NPR News

The Obama administration's controversial decision to require religiously affiliated institutions like universities and medical centers to provide workers with health insurance that covers prescription birth control without a co-pay appears to have support from a majority of voters, according to a new poll by Public Policy Polling.

California's Proposition 8 ban on same-sex marriages is unconstitutional, a three-judge panel of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled today in a much-anticipated decision from the nation's most populous state. The judges upheld a lower court's ruling.

As you'd expect, the ruling has drawn praise from those who support same-sex marriage and condemnation from those who oppose it. Both sides acknowledge that the decision isn't the last word on the subject — an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court is expected.

The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals declared California's same-sex marriage ban, known as Proposition 8, unconstitutional on Tuesday. This paves the way for a U.S. Supreme Court case that could have far-reaching implications for gay marriage around the country.

A year after recovering from malignant melanoma, Salon.com writer Mary Elizabeth Williams found out it had returned in the form of metastatic, Stage 4 cancer. In October 2011, she started a clinical trial for a new melanoma drug. Halfway through the trial, she discusses her "life as a lab rat."