NPR News 2013-06-27 加文本

NPR News 2013-06-27

From NPR News in Washington, I'm Lakshmi Singh.

A divided Supreme Court has struck down the Defense of Marriage Act, saying it was unconstitutional because it denied equal protection to legally married same-sex couples. The court also cleared the way for the resumption of same-sex marriage in California after ruling that groups have put Proposition 8 on the ballot didn't have the authority to defend it after state officials declined to do so. Reaction is coming in from members of Congress to the ruling on DOMA, and divisions certainly run deep. Here’s NPR's Tamara Keith.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi celebrated the court's decision, saying it’d been the arc of history once again toward justice.

“Justice was done for thousands of LGBT families nationwide. Just think of what it means to them.”

She criticized House Republican leaders for spending more than two million in taxpayer dollars to defend the provision of the law now deemed unconstitutional. Republican leaders say they had to because the Obama administration refused to defend the law passed by Congress and signed by President Clinton. Majority Leader Eric Cantor said in a statement he is disappointed in the decision, and that the debate will now continue in the states. Tamara Keith, NPR News, the Capitol.

Activists on both sides of the debate are now preparing for legal ballots on the state level. Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force:

“We now have 37 states across the country where we will continue to work in a variety of ways to advance marriage equality so that any couple doesn't have to travel to another state simply to marry the person they love.”

Kim Daniels with the US Conference of Catholic Bishops says today's rulings raise new concerns about the rights of voters, like those who favored probate a few years ago.

“While the court didn’t itself strike down probate, its fate remains in question, and in this way it missed an opportunity to pull the voices of millions of Californians, who voted to protect marriage as a unique meaning.”

In other news, celebrity cook Paula Deen made a tearful appearance on national television today. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports it’s her first public interview since she was dropped from the food network after an admission she used a racial slur in past.

The Savannah, Georgia-based southern cook had backed out of a Friday appearance on NBC's Today Show, but today told Matt Lauer she is not a racist.

“I can truthfully say in my life I have never with any intention hurt anybody on purpose, and I never would.”

She also said if there’s anyone who has never said something they regreted, that they should pick up a rock and roll it at her head to kill her. Deen has been embroiled in controversy after admitting to using a racial slur during a deposition in an empolyee lawsuit. Debbie Elliott, NPR News. Dow Jones Industrial Average up 175 points, more than 1%, at 14,935. From Washington, this is NPR News.The government says the US economy grew much more slowly than previously estimated during the first three months of the year. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that consumer spending was lower than first thought.

The Commerce Department released its final estimate of growth in the first quarter of the year. The economy grew 1.8%, down substantially from the last estimate of 2.4%. The number fell largely because consumer spending was lower than first thought. The decline suggests that increases in taxes at the federal level are taking a bite out of people's disposable income. The lower growth estimated something of a surprise. There have been numerous indications that the economy is strengthening after a long period of sluggish growth. Federal Reserve policymakers have said they may scale back their stimulus efforts. But the latest numbers suggest that growth isn't as strong as first thought. Jim Zarroli, NPR News, New York.

Authorities have charged Patriots tight end Aaron Hernandez with murder and weapons counts in connection with the death of a semi-pro football player whose body was found at an industrial park about a mile from Hernandez's home. Earlier Hernandez was kicked out of the New England Patriots. The team issued a statement saying they were compelled to release him hours after he was arrested at his home in connection with the homicide.

Firefighters are getting a much needed break in their operation against a wildfire in Colorado southwestern mountains. The winds have died down a bit, but the town of South Fork is still threatened by that blaze that has scorched about 124 square miles.

I'm Lakshmi Singh, NPR News.