Feds: States Can’t Keep Fingerprints To Themselves

State and local law enforcement agencies cannot opt out of a federal program that uses the agencies’ fingerprint samples to enforce U.S. immigration laws, according to federal officials. One June 1, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued an order that the state would no longer participate in the federal Secure Communities program; Illinois took the [...]

Michele Bachmann’s Moment: Can She Sustain It?

Republican presidential hopeful Michele Bachmann, riding a wave of Tea Party excitement over her strong showing in a new Iowa caucus poll and a round of national media appearances, has conspicuously altered the early race for the GOP nomination. Just ask the Minnesota congresswoman’s home state rival for the GOP crown, former Gov. Tim Pawlenty, [...]

Baseball ‘Bot, Please Do My Dishes

Me: So what’s this? Dave Mosher: A state-of-the-art, baseball-catching robot. Me: A what? DM: A robot that catches baseballs without a glove. And when I say balls, that’s what I mean: this guy can catch two bare-handed — at the same time! Me: You don’t need to catch two balls in baseball. DM: Germans built [...]

Venus And Serena Williams Lose At Wimbledon On Same Day

Both Serena and Venus Williams were eliminated from Wimbledon’s singles tournament Monday, ending a streak of success at the grass event. Their exit means that for the first time since 2006, neither Williams sister will play in the Wimbledon women’s final. Here’s part of a Newscast report NPR’s Philip Reeves filed from London: On an [...]

Supreme Court Lets $270 Million Tobacco Award Stand

Cigarette makers must pay to help smokers in Louisiana quit their habit, as the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal by tobacco companies in a landmark class-action case. By refusing to throw out a $270 million jury award, the high court put an end to a case that began in May 1996, when some 500,000 [...]

Federal Judge Blocks Parts Of Georgia’s Immigration Law

A federal judge granted a request to block parts of Georgia’s immigration law. The AP reports: Judge Thomas Thrash on Monday blocked parts of the law that penalize people who transport or harbor illegal immigrants. He also blocked provisions that authorize officers to verify the immigration status of someone who can’t provide proper identification. As [...]

Helping Black Men Raise Failing Grades

This “Can I Just Tell You?” segment was written and voiced by NPR’s Tony Cox. Some thoughts about school and the struggles black kids face. Lots of folks with lots of experience have lots of opinions about what to do to better educate young African-American males. Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates recently offered yet another [...]

‘Just One More Thing’ About Falk, TV’s ‘Columbo’

Peter Falk, who was known to TV viewers around the world for his portrayal of the disheveled and seemingly inept homicide detective Lt. Columbo, died on Thursday. He was 83. Falk joined Fresh Air’s Terry Gross in 1995 for a discussion about his acting career and about what it was like to grow up with [...]

‘True Blood’ Returns; Let’s Run Down The Gaudiest Moments

Critic Mark Blankenship has been writing about True Blood for quite some time, and in honor of the show’s return, we’ve invited him to share his first Sucker Punch recap of the season here at Monkey See. You can find more of Mark’s writing (including past Sucker Punches) already archived. Please be advised that this [...]

A New Documentary Looks Back At A Famous Cup Of McDonald’s ‘Hot Coffee’

Question: What do you think is the most famous lawsuit of the last 50 years that didn’t involve an already-famous person? My guess is that it might be the case of Stella Liebeck. If Stella’s name doesn’t ring a bell, maybe “McDonald’s coffee” does. The Liebeck case became a legend largely because the narrative that [...]