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Supreme Court upholds discrimination claims in housing case

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – A divided U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday embraced a broad interpretation of the type of civil rights allegations that can be made under the landmark Fair Housing Act by ruling that the law allows for discrimination claims based on seemingly neutral practices that may have a discriminatory effect. On a 5-4 vote in a major civil rights case, the court handed a victory to

The Obama legacy on race

When future historians look back on Obama’s presidency and try to understand his place in America’s racial evolution, they will almost certainly zero in on the one he gave Marc Maron in the comedian’s southern California garage last week, in which Obama dared to publicly utter the most explosive racial epithet in American life.

Supreme Court upholds key Obamacare insurance subsidies

By Lawrence Hurley WASHINGTON (Reuters) – The U.S. Supreme Court handed President Barack Obama a major victory on Thursday by upholding tax subsidies crucial to his signature healthcare law, with Chief Justice John Roberts saying Congress clearly intended for them to be available in all 50 states. The court ruled on a 6-3 vote that the 2010 Affordable Care Act, widely known as Obamacare, did not restrict the subsidies to

NY prison guard charged with giving tools to escapees for art

A corrections officer was due in court on Thursday as the second person charged with helping two murderers escape an upstate New York prison, accused of passing them tools hidden in frozen hamburger in exchange for artwork, court documents said. Guard Gene Palmer, 57, who was suspended with pay from Clinton Correctional Facility, was freed after posting $25,000 cash bail early on Thursday, the Clinton County Sheriff’s Department said. Law

Mayor faces complexities of poverty, crime in reviving N.J.'s largest city

A handful of streets in New Jersey’s largest city boast glistening apartment towers with floor-to-ceiling views of the Manhattan skyline, but much of the rest of Newark bears the scars of stubbornly high crime rates and persistent poverty. The complexities of life in Newark are reflected in graffiti, boarded-up houses and shattered car windows, stark reminders for Mayor Ras Baraka of the challenges he faces to attract people and investment