From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.
MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:
And I'm Melissa Block. Two years ago, a backlash against the Obama administration's health care law helped propel Republicans to a House majority and today's Supreme Court ruling upholding the law prompted more Republican calls for repeal. Here's the speaker of the House, John Boehner.
REPRESENTATIVE JOHN BOEHNER: Today's ruling underscores the urgency of repealing this harmful law in its entirety.
We want to find out what today's ruling means for someone who's had difficulty with his health-care coverage. So we're turning to Shawn Pollock. He's 30 years old. He said he had excellent benefits until he was laid off from his job at a TV station, in 2009. He couldn't afford insurance, even under COBRA. And then he got viral meningitis and was hospitalized, leading him to be labeled high risk when he applied for insurance.
Shawn Pollock joins me now from Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Welcome to the program.
Now to the attorney general of Ohio, Republican Mike DeWine. Ohio was among the plaintiffs seeking to strike down the Affordable Care Act. And again, they ended up on the losing side today as the court upheld the law, including the individual mandate. Mike DeWine, welcome to the program.
MIKE DEWINE: Good to be back. Thank you very much.
For President Obama, today's high court ruling brought vindication. It would have been a stinging embarrassment for the former constitutional law professor had his signature domestic policy been struck down as unconstitutional. NPR's Scott Horsley reports on the political impact of the ruling.
More now on the Supreme Court where health care was not the only case decided today. The justices struck down the Stolen Valor Act, which made it a crime to lie about receiving military decorations or medals. The Court ruled it may be unethical to lie about receiving the Medal of Honor, but it's protected speech under the First Amendment.
NPR's Larry Abramson reports that veterans groups are disappointed, but they say the decision leaves room for Congress to try again.
For more now on the political impact of the Supreme Court ruling, we're joined by NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Mara, hi.
MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Hi, Melissa.
BLOCK: We heard jubilation from Democrats, some shock from Republicans there. This is clearly a very important legal win for the president and for his policy on health care. But until this point, health care has not always been a winning issue for the president. Let's listen to some of what he said today addressing that question.
People view the AIDS Memorial Quilt at the National Mall this week.
Credit Scott Stewart / AP
A sunrise ceremony is held in 1987 in Washington, near part of the quilt bearing the names of people who have died of AIDS.
Credit Stephen R. Brown / AP
Thousands of people examine the individual panels of the AIDS Memorial Quilt as it is displayed in Washington in 1992.
Credit Wilfredo Lee / AP
Volunteers lay out the quilt on the grounds of the Washington Monument in 1992.
Credit Jamal Wilson / AFP/Getty Images
Then-President Clinton and first lady Hillary Clinton visit the quilt on the Mall in 1992, when it was made up of 40,000 panels that covered the equivalent of 24 football fields.
Credit David La Spina / AFP/Getty Images
Marchers carry portions of the quilt through the Mall during a 2001 march in observance of the 20th year of public awareness of HIV and AIDS.
Credit Ebony Bailey / NPR
Visitors tour portions of the AIDS Memorial Quilt on display at the National Mall this week.
The AIDS Memorial Quilt is too big to display all in one piece. Since 1987, it has grown to more than 48,000 panels that honor the lives of more than 94,000 people who have died of AIDS. The last time the whole quilt was shown together was in 1996, on the National Mall. Now it's back in Washington, D.C., for its 25th anniversary.
Modern reproductive technologies can give older women the same chances of having a baby as younger women, researchers reported Wednesday.
The new study found that women age 31 and younger have about a 60 percent to 75 percent chance of having a baby after three IVF cycles. The chances drop to about 20 percent to 30 percent for women ages 41 or 42, and to about just 5 percent to 10 percent for those age 43 or older.
Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, N.C., where President Obama will accept his party's nomination on Sept. 6.
Credit Ron Edmonds / AP
Joe Manchin, then-governor of West Virginia, speaks at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver. Now a U.S. senator up for re-election, Manchin said he won't attend the convention in Charlotte, N.C.
This summer's Democratic National Convention has already gotten shorter, shrinking from the traditional four-day extravaganza to three days. Now it appears the attendance for the event is shrinking, too.
At least a dozen Democrats say they won't be able to make it to Charlotte, N.C., when the convention begins Sept. 4. It's no coincidence that all are facing tough election campaigns in places where President Obama's popularity lags.
In Yemen's capital, Sana'a, a sprawling tent city is beginning to be dismantled. It was home to thousands of protesters for more than a year. Known as Change Square, it came to look more like Change Mile as street after street became packed with demonstrators and their makeshift homes. Kelly McEvers reported from Yemen during last year's uprising and she went back and sent this report about the changes at Change Square.
