Morning Cram

From NPR: The number of poor people living in America's suburbs now surpasses those in cities or rural areas. Long focused on the urban poor, social service agencies are now trying to respond to the basic needs of a much more far-flung population.

From NPR: With budgets tight, the court in San Joaquin County, Calif., stopped hearing all small claims cases in September. More than 800 people have since filed claims with no hearing dates in sight. Many other counties nationwide are experiencing similar delays for civil cases as they grapple with spending cuts.

From NPR: Democratic Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York is introducing legislation with other lawmakers Thursday that would change the way the military prosecutes sexual assault cases. It's the latest high-publicity move for a senator who was almost unknown four years ago when she was appointed to fill Hillary Clinton's Senate seat.

From NPR: The Army, Navy, Air Force and Marines must submit plans Wednesday for ending the policy that keeps women from serving in ground combat positions. The move will open up more than 200,000 positions in the military to them, but the change won't end questions about the role of women in the armed forces.

From NPR: The Associated Press is protesting what it calls a massive and unprecedented intrusion into its news gathering. The target of that wrath is the U.S. Justice Department, which secretly collected phone records for several AP reporters last year.

From NPR: Since 1958, researchers have been measuring the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere at the Mauna Loa Observatory. The remote outpost has just reported a carbon dioxide level of 400 parts per million — the highest it has climbed in the modern age.