Law

National

Judge will hear arguments in a case that could threaten access to medication abortion

5:11am March 15, 2023

A federal judge in Texas with deep ties to conservative religious groups will hear arguments in a case that could decide the future of access to a key abortion pill.

In this 2022 image from video released by the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office, Alec Baldwin stands in costume and speaks with investigators following a fatal shooting on a movie set in Santa Fe, N.M.

National

Special prosecutor steps down in case against Alec Baldwin

3:29am March 15, 2023

by The Associated Press

Alec Baldwin's legal team sought to disqualify special prosecutor and Republican state Rep. Andrea Reeb of Clovis based on constitutional provisions that safeguard the separation of powers.

Prescription drug coverage is just one part of Medicare, the federal government's health insurance program for people age 65 and over.

Why Medicare is suddenly under debate again

2:41pm March 14, 2023

As the White House and Republicans in Congress gear up for negotiations over the U.S. debt ceiling, how to pay for senior health care could be a sticking point, even if cuts are "off the table."

Queue Listen Now

This image provided by the Mississippi Department of Corrections shows Axel Cox, 24, of Gulfport, Miss. Cox, who burned a cross in his front yard to intimidate his Black neighbors in December 2020, was sentenced Thursday, March 9, 2023, to 42 years in prison.

National

A man burned a cross in a hate crime. He's now being sentenced to 3.5 years in prison

4:45am March 14, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

Axel Cox said he chose to burn the cross in front of his Black neighbors because of their race, saying he "intended to scare them into moving out of the neighborhood."

In this Jan. 12, 2016, file photo, a ride share car displays Lyft and Uber stickers on its front windshield in downtown Los Angeles. A California appeals court ruled March 13, 2023, that a voter-backed initiative exempting Uber and Lyft from a key provision of state employment law is constitutional, a reversal of a lower court decision that marks a win for the ride-hailing giants.

National

California court says Uber, Lyft can treat state drivers as independent contractors

3:35am March 14, 2023

by The Associated Press

The ruling mostly upholds a voter-approved law that said drivers for ride-share companies are independent contractors and are not entitled to benefits like paid sick leave and unemployment insurance.

The FBI seal is pictured in Omaha, Neb., Aug. 10, 2022. The number of hate crimes in the U.S. jumped again in 2021, continuing an alarming rise, according to FBI data released Monday, March 13, 2023. Most victims were targeted due to race or ethnicity, followed by sexual orientation and religion.

New FBI data show reported hate crimes in the U.S. jumped in 2021

3:18am March 14, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

Nationally, the number of hate crimes reported by the FBI increased from 8,120 in 2020 to 9,065 in 2021.

A Texas man sues ex-wife's friends for allegedly helping her get abortion pills

5:06am March 13, 2023

by Sarah McCammon

A civil lawsuit against three Texans accused of helping a woman get abortion pills may lay the groundwork for prosecutors to seek criminal charges in such cases.

Ayako Marsh Miranda says that as a Black woman, she represents 0.7% of all appraisers in the U.S. She'd like a federal mandate for anti-bias training in the field.

Racial bias often creeps into home appraisals. Here's what's happening to change that

5:01am March 13, 2023

by Jennifer Ludden

Black and Latinx homes are more likely to be undervalued by real estate appraisers, who are mostly older white men. New recruiting and technology aims to change how appraisals are done and by whom.

Queue Listen Now

People walk on the Stanford University campus beneath Hoover Tower in Stanford, Calif., on March 14, 2019. Stanford University says it is investigating after multiple swastikas and an image of Adolf Hitler were found on a door Saturday at a Stanford student residence hall.

Stanford University investigates swastikas and Hitler image left on student's door

1:08am March 13, 2023

by Jonathan Franklin

News of the instance of antisemitism is one of several hate incidents reported on Stanford's campus this academic year.

Trump's interactions with Stormy Daniels are in the spotlight again

5:14pm March 12, 2023

Former president Donald Trump has been invited to speak to a Manhattan grand jury this week. Former prosecutor Harry Litman tells NPR's Michel Martin what this means.