Search results for

The Iowa Supreme Court ruled last Friday that gay marriage was a constitutional right, making Iowa the fourth state to allow gay marriage. Also this week, Vermont legislators overturned a veto of a gay marriage bill, the first state legislature to vote in favor of gay marriage. Will other states follow?

President Obama has named Sonia Sotomayor as his choice to serve on the Supreme Court and succeed Justice David Souter, who will soon retire. If confirmed by the Senate, Sotomayor will become the first Hispanic and only the third woman appointed to the high court.

The Obama administration last week pledged to spend $275 billion in hopes of reducing mortgage interest rates and lowering monthly mortgage payments. Former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Henry Cisneros reacts to the bailout plan and discusses reasons behind current problems faced by the mortgage industry.

President Barack Obama spoke to a joint session of Congress for the first time last night before a national audience. He outlined an ambitious plan to repair the national economy, and reemphasized his commitment to health care, and education as top priorities. But some Republicans are skeptical of Obama's agenda.

President Barack Obama issued an executive order today to close the detention center at Guantanamo Bay within a year. The decision represents a critical break from Bush administration policies. James Yee, a former Muslim chaplain at the facility, discusses the move and those who say Guantanamo is a necessary tool in the war against terror.

President Barack Obama signs his economic stimulus plan into law today. But even the most ardent backers of the $787 billion recovery package caution Americans not to expect instant relief from the current crisis. Financial experts discuss what to expect from Obama's plan.

A car driven by a suicide bomber explodes outside a U.S. base in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, killing three Iraqis. In Baghdad, gunmen kill a senior member of Iraq's interior ministry. Several kidnappings of foreign workers are also reported. Hear NPR's Philip Reeves.

The Pakistani opposition is intensifying its campaign against President Gen. Pervez Musharraf and his imposition of emergency rule. Meantime, hundreds of lawyers have been detained, along with activists and other Musharraf opponents.

Lawyers opposed to Gen. Pervez Musharraf's candidacy in next week's presidential election engaged in running battles with police Saturday in Islamabad.

This week brought the deadliest fighting in Pakistan's tribal belt for years. The tribal people living in the in the mountains of Waziristan have been caught in the middle of the conflict, which has links to the war in neighboring Afghanistan.