New state laws requiring voters to show identification before casting a ballot have been hotly debated during this election season. Now the civil rights group, the NAACP, is appealing to the United Nations Human Rights Council for support. Host Michel Martin talks with the group's Hillary Shelton.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/15/148678008/naacp-takes-case-against-voter-id-laws-to-un?ft=1&f=1014

Nye, Glenn C. Oberstar, James L. Obey, David R. Olson, Pete Olver, John W.

Kimberley Strassel, WSJ
And it is on to Illinois.Rick Santorum's double victory yesterday in the Alabama and Mississippi GOP primaries was just the lifeline his campaign needed coming out of the mixed Super Tuesday results.While his victory in both states was narrow, it nonetheless denied Mitt Romney any bragging rights in the South and provided more than enough justification for Mr. Santorum to continue battling on against the delegate front-runner. Newt Gingrich's failure to win two Deep South states, and the growing calls for him to exit, have also taken Mr. Santorum one step closer to proclaiming this...

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/03/15/romney_team_pulls_out_all_the_stops_in_illinois_275472.html

Mack, Connie Maffei, Daniel B. Maloney, Carolyn B. Manzullo, Donald A. Marchant, Kenny

Abby Rapoport, American Prospect
You don’t have to be a genius to know the basics of running for office: Look sharp, love America, take in big money, and—most important—promise you won’t raise taxes. Thanks to Grover Norquist and his band of anti-tax crusaders, raising taxes has come to seem akin to murdering puppies and loving terrorists. Even during the worst fiscal crisis in 80 years, if you’re a state lawmaker, you must cut core government programs without ever mentioning the “T” word. And if, God forbid, you decide to raise taxes anyhow, do...

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/03/15/dems_need_not_fear_tax_hikes_275515.html

Van Hollen, Chris Velázquez, Nydia M. Visclosky, Peter J. Walden, Greg Walz, Timothy J.

Phil Klein, DC Examiner
When President Obama pitched his national health care legislation to a joint session of Congress in Sept. 2009, he declared that, "the plan I'm proposing will cost around $900 billion over 10 years." This week, a new report by the Congressional Budget Office exposed the dishonesty of this claim. As Democrats set out to craft national health care legislation in early 2009, they faced a problem. Obama had just signed a $787 billion economic stimulus package, the U.S. fiscal situation was rapidly deteriorating and Americans were starting to get antsy about excessive federal...

Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2012/03/15/poetic_justice_amp_obama039s_2_trillion_health_law_275510.html

McCarthy, Kevin McCaul, Michael T. McClintock, Tom McCollum, Betty McCotter, Thaddeus G.

All of Japan's nuclear power plants will be offline by April and might never restart. That's forcing the country to increase its reliance on coal, oil and natural gas. This could cost the country an extra $100 million per day and significantly increase carbon dioxide emissions.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/11/148136383/nuclear-woes-push-japan-into-a-new-energy-future?ft=1&f=1007

Mollohan, Alan B. Moore, Dennis Moore, Gwen Moran, James P. Moran, Jerry

In Syria, clashes continue between forces loyal to President Bashar Assad and rebel groups. On the diplomatic side, Kofi Annan has announced he will brief the Security Council on Friday about his meetings with the president in Syria last week. Melissa Block talks with three guests about different perspectives on what should occur in Syria. Anne-Marie Slaughter is a professor of politics and international affairs at Princeton University and is former director of planning at the State Department. Paul Wolfowitz is a visiting scholar the American Enterprise Institute and former deputy secretary of Defense. And Daniel Serwer was a former U.S. special envoy and coordinator for the Bosnian Federation.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/14/148617389/commentators-consider-solutions-in-syria?ft=1&f=1004

Lummis, Cynthia M. Lungren, Daniel E. Lynch, Stephen F. McCarthy, Carolyn McCarthy, Kevin

Rick Santorum won the Alabama and Mississippi primaries last night, despite being outspent by GOP front-runner Mitt Romney. Santorum's wins raise questions about the candidates' ability to connect with the party's base. Host Michel Martin speaks with Mississippi Public Broadcasting's Jeffrey Hess and John Archibald of The Birmingham News.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/14/148593254/alabama-voters-shifting-further-to-the-right?ft=1&f=1014

Simpson, Michael K. Sires, Albio Skelton, Ike Slaughter, Louise McIntosh Smith, Adam

All was not gloom and doom for the on-again, off-again, on-again frontrunner for the Republican presidential nomination. A new Pew Research poll indicated that Romney was once again the clear favorite nationally among Republicans and GOP-leaning independents for the nomination, leading Rick Santorum 33 to 24 percent in a poll that was in the field through Sunday.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2012/03/14/148602950/pew-poll-good-news-bad-news-for-romney?ft=1&f=1003

Lamborn, Doug Lance, Leonard Langevin, James R. Larsen, Rick Larson, John B.

Rick Santorum racked up victories in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday, again denying Mitt Romney the mantle of inevitability he has sought for weeks. Romney will be favored in the next big contest in Illinois, but he'll have a long wait before being able to deliver a knockout blow to his rivals.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2012/03/14/148563390/after-santorum-wins-romney-hopes-to-regain-edge?ft=1&f=1014

Cassidy, Bill Castle, Michael N. Castor, Kathy Chaffetz, Jason Chandler, Ben

All of our food crops are descended from plants that once grew wild. But the line that separates a despised weed from a valuable crop is sometimes a very fuzzy one.

Source: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2012/03/12/148312077/how-a-sunflower-gene-crossed-the-line-from-weed-to-crop?ft=1&f=1007

Johnson, Sam Johnson, Timothy V. Jones, Walter B. Jordan, Jim Kagen, Steve