Law

An American flag flies over the Supreme Court in June.

The Supreme Court's New Term: Here's What To Watch

6:03pm October 05, 2015

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court returns Monday for its new session, with cases pending that could limit access to abortion, restrict unionizing among public employees and alter voter participation.

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The Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion on April 20, 2010, killed 11 people and resulted in the nation's largest offshore oil spill.

U.S. Settles Claims Against BP Over Deepwater Horizon Spill For $20 Billion

2:12pm October 05, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Attorney General Loretta E. Lynch calls the deal "the largest settlement with a single entity in American history."

A cell at El Reno Federal Correctional Institution in Oklahoma, which President Obama visited in July. The Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act would apply only to federal crimes and federal prisons, which house a shade over 200,000 inmates — a tiny fr

Here's One Thing Washington Agreed On This Week: Sentencing Reform

11:01pm October 03, 2015

by Carrie Johnson

Criminal justice experts and advocates say they're cautiously optimistic about a new bipartisan proposal in the Senate — the Sentencing Reform and Corrections Act.

The Nation's New Gun Rules Have Come At The State Level

9:36pm October 03, 2015

The mass shooting in Oregon has revived debate about gun laws. Dan Gross, president of the Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, tells NPR's Michel Martin about how gun policies have evolved.

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National

Oregon Shooter's Death Was Suicide, Authorities Say

3:49pm October 03, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The local sheriff, speaking at an afternoon news conference, also said that authorities had recovered yet another gun from the shooter's residence, bringing to 14 the number of weapons linked to him.

'Uniquely Nasty' Remembers The U.S. Ban On Gay Federal Workers

7:01pm October 02, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel talks to Michael Isikoff and Charles Francis about their documentary Uniquely Nasty, which explores the government's campaign against gay workers starting in the 1950s.

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An image of Chris Mintz recovering in the hospital was posted online by his cousin. Mintz is being called a hero for trying to block a gunman from reaching his classmates at Umpqua Community College.

National

Army Veteran Praised As A Hero In Oregon College Shooting

2:53pm October 02, 2015

by Bill Chappell

"I just hope that everyone else is OK," Chris Mintz tells ABC News. "I'm just worried about everyone else."

Volkswagen sales slowed after it was revealed that the company had been cheating emissions tests by outfitting some diesel cars with

Volkswagen Latest: U.S. Sales Stall, German Prosecutors Veer From Criminal Probe

6:44pm October 01, 2015

by Laura Wagner

Unsurprisingly, the car company's U.S. sales slowed in the last third of September. Also: German prosecutors say they didn't open a criminal investigation into the former CEO, Martin Winterkorn.

National

Trial Begins For Former Massey Energy CEO

4:39pm October 01, 2015

by Marie Andrusewicz

Don Blankenship, 65, is accused of conspiring to violate safety laws at Massey mines. In 2010, a blast at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia killed 29 workers.

Customers browse samples at Shango Cannabis shop, after the first day of legal recreational marijuana sales began at midnight in Portland, Ore., Thursday.

National

Oregon Partakes: Recreational Pot Sales Become Legal Thursday

2:14pm October 01, 2015

by Bill Chappell

Oregon becomes the third U.S. state to legalize recreational marijuana use, joining Colorado and Washington. The state is also letting residents wipe their criminal records of pot charges.