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As the Supreme Court takes up fundamental challenges to voting rights laws and affirmative action, the storied NAACP Legal Defense Fund prepares to take on a new leader, Sherrilyn Ifill.

Some signs are pointing to an agreement being reached soon to avoid the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts. Of course, President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner have tried to strike a "grand bargain" before, only to have it fall apart.

New Mexico leaders are weighing in on the debate about gun laws in the wake of the deadly mass shooting in Newtown, Connecticut.US Representative Martin…

Starting in January, the French government will provide contraceptives for girls ages 15 to 18 — without charge and without parental notification. The measure, which passed parliament without debate, aims to reduce teen pregnancies by increasing access to birth control and education.

In a switch, Medicare began covering smoking cessation counseling for smokers without symptoms of disease back in 2010. Beneficiaries are eligible for up to two four-session smoking cessation counseling attempts a year.

State and local officials are rooting for President Obama and Congress to quickly reach a budget deal. They anticipate the fiscal pain that would result from automatic cuts, and know things could even be worse from the negotiated belt-tightening behind any pact. But at this point, they just want some certainty.

There are some warnings parents drill into their kids: don't drink, don't smoke, and don't do drugs. Now that Washington state and Colorado have legalized marijuana, those conversations just got more complicated. Host Michel Martin speaks with pediatrician Dr. Leslie Walker for advice on how to talk with young children and teens about marijuana.

Global deaths from malaria have dropped sharply in the past decade, thanks in part to powerful drugs called artemisinins. But on the border between Thailand and Myanmar, doctors are starting to see cracks in artemisinin's armor. The medicine is working more slowly, and sometimes not at all.

Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder vetoed a bill on Tuesday that would have allowed people with concealed pistol permits to carry guns in schools. He was under widespread pressure to veto it after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., last week. Robert Siegel talks to Rick Pluta of Michigan Public Radio.

An unassuming brick building in Brooklyn houses a factory that makes animatronic puppets, elves and polar bears for the holiday season. NPR's Neda Ulaby drops by Mechanical Displays Inc. to talk with Lou Nasti, who's been at it for almost 44 years.