WASHINGTON — Supreme Court justices are weighing whether corporations have religious rights that exempt them from part of the new health care law that requires coverage of birth control for employees at no extra charge.

The case being argued at the Supreme Court on Tuesday involves family-owned companies that provide health insurance to their employees, but object to covering certain methods of birth control that they say can work after conception, in violation of their religious beliefs.

The Obama administration and its supporters say a Supreme Court ruling in favor of the businesses also could undermine laws governing immunizations, Social Security taxes and minimum wages.

BOSTON — As the East Coast shivers through an unusually cold early spring, parts of the Mid-Atlantic and New England are bracing for a nor'easter that could bring additional snow.The National Weather Service says a powerful low pressure system will develop off the Mid-Atlantic coast Tuesday night. Where and how much snow falls will depend on the storm's track.

CHICAGO — An operator of a Chicago public-transit train that jumped the tracks and scaled an escalator at one of nation's busiest airports Monday may have dozed off, a union official said.The woman said she had worked extensive overtime recently and was “extremely tired” at the time of the accident, Amalgamated Transit Union Local 308 President Robert Kelly told a news conference.The derailment happened just before 3 a.m. Monday at the end of the Chicago Transit Authority's Blue Line at O'Hare International Airport. The timing of the accident helped avoid an enormous disaster, as the underground Blue Line station is usually packed with travelers. More than 30 people were hurt, but none had life-threatening injuries.

WASHINGTON — The Senate and House appear headed for a standoff over competing bills to authorize sanctions on Russia and provide aid to Ukraine, potentially prolonging Congress' inaction over the two weeks since Russian President Vladimir Putin's military intervention in the Crimean peninsula.The Democratic-controlled Senate advanced its legislation in a 78-17 procedural vote Monday, sparing President Barack Obama an embarrassing setback while he uses his overseas trip to lobby allies to punish Moscow. But Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid was in no mood to compromise with Republicans who oppose changes in the bill relating to the International Monetary Fund.Reid focused his ire on GOP senators who delayed his bill before lawmakers went on a break March 14. He urged them to consider “how their obstruction affects United States' national security as well as the people of Ukraine” and said their delay of any congressional action “sent a dangerous message to Russian leaders.”