Search results for

As we count down to the new year, we asked our readers what they thought were the top political stories of 2021. Here's what they picked.

Criminal groups are increasingly opting to deal in stolen smokes, police say. Some are even more interested in them than they are in illegal drugs. The money to be made is tempting. And gangs are willing to kill for it.

Some of the most vocal protesters who show up at President Obama's events are gay-rights activists, who say they've seen little to back up his promises to them, like ending "don't ask, don't tell." They found more to complain about when the Justice Department said it would appeal two pro-gay court rulings.

The suspect is accused of taking part in the 1998 bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa. His trial in New York City could set the stage for other terrorism-related cases to follow.

In the starkest cases, prosecutors have transported foreign defendants accused of bribery schemes from overseas military bases to the U.S. to face trial. But legal experts are balking at these strong-arm tactics that are designed for terrorism cases -- and what they say is a misuse of U.S. law enforcement resources.

Fifty-seven of the men had been approved to return home, or to third countries. Last year's failed Christmas Day plot, which was also traced to Yemen, forced the White House to suspend those plans. Last week's bomb plot puts two strikes against the detainees.

With Democratic leader Harry Reid's victory in Nevada, Republican hopes for taking over the Senate have faded — even as Reid's leadership will be put to the test in a more narrowly divided Senate with a handful of Tea Party members. Republicans have picked up six seats — in Indiana, Illinois, Arkansas, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin.

Few government agencies will make a more attractive target for GOP oversight than the Justice Department, which handles sensitive issues like civil rights and national security. A veteran of the Clinton Justice Department advises current department leaders to buckle their seat belts.

The White House will tomorrow renominate more than a dozen candidates for judicial positions on federal courts, a person familiar with the administration's plans tells NPR. The Senate failed to vote on the nominees last year.

The case, which the Justice Department dropped amid allegations of prosecutor misconduct, has been the focus of a criminal contempt investigation.