Politics

Newsom proposes individuals sue others over banned guns, like the Texas abortion law

5:07pm December 28, 2021

by Scott Shafer

After the U.S. Supreme Court refused to block private citizens from suing abortion providers, California Gov. Gavin Newsom said he wants to use the Texas strategy as a model for gun control.

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From left: Julien Xavier Neals, nominee to be U.S. district judge for the District of New Jersey; Zahid Quraishi, nominee to be judge for the District of New Jersey; and Regina Rodriguez, nominee to be judge for the District of Colorado, are sworn in duri

Politics & Government

Biden had a productive year picking federal judges. The job could get tougher in 2022

11:31am December 28, 2021

by Carrie Johnson

President Biden has gotten a diverse group of 40 federal judges confirmed in 2021, the most for a new president since the Reagan era.

After serving a year in the state House as Colorado's first lawmaker to use a wheelchair, Democratic Rep. David Ortiz uses the new House chamber lift to get to the podium and slam the gavel for the very first time.

Colorado's first lawmaker to use a wheelchair will finally get to wield the gavel

10:46am December 28, 2021

by Bente Birkeland

State Rep. David Ortiz was paralyzed from the waist down while serving in Afghanistan. To give him access to the House podium, legislative staff say they have built the first lift of its kind.

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Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson on the state of the pandemic

4:58pm December 27, 2021

NPR's Mary Louise Kelly speaks with Gov. Asa Hutchinson, R-Ark., about Monday's call with the White House and governors about the pandemic.

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Daisy Hohman was separated from her three children for 20 months when they were placed in foster care. When Hohman was reunited with her children, she received a bill of nearly $20,000 for foster care from her Minnesota county.

States send kids to foster care and their parents the bill — often one too big to pay

4:35pm December 27, 2021

In every state, governments charge parents for the cost of foster care when children are taken away. When that happens, NPR found, poor parents can't make ends meet, so families are kept apart longer.

Stacey Abrams discusses running again for Ga. governor and her new children's book

7:46am December 27, 2021

NPR's Rachel Martin talks to Stacey Abrams about her second bid to be Georgia's governor, and the lessons about drawing strength from failure in her new children's book: Stacey's Extraordinary Words.

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A Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission plaque is seen along a roadside in New Castle, Pa. A recent review of all 2,500 markers has resulted in the state removing two markers, revising two and ordering new text for two others so far.

Racial reckoning turns focus to roadside historical markers

3:17am December 27, 2021

by The Associated Press

Pennsylvania is reviewing its 2,500 roadside markers, scrutinizing factual errors, inadequate historical context, and racist or otherwise inappropriate references.

Wanda Olson poses for a photo in Villa Rica, Ga., on Dec. 17. When Olson's son-in-law died in March after contracting COVID-19, she and her daughter had to grapple with more than just their sudden grief. They had to come up with money for a cremation. Eve

FEMA wants to give families up to $9,000 for COVID funerals, but many don't apply

12:13pm December 26, 2021

by The Associated Press

A federal program reimburses families up to $9,000 for funeral costs for loved ones who died of COVID-19. But many eligible families have not applied for assistance.

Sudanese activists want the U.S. to support their push for democracy

8:06am December 26, 2021

by Eyder Peralta

NPR's Eyder Peralta speaks with Ambassador Jeffrey Feltman, U.S. Special Envoy for the Horn of Africa, about the ongoing conflicts in that region.

NYC bans natural gas in new buildings in an effort to combat climate change

8:06am December 26, 2021

by Eyder Peralta

NPR's Eyder Peralta talks to David Iaconangelo of E&E News about New York City's recent ban on natural gas in new buildings and its national implications.

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