Law

Alex Murdaugh awaits the beginning of his bond hearing in Columbia, S.C., on Oct. 19, 2021. Murdaugh pleaded not guilty on Wednesday to murdering his wife and son.

National

Disbarred S.C. attorney Alex Murdaugh pleads not guilty to murdering his wife and son

11:17am July 20, 2022

by The Associated Press

Court papers made public to date don't indicate how police linked the once-powerful lawyer to the June 2021 deaths. Prosecutors agreed to keep the evidence secret amid media attention.

Alabama's abortion laws didn't deter one site from offering reproductive health care

12:14pm July 19, 2022

by Kyle Gassiott

After the only abortion clinic in Montgomery, Ala., shut down, a next-door organization has been threading a legal needle to give reproductive health care to those coming from hundreds of miles away.

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Steven Dettelbach, President Joe Biden's pick to head the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, testifies before the Senate Judiciary Committee during his confirmation hearing, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 25, 2022, the mor

Recently confirmed, Steve Dettelbach steps in at a critical time to lead the ATF

11:48am July 19, 2022

by Ryan Lucas

The first head of the ATF confirmed by the Senate in seven years starts work Tuesday. Steve Dettelbach will lead the federal agency that regulates firearms amid a spike in gun violence.

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Guard towers surround the federal prison in Terre Haute, Ind., where the federal death row is located.

Have you been involved with a state or federal execution? We want to hear from you.

11:14am July 19, 2022

by Chiara Eisner

If you witnessed or helped conduct an execution in the United States, reporters at NPR would like to talk with you.

National

Jurors heard opening statements on the first day of the Parkland shooting trial

7:22am July 19, 2022

by Greg Allen

The gunman has admitted to killing 17 people and injuring 17 others in the 2018 attack at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida. The jury is deciding the sentence.

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Is the Supreme Court majority ruling on the law or their personal preference?

6:24am July 19, 2022

Critics say the Supreme Court's conservative supermajority is making ideological decision. Curt Levy of the Federalist Society tells NPR's Steve Inskeep the justices are following the rule of law.

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House Judiciary Committee Chairperson Jerry Nadler, D-N.Y., leads a hearing on the future of abortion rights following the overturning of Roe v. Wade by the Supreme Court, at the Capitol in Washington, July 14, 2022.

House to vote on same-sex marriage in an effort to push back against court

1:14am July 19, 2022

by The Associated Press

Tuesday's vote in the House is part political strategy in an election-year roll call that will force all lawmakers to go on the record with their views on the high-profile social issue.

Relatives and family members enter the courtroom after recess on the first day of the sentencing trial for Parkland school shooter Nikolas Cruz at the Broward County Judicial Complex on Monday in downtown Fort Lauderdale, Fla.

National

The prosecutor recounted the coldness and cruelty of Parkland gunman as trial begins

8:35pm July 18, 2022

by The Associated Press

The prosecutor seeking the death penalty for the gunman who massacred 17 people at a Parkland, Fla., high school detailed for jurors how he coldly mowed down his victims.

Supporters of former White House senior adviser Steve Bannon rally outside the U.S. District Court House during jury selection in his trial on July 18, 2022 in Washington, D.C.

Jury selection starts for Steve Bannon's trial. He's Donald Trump's former adviser

6:23pm July 18, 2022

by Carrie Johnson

Jury selection for Steve Bannon's contempt trial began Monday. The former adviser to Donald Trump is being accused of contempt of Congress.

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Wanda Palmer spent two years in a coma, but she recently emerged and identified her brother as the person who viciously attacked her in 2020.

National

Emerging from a 2-year coma, a West Virginia woman says her brother attacked her

4:52pm July 18, 2022

by Bill Chappell

Wanda Palmer barely survived the ordeal in June of 2020, when an assailant used what is believed to be a machete or hatchet to attack her in her home.