The Associated Press

Judge Richard Shelby today denied a request by the state of Utah that sought to halt same-sex marriage until the appeals process plays out.

The same judge overturned Utah’s ban on same-sex marriage Friday, ruling it is unconstitutional.

Utah lawyers are expected to ask a higher court to put the ...

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Here & Now’s Robin Young and Jeremy Hobson hosted special coverage of President Obama’s year-end news conference today, with NPR White House correspondent Scott Horsley, NPR national security correspondent Larry Abramson and NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner.

Citing progress on the economy, President Barack Obama ...

Tonight, cloudy, some drizzle possible.  Warmer than recent nights, low 47.

The warming trend continues through the weekend.  Saturday: Cloudy/56.  Sunday: Rainy/69.

President Barack Obama has dismissed suggestions this is his worst year.  Speaking with reporters at the White House for a year-end news conference, he said the criticism is tied to his vacillating poll numbers.  He said his concern is growing the economy and noted that it is finally showing significant progress.  The government reported today the economy grew at a solid 4.1 percent annual rate from July through September, the fastest pace since late 2011 and significantly higher than previously believed.

Ugandan lawmakers have passed an anti-gay bill that calls for life imprisonment for certain homosexual acts, drawing criticism from rights campaigners who called it "the worst in the world."  The major offences which carry a life sentence include repeated sex offenses among consenting adults.  

A federal judge has struck down Utah's same-sex marriage ban, saying it is unconstitutional.  The judge said Utah's law, passed by voters in 2004, violates gay and lesbian couples' rights to due process and equal protection under the 14th Amendment.  He said the state failed to show that allowing same-sex marriages would affect opposite-sex marriages in any way.  Attorneys for the state had argued that Utah's law promotes the state's interest in "responsible procreation" and the "optimal mode of child-rearing."

A roughly $633 billion dollar defense bill awaits President Obama's signature. The bill covers combat pay, new ships and military bases.  It also cracks down on sexual assault in the military. Among other things, the bill strips a military commander's ability to overturn jury convictions and requires a civilian review if a commander decides not to prosecute a case.

New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is set to sign a bill to allow undocumented immigrants to pay in-state tuition rates at the state's colleges. The governor agreed to sign the bill after a provision making undocumented students eligible for financial aid was removed.

Target says it has fixed the problem that caused 40 million credit and debit card numbers to be stolen. The company still hasn't disclosed exactly how the breach occurred. Stolen information includes customer names, credit and debit card numbers and card expiration dates.

The U.N. says 34,000 people are seeking refuge at its bases in South Sudan. Violence broke out within South Sudan's presidential guard late Sunday and has since spread across the country, leading to fears of a civil war between ethnic groups.

 

Target says it’s fixed the problem that allowed credit and debit card information on as many as 40 million accounts to be stolen. It says credit card holders can continue to shop at its stores.

But the chain also says customers should check their statements carefully for unauthorized charges.

Customers ...

An antique Stradivarius violin that was stolen from its owner at a London railway station in 2010 has fetched almost 1.4 million pounds ($2.3 million) at auction.

Good evening, here are the latest headlines from the WNYC newsroom.

Good evening, here are the latest headlines from the WNYC newsroom.

Criminal charges are coming in the death of a New York City college student who was forced to run a gauntlet during a fraternity ritual, a northeastern Pennsylvania prosecutor said Thursday.

Good evening, here are the latest headlines from the WNYC newsroom.

The High Line, a park that turned a dilapidated stretch of elevated railway on Manhattan's West Side into one of New York's newest tourist attractions, may have brought a different ki...

Illinois lawmakers are convening in the state capitol for what could be a historic vote to finally close the gap on the state’s $100 billion public pension shortfall, which is considered the nation’s worst.

On the table is a proposed plan, unveiled last week by Democratic and Republican leaders of ...

The Montana attorney general’s office on Friday asked the state Supreme Court to throw out a 30-day sentence given to a teacher who raped a 14-year-old girl, saying the punishment was illegally lenient.

The state formally filed its arguments in the appeal of the highly criticized sentence for Stacey Rambold, ...

Anti-government protesters swarmed into the Thai prime minister’s office compound Tuesday as police stood by and watched, allowing them to claim a symbolic victory after three days of bitter clashes. The unexpected reversal in the government’s strategy brings at least a lull in the violence before the revered king’s 86th ...

A member of the National Transportation Safety Board says investigators plan to conduct interviews Monday or Tuesday with the engineer and conductor of the train involved in a fatal derailment in New York City.

The crash Sunday killed four people and injured more than 60 others.

The NTSB’s Earl Weener ...

In a widely watched case, a Spanish court has acquitted a 28-year-old concert pianist on charges of causing noise pollution and psychological damage to a neighbor.

The prosecutor who led the investigation into the Newtown school shootings says it did not determine a motive for the attack.

By BRADLEY KLAPPER, JULIE PACE and MATTHEW LEE

With their destination and mission among America’s closest guarded secrets, the small group of officials hand-picked by President Barack Obama boarded a military plane in March.

The travel plans of the U.S. diplomats and foreign policy advisers were not on any public ...

Alex Rodriguez walked out of his grievance hearing Wednesday after arbitrator Fredric Horowitz refused to order baseball Commissioner Bud Selig to testify.

Horowitz was in the midst of the 11th day of hearings on the grievance filed by the players' association to overturn the 211-game suspension given to Rodriguez by ...