Obama Administration

In March 2014, President Barack Obama directed Labor Secretary Tom Perez to modernize overtime protections. A federal judge Tuesday blocked implementation of the new rule set to go into effect Dec. 1

Federal Judge Blocks Obama Administration's Overtime Pay Rule

10:01pm November 22, 2016

by Brakkton Booker

About 4 million workers would have become eligible to earn overtime under the new rule set to go into effect Dec. 1. Business groups and 21 states sued. A Texas judge has now put the rule on hold.

White House Wants To Resettle 110,000 Refugees In U.S. Next Year

6:30pm September 14, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

Secretary of State John Kerry told lawmakers that the Obama administration wants to take in 110,000 refugees — up from 85,000 this fiscal year. It's not clear how many of them will be Syrian.

Queue Listen Now

The 10,000th Syrian Refugee Is Set To Arrive In The U.S. This Week

2:42pm August 28, 2016

by Merrit Kennedy

This will fulfill a goal set by the Obama administration one years ago. A group of several hundred refugees will depart from Jordan in the next day, bound for California and Virginia.

Jameel Jaffer, deputy legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union, listens during a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill, in July 2013.

National

Outgoing ACLU Director Reviews Tenure Fighting National Security Battles

6:46pm August 11, 2016

by NPR Staff

Jameel Jaffer of the ACLU Center for Democracy says the Obama administration made progress on issues such as CIA black sites. But the record is mixed on surveillance, drones and other issues.

Queue Listen Now

A fracking site is situated on the outskirts of town in the Permian Basin oil field in the town of Midland, Texas.

Federal Judge Strikes Down Obama Administration's Fracking Rules

10:12am June 22, 2016

by Camila Domonoske

A U.S. judge in Wyoming said the Bureau of Land Management can't regulate hydraulic fracturing — because more than a decade ago, Congress specifically excluded fracking from federal oversight.

Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell speaks in front of the Stonewall Inn in 2014 to announce a National Park Service initiative to identify historic sites related to the struggle for LGBT rights.

National

Long A Symbol, Stonewall Inn May Soon Become Monument To LGBT Rights

8:20am May 30, 2016

by Hansi Lo Wang

President Obama may use his executive authority to declare the site of the Stonewall riots in New York City as the first national monument dedicated to the struggle for LGBT rights.

Queue Listen Now

The UN-run Zaatari camp for Syrian refugees in Jordan.

Politics & Government

Religious Leaders Chide Lawmakers Over Syrian Refugees

4:44pm December 02, 2015

by Sarah McCammon

They say Congress should exercise "moral leadership" on the refugee issue.

President Barack Obama responds to questions on Russia's intervention in Syria during a news conference in the State Dining Room of the White House, October 2, 2015, in Washington, D.C.

When It Comes To Counterterrorism, Why Bush And Obama Aren't So Far Apart

10:54pm October 30, 2015

NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with New York Times reporter Charlie Savage about his new book, Power Wars: Inside Obama's Post-9/11 Presidency.

Queue Listen Now

National

Federal Government To Pay Long-Overdue $940 Million To Native American Tribes

5:08pm September 17, 2015

by Laura Wagner

The government had contracted with the tribes to provide services but then didn't pay the agreed-upon price. The parties are settling a decades-old lawsuit over it.

Republican presidential candidates Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas and businessman Donald Trump greet each on stage at a rally on Capitol Hill to oppose the Iran nuclear agreement.

Trump, Cruz Headline Tea Party Rally Against Iran Nuclear Deal

9:20pm September 09, 2015

by Brakkton Booker

Republican Sen. Ted Cruz told the crowd that if the Iran deal goes through, the Obama administration will be the "world's leading financier of radical Islamic terrorism."