Law

National

Activist Gloria Steinem reflects on abortion rights as they hang in the balance

5:02pm December 09, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with activist Gloria Steinem on the fight to secure abortion rights more than 50 years ago and what the possible overturning of 'Roe v. Wade' may mean for women's rights.

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A makeshift memorial sits outside Oxford High School in Oxford, Mich., last week.

National

Oxford shooting victim's family files $100 million suit, saying the school failed her

1:59pm December 09, 2021

by Bill Chappell

The lawsuit says "multiple concerned parents" alerted school officials to violent threats two weeks before the shooting at the Michigan high school, only to be told there was no reason to worry.

Staff at Oxford High School flagged concerning behavior by Ethan Crumbley just hours before he opened fire. Despite the concerns, he was not sent home or placed in in-school suspension.

National

Actions by school staff before Michigan shooting fuel questions about their liability

12:17pm December 09, 2021

by Becky Sullivan

After his teacher found a disturbing drawing, the suspect was allowed to return to class without a search of his backpack or locker. "A lot could have been done different," the prosecutor has said.

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a challenge from parents in Maine who want to use a state tuition program to send their children to religious schools.

Supreme Court signals further erosion of separation of church and state in schools

8:40pm December 08, 2021

by Nina Totenberg

The handwriting on the wall came during a nearly two-hour argument involving a challenge brought by two Maine families to the state's unusual way of providing public education.

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A voter waits to cast a ballot at the Graham Civic Center polling location in Graham, N.C., Nov. 3, 2020. On Dec. 8, 2021, the North Carolina Supreme Court delayed the 2022 statewide primaries by two months to give redistricting legal challenges more time

North Carolina delays 2022 primaries to give redistricting challenges more time

7:49pm December 08, 2021

by Steve Harrison

The midterm primaries for North Carolina's U.S. Senate seat, 14 U.S. House seats and 170 legislative seats have been moved from March until May by the state Supreme Court due to voting map lawsuits.

Kim Potter, the 49-year-old former police officer accused of manslaughter in the death of 20-year-old Daunte Wright.

National

Trial begins for ex-officer Kim Potter, who fatally shot Daunte Wright

6:28pm December 08, 2021

by Becky Sullivan

Defense lawyers argued that Potter's use of a weapon was justified, even as they acknowledged she meant to draw her Taser, not her handgun. "She's a human being," said attorney Paul Engh.

Supreme Court hears Maine case about state funds being used for religious education

4:41pm December 08, 2021

by Nina Totenberg

The Supreme Court heard arguments in a case that could expand state aid to religious schools. On one side is the school choice movement, and on the other is Maine, defending its public education.

Rep. Schiff on the Protecting Our Democracy Act

4:41pm December 08, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Rep. Adam Schiff, D-Calif., on the Protecting Our Democracy Act and the investigation into the Jan. 6 Capitol riots.

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Starbucks workers and organizers in Buffalo, N.Y., discuss efforts to unionize three local stores on Oct. 28.

National

Starbucks workers decide whether to form first U.S. union

2:48pm December 08, 2021

Voting is ending at three stores around Buffalo, N.Y. Starbucks had flown in executives to the area and asked federal officials to delay the ballot count.

Actor Rose McGowan, who accused Weinstein of raping her more two two decades ago and then of destroying her career, joins other accusers and protesters as Harvey Weinstein arrives at a Manhattan court house for the start of his January 2020 trial in New Y

A federal judge dismisses Rose McGowan's lawsuit against Harvey Weinstein

11:21am December 08, 2021

by Joe Hernandez

The actor said that as she was preparing to publish a memoir with details of an alleged assault by Weinstein, he hired lawyers and investigators to obtain a copy of the book and discredit her.