U.S.

National

California's Proposition 8 Gets Its Day In The Supreme Court

5:58pm March 27, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

The Supreme Court began a two-day legal test of gay marriage laws on Tuesday, and the questions asked by some of the justices suggested they did not think the California ban on same-sex marriage belonged in their court.

Queue Listen Now

Proposition 8 Case Has High Political Stakes For Both Parties

5:58pm March 27, 2013

Mara Liasson joins talks to Audie Cornish about the politics of Tuesday's court argument on gay marriage. Public opinion has shifted rapidly in favor on the issue, and the Supreme Court decision this summer on whether states can ban same-sex marriage and whether federal benefits should flow to same sex partners promise to roil the water again.

Queue Listen Now

Expanded Definition Of Disability Created Million Dollar Opportunity For Lawyers

5:58pm March 27, 2013

by Chana Joffe-Walt

As part of our continuing series on the rapid rise in the number of people receiving federal disability payments, we explore the world of disability lawyers.

Queue Listen Now

At Arguments, Supreme Court Takes Halting Steps Into Gay Marriage Issue

5:58pm March 27, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

At oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's law banning same-sex marriage, the justices parried over the history of the institution of marriage. They also debated an essential question: Should the case be in the Supreme Court at all?

Queue Listen Now

A pro-gay-marriage protester stands in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday, the first of two days of oral arguments on challenges to laws that limit the definition of marriage to unions of a man and a woman.

National

DOMA Challenge Tests Federal Definition Of Marriage

1:15pm March 27, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court hears arguments Wednesday on the constitutionality of the Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition and benefits for same-sex couples. The case involves a woman charged a hefty estate tax when her spouse died, which she would not have owed if her spouse had been a man.

Queue Listen Now

Some insurers prefer to pay for manual breast pumps, but some working moms prefer more expensive, electric models.

Law Says Insurers Should Pay For Breast Pumps, But Which Ones?

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Kristian Foden-Vencil

Health insurers are obligated to cover pumps to help moms breast-feed. But there is a variety of equipment. Some nursing mothers prefer faster, electric models that cost more. Insurers may say a less expensive manual pump would do just fine.

Queue Listen Now

Stockton Unified School District Police Officer Myra Franco and Chief Jim West patrol 50 schools in California's Central Valley region. One of the campuses was the site of a 1989 shooting massacre.

How To Be The Good Guy With A Gun At School

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Richard Gonzales

In the aftermath of the Newtown school shooting, there's a raging public debate over placing armed guards in schools. Some say it's impractical, but about a third of American schools already have some kind of armed security. One school police officer in Stockton, Calif., finds the job is part protector, part mentor.

Queue Listen Now

Good Luck With That 'Perfect' March Madness Bracket. You'll Need It

9:30am March 27, 2013

by Adam Cole

Millions of basketball fans will fill out NCAA tournament brackets this week and try to correctly predict the outcomes of every game. The chances of succeeding are about 1 in 150 quintillion. A group of computer scientists are trying to beat those odds by writing programs that learn to pick winners.

Queue Listen Now

Snow covers flowers in front of the Supreme Court building on Monday in Washington, D.C. On Tuesday, the justices hear oral arguments on the constitutionality of California's Proposition 8, which banned gay marriage.

In First Of 2 Gay-Marriage Cases, Court Turns To Proposition 8

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

The justices on Tuesday hear a case that stems from a constitutional challenge to the California ban on same-sex marriage that was enacted by voter initiative in 2008. And on Wednesday, the court hears a challenge to the federal law that bars the U.S. government from recognizing gay marriages.

Queue Listen Now

Pam Thatcher and her family ultimately moved into her mother's two-bedroom apartment because they couldn't make rent.

'American Winter' Families Struggle To Survive Fall From Middle Class

9:57am March 26, 2013

by Karen Grigsby Bates

Diedre Melson, John Cox and Pam Thatcher are college-educated parents who once considered themselves part of the middle class. Then the Great Recession hit. A new HBO documentary shows their families desperately trying to make ends meet.

Queue Listen Now