Can you legally reprint a newspaper article?

It depends on what books, articles and newspapers are copied, what the copies will be used for, who is making the copies, and how many copies are made, among other things.

Assuming the copy you received was legally obtained...

Single copy for your own, personal use: perhaps legal. For one-time use in a classroom: perhaps legal (one copy per student). For reporting news, critique or parody: perhaps legal.

To use in your profession: illegal. To give or sell to others: illegal. To use multiple times in classroom: illegal.

If you're a U.S. state institution (or agency, or municipality), you cannot generally be sued in federal court, under the Eleventh Amendment of the US Constitution, so you may make any copies of anything you want.