I'm Korva Coleman.One provision of the Affordable Care Act that was supposed to take effect today has been delayed.It's the requirement that groups affiliated with religious organizations provide contraception as part of their health insurance coverage.The temporary block was issued by Supreme Court justice Sonia Sotomayor.It came after a request for the state by a group of nuns working in a nursing home.whether for-profit companies are also required to provide contraception in health coverage.Today the minimum wage is set to rise in some 13 states,but in some of them, the rise is small.As NPR's Margot Adler reports.In New Jersey, the rise will be by $1 to ($)8.25 an hour.In New York, up 0.75 to $8 an hour and up to $9 by the end of 2015.In Connecticut, the minimum wage will rise to ($)8.70.Rhode Island $8 an hour.The federal minimum wage is ($)7.25and now some 20 states will surpass that.President Obama says he supports raising the federal minimum wage to $10.10 an hour over two years.A recent article in the New York Times notes thatleaders in the Democratic Party believe the minimum wage is an issue that will serve them well politically,not only by pushing for a rise in the federal minimum wage,but attempting to place state minimum wage proposals on the ballot in states with hotly contested races.Margot Adler, NPR News, New York.The government of Afghanistan is preparing to release a number of prisoners the US says killed or wounded American troops.
