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President Obama's decision to stop deporting young, otherwise law-abiding illegal immigrants could help rebuild his support among electorally important Latinos after 18 months of futile efforts, some activists said Friday.

"There is overwhelming support for the protection of these children, as there is in the rest of the country. I think this could have an energizing effect on Latino voters," says Clarissa Martinez del Castro, director of immigration and national campaigns for National Council of La Raza.

Drone strikes against members of al-Qaida in Yemen and Somalia have been widely reported. But for the first time, the White House has publicly acknowledged these operations.

The administration said the U.S. had taken "direct action" in both countries in a six-month report on U.S. combat operations required by the War Powers Resolution.

Many states have done nothing to implement the health overhaul law, saying they'll wait to see how the Supreme Court rules.

Not California.

The country's most populous state got out in front first on implementing the law, and it hasn't slowed down in recent weeks as the rest of the country waits to hear from the high court.

June 18 will mark 200 years since the start of the War of 1812. One of the most epic battles of that war took place in the Chesapeake Bay, only a few miles away from the young American capitol. A small, scrappy U.S. flotilla took on the British, who at the time had the world's largest and powerful Navy. The flotilla's flagship, the U.S.S. Scorpion, met a watery grave — but on the occasion of the bicentennial of the war, it is slated for excavation. Marine archaeologist and historian Donald Shomette joins Melissa Block to talk about the Scorpion and the fates of those who manned it.

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And we're going to hear now from a human rights activist and blogger in Egypt. Dalia Ziada was part of the protest movement that led to the downfall of President Mubarak. Dalia, welcome back to the program.

DALIA ZIADA: Thank you so much.

BLOCK: And we just heard calls from Egyptians to boycott the election this weekend, people who say it's a sham, that it's all rigged by the military. Do you agree with that?

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Former Goldman Sachs board member Rajat Gupta was found guilty today of conspiracy and securities fraud. Prosecutors had accused Gupta of passing on inside information about the firm to hedge fund tycoon Raj Rajaratnam. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

JIM ZARROLI, BYLINE: The verdict came on only the second day of deliberations. Gupta was acquitted of two charges but convicted of four others. The 63-year-old Indian-born Gupta is the most prominent business leader convicted so far in the government's ongoing insider trading investigation.

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From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

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Communities across the country reacted differently to President Obama's new immigration order.

In an interview with All Things Considered's Audie Cornish, Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano said the administration's decision to defer the deportation of some young illegal immigrants is a part of a "strong enforcement" of immigration laws.

She said that this administration has stymied illegal border crossings and stepped up deportations of criminals.

"Strong enforcement also embodies looking at different categories differently when the facts justify that we do so," Napolitano said.

President Obama's announcement Friday that he is using his executive authority to defer deportation proceedings for young immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally but meet certain requirements was just the latest example of the president's use of his power to act without Congress on policy issues.