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The Two-Way
11:51 am
Fri June 29, 2012

House Passes Bill That Will Keep Student Loans Interests From Rising

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 12:19 pm

By a vote of 373-52, the House passed a massive bill that among other things keeps the interest rate on student loans from doubling on July 1.

"The U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive bill on Friday combining funding for transportation programs, low-interest student loans, and the National Flood Insurance Program," the Reuters reports.

The Washington Post reports:

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The Two-Way
11:26 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Chief Justice's Critics Don't Understand What Judges Do, Gonzales Says

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Sept. 29, 2005: Then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, at lower right, watches as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts speaks after being sworn in.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 11:31 am

Conservative critics who say that Chief Justice John Roberts is some kind of traitor to their movement because he was the deciding vote in favor of upholding the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act "don't understand how these judges are supposed to discharge their responsibilities," Bush-era Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told NPR this morning.

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The Two-Way
11:18 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Assange Will Stay In Ecuadorian Embassy, Ignoring Surrender Notice

Julian Assange will defy a British Police notice to surrender. A member of his defense fund said the WikiLeaks founder will remain in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London because asylum law take precedence over an extradition order.

Saying he was afraid of persecution from the United States government and that his extradition to Sweden could hasten that, Assange has sought refuge and asylum from Ecuador.

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The Two-Way
10:53 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Chief Justice Roberts Jokes He's Headed To 'An Impregnable Fortress'

Credit Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts surprised the country yesterday by siding with the liberal wing of the court in the health care decision.

Roberts was appointed by President George W. Bush and has reliably taken conservative positions. But after yesterday's decision, you can bet his welcome from conservatives who saw him as a hero has chilled.

Speaking to a conference of judges and lawyers outside of Pittsburg, Roberts acknowledged his predicament.

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World
10:52 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Will Reforms End Myanmar Monks' Spiritual Strike?

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:26 pm

In response to political reforms in Myanmar — also known as Burma — the U.S. and other Western countries have eased some sanctions targeting the country's former military rulers.

But so far, one of the most powerful institutions inside the country has kept its sanctions in place. For some time, Myanmar's Buddhist clergy have effectively been on a spiritual strike by refusing to take donations from the military — a serious blow to the former regime's legitimacy.

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Law
9:56 am
Fri June 29, 2012

What Does Health Care Decision Mean For Patients?

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. My thanks to Viviana Hurtado for sitting in for me for a couple of days this week. Coming up we'll ask former attorney general Alberto Gonzales what he makes of the fact that the current attorney general Eric Holder has been declared in contempt of Congress. This is the first time that this has happened to a sitting attorney general.

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Law
9:56 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Gonzales On Chief Justice's Surprising Decision

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We want to get another angle on yesterday's Supreme Court decision on health care. The health care law would not have survived without the support of Chief Justice John Roberts. That support was surprising to many people, perhaps even shocking. He'd been seen as a solid conservative vote in the court but this week two opinions are making people rethink that: yesterday's health care decision and one earlier this week striking down much of Arizona's immigration enforcement law.

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Politics
9:56 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Former AG On Eric Holder Contempt Vote

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, we're going to take a look at elections in Mexico, but first, we're going to continue our conversation on some of the big news in this country.

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Latin America
9:56 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Is Drug War Issue Overrated In Mexico Elections?

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now we turn to presidential politics in Mexico. Americans are not the only people electing a new president this year. Mexicans are heading to the voting booth on Sunday. The frontrunner is Enrique Pena Nieto of the Institutional Revolutionary Party, also known as the PRI. That party dominated politics in Mexico for decades until a relatively recent time. The candidate in second place is Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador. He is with the Democratic Revolution Party.

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Sports
9:56 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Foul Play At Euro 2012 From Racist Fans

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Switching gears now to a subject that also inspires passion around the world, the finals are set at Euro 2012. That's Europe's big national team soccer tournament. It's being held in Ukraine and Poland this year. Italy got into the final, thanks to two goals from the striker, Mario Balotelli.

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'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup
9:45 am
Fri June 29, 2012

It's All Politics, June 28, 2012

A landmark decision by the Supreme Court on health care reverberates across the nation — and now comes the political implications. NPR's Ron Elving and guest host Don Gonyea break down the ruling and what it means for November.

Plus, the House votes to hold the attorney general in contempt of Congress. And a review of key primary races.

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The Two-Way
9:10 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Stockton, Calif., Files For Bankruptcy

Credit Ian Hill / KQED
Among the projects that have helped put Stockton in the red: this downtown multiplex, which opened in 2003 and cost $15 million in public and private money.

The city of Stockton, Calif., has officially filed for Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection, The Stockton Record writes.

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Around the Nation
8:47 am
Fri June 29, 2012

How To Avoid Bankruptcy (If You're A City)

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A headline in The Record newspaper in Stockton, Cailf., tells the story of the city's plan for operating under Chapter 9 bankruptcy protection following failed talks with bondholders and labor unions.

The city of Stockton, Calif., filed for federal bankruptcy protection Thursday, becoming the largest city in U.S. history to do so.

Some worry it's part of a wave. Six other municipalities have filed for bankruptcy protection this year. That's roughly on track with last year's pace, which saw 13 bankruptcies — the most in two decades.

A wave of municipal bankruptcies could be the country's next big financial crisis, several Wall Street analysts have warned.

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The Two-Way
8:41 am
Fri June 29, 2012

On The Morning After, Who's The Winner Is Everybody's Guess

Credit Kris Connor / Getty Images
Susan Clark (left) argues with another protester about the Affordable Care Act outside the U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 10:38 am

Figuring out who benefits most politically from Thursday's Supreme Court decision that upheld the constitutionality of President Obama's health care overhaul seems to be today's toughest assignment.

On It's All Politics, our colleague Frank James says it's "difficult to overstate how big a win" it was for Obama.

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It's All Politics
7:04 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Roberts' Ruling Recalls Other Moments When High Court Shocked the Nation

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court on the eve of a hearing about the Florida presidential election recount, Nov. 30, 2000. The justices later ruled 5-4 in the case of Bush v. Gore, effectively deciding the outcome of the presidential race.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 8:24 am

You may already have made a mental note as to where you were when you heard the Supreme Court had upheld the health care law known as Obamacare. It's one of those moments that become touchstones of our memory, personal connections to the history we have witnessed in our lifetimes.

The Supreme Court may not be the source of such moments very often, but when its rulings reach this level of our awareness, they alter the course of our lives.

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