NPR's Steve Inskeep speaks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. Lawsuits say Baton Rouge police beat detainees.

Queue Listen Now

Politics & Government

In House panel hearing, AG Garland insists he and the DOJ are independent

5:13am September 21, 2023

by Ryan Lucas

U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland appeared before the House Judiciary Committee Wednesday, and defended the Justice Department's investigations into the Jan. 6 insurrection and Hunter Biden.

National

Trial begins for 2 Colorado police officers charged in the death of Elijah McClain

5:13am September 21, 2023

by Allison Sherry

Officers Randy Roedema and Jason Rosenblatt were on the scene when Elijah McClain was forcibly arrested in Aurora in 2019. He was restrained by three officers and then given ketamine by paramedics.

Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies to Congress on Hunter Biden charges

4:36pm September 20, 2023

by Ryan Lucas

Attorney General Merrick Garland testifies before Congress since Justice Department prosecutors brought federal charges against President Biden's son, Hunter.

Judge Pauline Newman, a 96-year-old U.S. federal appeals court judge, has been barred from hearing cases for a year after a panel said she refused to undergo medical testing over concerns she's no longer mentally fit to serve on the bench.

National

A 96-year-old federal judge was barred from hearing cases in a fight over her fitness

4:35pm September 20, 2023

by The Associated Press

The unusually public and bitter fight over whether a judge should continue to serve on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit has sparked a lawsuit and turned judges against one another.

Eric Simmons (left) and Demetrius Smith, who were found innocent after spending years in prison for crimes they did not commit in Maryland, testify before state lawmakers for legislation to address how the wrongly incarcerated should be compensated by the state during a hearing on Feb. 26, 2020, in Annapolis, Md.

National

Maryland apologizes to man wrongly convicted of murder and agrees to pay him $340,000

3:41pm September 20, 2023

by The Associated Press

Demetrius Smith will be compensated by the state of Maryland after spending years behind bars, including over a year after he had been proven innocent. He was released from prison in 2013.