Law

Massachusetts House Speaker Robert DeLeo addresses a crowd during a Democratic Party convention last year. DeLeo unveiled a comprehensive gun bill Tuesday.

Already Tough On Gun Control, Massachusetts Aims To Get Tougher

8:10pm May 28, 2014

by Tovia Smith

Massachusetts is considering a bill that would require background checks on all private gun sales, including at gun shows and online, and would give police more discretion to deny gun licenses.

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Politics & Government

NC Residents Can Use Credit Cards to Pay Fines

7:40am May 28, 2014

North Carolina residents are now able to pay their fines and related court costs with credit/debit cards.

Economy

Unpaid Court Fees Land The Poor In 21st Century Debtors' Prisons

9:50am May 23, 2014

by Joseph Shapiro

Debtors' prisons were outlawed in the United States back before the Civil War. But an NPR state-by-state survey found that people still get sent to jail for unpaid court fines and fees.

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World News

U.S. Ordered To Turn Over Video Of Force-Feeding At Guantanamo

9:18am May 22, 2014

Renee Montagne talks to Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg about a federal judge's order that the Justice Department must release videotapes of force-feeding at the Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

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Fiery British Imam Found Guilty Of Terrorism Charges

8:54pm May 19, 2014

by Bruce Auster

Abu Hamza, an Islamic cleric alleged to have started an al-Qaida camp in the U.S., has been convicted on terrorism charges in a New York courtroom.

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National

How It Happened: 10 Years Of Gay Marriage

2:05am May 18, 2014

On May 17 10 years ago, Massachusetts issued the first fully legal same-sex marriage license in the United States. Tanya McCloskey and Marcia Kadish were the recipients of that license. The growing acceptance of gay marriage in the U.S. is due in part to gay advertising and public support of gay-friendly workplace policies. Marketing expert David Paisley explains how that change happened to guest host Tess Vigeland.

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Navajo elder Stella Peshlakai Smith, 89, stands at a traditional dwelling on her homestead at Wupatki National Monument in 2014. The National Park Service says her children cannot stay when she dies.

National

Federal Goverment Jeopardizes Navajo Family's Ties To Its Home

10:46am May 17, 2014

by Laurel Morales

The National Park Service says that an 89-year-old Navajo elder will be the last to live at Wupatki National Monument. Stella Peshlakai Smith's family faces eviction when she dies.

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Bonauto celebrates on May 17, 2005, the one-year anniversary of legal same-sex marriage in Massachusetts. Bonauto argued the case that benefited couples like Hillary and Julie Goodridge (at right), here with their daughter Annie.

National

Lawyer Reflects On Nation's First Gay Marriages: 'The Cage Had Been Lifted'

7:20am May 16, 2014

by Tovia Smith

Ten years ago this week, Massachusetts became the first state to legalize gay marriage. Attorney Mary Bonauto, one of the key drivers of the change, is a quiet, unassuming mother of two from Maine.

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Online Gambling In The Garden State Gets Off To A Slow Start

8:18pm May 15, 2014

by Jessica Gould

New Jersey legalized online gambling in 2013, expecting a big windfall in tax revenue, but it has earned less than $8 million so far. What's gone wrong with New Jersey's big bet?

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Protesters rally outside the Department of Children and Families in Hartford, Conn., in April. The state's decision to send a transgender teen to adult prison has galvanized juvenile justice and LGBT advocates.

When States Can't Control Violent Youth, Is Prison The Answer?

8:18pm May 15, 2014

by Lucy Nalpathanchil

A Connecticut judge has approved a rare request from the state's child welfare agency: to move a transgender teen to adult prison, even though she has not been charged with a crime.

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