A day after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke to the nation's oldest civil right organization, Vice President Joe Biden appeared at the NAACP's annual convention. He quickly tackled one issue that drew Romney sustained boos — the 2010 health care overhaul.

Biden appeared in place of President Obama, who made a brief videotaped address thanking the group for its work. He walked out to warm applause, and several of his remarks were interrupted by shouts of agreement.

This week, a federal panel is hearing arguments for and against a voter ID law in Texas. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Texas voter ID law is like a modern poll tax. Guest host Maria Hinojosa talks more about the issue with Rep. Jose Aliseda, who testified at the hearing. He's a Republican State Representative for Texas who was born in Mexico.

Guest Host Maria Hinojosa talks with Kamala Harris, California's Attorney General about the state's newly passed "Homeowner Bill of Rights." The law, which was signed yesterday by Governor Jerry Brown, makes it harder for lenders to seize a property and allows homeowners to sue to stop a foreclosure process.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke today at the NAACP's annual convention, where GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney already faced a tough crowd. Guest host Maria Hinojosa discusses that and other political news of the week with Michael Fauntroy, professor of public policy at George Mason University and syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette.

If you only knew about America from watching TV, the last few months might lead you to think that women here wield enormous political power. First you had Game Change, the story of Sarah Palin's attempt to become vice president. Then you had Veep, in which Julia Louis-Dreyfus's character has accomplished just that. Now comes Political Animals, a new USA network series about a strong female secretary of state who I suspect even a Martian would realize is based on Hillary Clinton.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Prosecutors say no cats were harmed in the making of this news story. A man in Tacoma, Washington told a sad tale. He was involved in a car crash and two years later he said that collision had killed his cat named Tom. He filed a $20,000 insurance claim. But now, according to KOMO, he's been accused of fraud. Authorities say the cat never existed. The man allegedly backed up his claim with cat photos from the Internet. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

In a scathing report that takes to task former head football coach Joe Paterno and other top Penn State officials, an independent report from investigators led by former FBI director Louis Freeh says there was a "total disregard for the safety and welfare" of Jerry Sandusky's child victims "by the most senior leaders" at the school.

That is "our most saddening and sobering finding," Freeh concludes about his investigation into the scandal that rocked the school last year.