Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. To all appearances, Chris and Lisa Faris seemed to have it all together. He rose through the ranks of the U.S. Special Operations Command to become its top enlisted man, command sergeant major, and his wife tended to their family and many others on his long deployments.

Three days after Vice President Joe Biden voiced his own support, President Barack Obama described his "evolution" on the issue and became the first sitting president in U.S. history to declare himself in favor of same-sex marriage. Listeners react to the news.

The California sunshine can't hurt. It may help keep teens outdoors where they're less likely to snack, and more likely to move around.

But this isn't the explanation for why teens in the Golden State eat 158 fewer calories a day than kids in other states.

California teens, it turns out, are eating less at school, according to a new study in the Archives of Pediatric and Adolescent Medicine. And that little bit less per kid can add up to big calorie savings over time, nutrition experts say.

In 2008, a horse named Eight Belles collapsed with two broken ankles just after finishing second in the Kentucky Derby. She was euthanized directly on the track. After her death, the thoroughbred industry organized safety and drug testing committees to make the sport safer.

But industry practices continue to put both horses and riders in harm's way. On average, 24 horses a week die at racetracks in the United States. Many horses that break down run with injuries masked by injected painkillers.

America's self-proclaimed toughest sheriff is facing a lawsuit from the federal government.

Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa County, Ariz., sheriff, became a controversial national figure for his tough stance on immigrants. The Justice Department had previously warned Arpaio that his department had engaged in a pattern of misconduct, violating the civil rights of the Latino community in his district.

In a hastily arranged radio interview, Mitt Romney apologized Thursday for pranks he played in high school that "might have gone too far."

The interview came a few hours after The Washington Post published a detailed story recounting incidents from Romney's years at Michigan's prestigious Cranbrook prep school in the 1960s.

Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett won the Democratic primary earlier this week, earning the chance to challenge Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker at the polls. Barrett lost a race for the governor's seat to Walker in 2010. Host Michel Martin speaks with Barrett about whether the outrage over Walker's cuts to collective bargaining rights will be enough for him to win this rematch.