NPR News

Pages

Politics
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Lawmakers React To State Of The Union Address

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 4:40 am

There may have been only a half dozen times all night when both sides of the aisle all stood and clapped in approval. One of those moments was when President Obama called for overhauling immigration.

Politics
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Close Read: Reviewing Obama's State Of The Union Address

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 4:56 am

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep and NPR reporters give a "close read" of President Obama's State of the Union speech. In some cases they are checking facts. In others, they are asking what some parts of the speech really mean.

Politics
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Obama Calls For Strengthening The Middle Class

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 4:31 am

The White House seemed surprised last month when President Obama's inaugural address was characterized in some quarters as a liberal manifesto. So Tuesday night's State of the Union speech was firmly grounded in the bread-and-butter pocketbook issues facing the middle class.

Business
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

What Would Natural Gas Exports Mean For Utility Bills?

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 5:00 am

The Department of Energy will soon decide whether to allow more liquefied natural gas exports. The gas industry argues more exports are good for the U.S. economy. But manufacturers want cheap gas to stay at home and power factories. Environmentalists worry exports will increase drilling across the country even more.

Middle East
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

U.N. Aid Reaches Syrian Camp

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 5:08 am

For the first time, the Syrian government has agreed to allow some humanitarian aid to be delivered by the United Nations. That is aid that goes to rebel-held areas. The process is cumbersome.

Around the Nation
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Manhunt For Fired-LAPD Officer Appears Over

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 4:49 am

In Southern California, the week-long manhunt for Christopher Dorner appears to be over. He is the former LAPD officer who is believed to be responsible for four murders.

Business
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Business News

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 5:37 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with an unlikely call for assistance.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Read more
Animals
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Affenpinscher Is Westminster's Top Dog

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 4:46 am

Renee Montagne talks to writer Josh Dean about Banana Joe, named best in show at the Westminster Kennel Club. Dean is author of the book Show Dog.

Business
4:24 am
Wed February 13, 2013

The Last Word In Business

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 5:42 am

The credit card company American Express has teamed up with Twitter to allow its customers to buy products just by tweeting about them. Tweet the item you want, confirm your purchase and your item will be delivered.

Working Late: Older Americans On The Job
1:52 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Series Overview: More Americans Working Past Retirement Age

Credit Shiho Fukada for NPR
John David, 73, chats with one of his students after his exercise class at the 92nd St Y in New York.

Originally published on Wed February 27, 2013 6:58 am

The top financial worry of Americans is that they won't have enough money when they retire, according to a recent Gallup poll. And the average age at which Americans expect to retire keeps rising — from age 60 in the mid-1990s to age 67 now, the survey showed.

Read more
Working Late: Older Americans On The Job
1:43 am
Wed February 13, 2013

For One Senior, Working Past Retirement Age Is A Workout

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 6:29 pm

Increasingly, people are continuing to work past 65. Almost a third of Americans between the ages of 65 and 70 are working, and among those older than 75, about 7 percent are still on the job. In Working Late, a series for Morning Edition, NPR profiles older adults who are still in the workforce.

Retirement isn't what it used to be, or even when it used to be.

Read more
National Security
1:41 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Victims Of Cyberattacks Now Going On Offense Against Intruders

Credit iStockphoto.com
Some companies, frustrated with intrusions into their networks by cyberattackers, are now trying to turn the tables in the ongoing and complicated cyberwar.

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 6:56 am

U.S. companies that have their networks routinely penetrated and their trade secrets stolen cannot be surprised by a new National Intelligence Estimate on the cyber-espionage threat. The classified NIE, the first-ever focusing on cybersecurity, concludes that the U.S. is the target of a major espionage campaign, with China the leading culprit.

Read more
Africa
1:40 am
Wed February 13, 2013

A Murder Deepens Tunisia's Political Crisis

Credit Fethi Belaid / AFP/Getty Images
Tunisian soldiers stand guard as a woman holds up a poster featuring opposition leader Chokri Belaid during his funeral procession in a suburb of Tunis on Feb. 8. Belaid's assassination has laid bare the political rifts in post-revolutionary Tunisia.

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 4:24 am

The political crisis in Tunisia is deepening after last week's murder of a prominent secular politician. Tunisians are increasingly divided over their country's government and future, just two years after collectively overthrowing the dictator in a popular revolution.

Read more
The Salt
1:38 am
Wed February 13, 2013

U.K. Slaughterhouses Raided As Europe's Horse meat Scandal Widens

Credit Sang Tan / AP
A Tesco supermarket sign in London. The chain acknowledged that its low-cost beef lasagna had in fact been 60 percent horse.

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 7:27 am

British police raided a slaughterhouse and meat firm in two different corners of Britain on Tuesday in connection with the growing horse meat scandal.

Read more
Sweetness And Light
12:11 am
Wed February 13, 2013

An Oft-Told Tale: The Beauty Queen And The Quarterback

Credit John Bazemore / AP
Katherine Webb (left), the girlfriend of Alabama quarterback A.J. McCarron, and McCarron's mother, Dee Dee Bonner (second from left), watch McCarron celebrate after the BCS National Championship college football game on Jan. 7. Webb was caught on camera and announcer Brent Musburger enthusiastically remarked that quarterbacks "get all the good-looking women." ESPN later apologized.

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 4:24 am

Gentlemen of a certain age might make a nostalgic note that today, Valentine's eve, is the 80th birthday of Kim Novak.

One of Miss Novak's most famous movie roles was in Picnic, where she played the gorgeous ingenue who could've married the son of the richest man in town but instead fell for a hunk of a bum who was an old football star.

Picnic is being revived on Broadway, as is Cat On A Hot Tin Roof, where — guess what? — Maggie, played by the beautiful Scarlett Johansson, is married to a hunk of a bum who is a former football star.

Read more
Kitchen Window
12:09 am
Wed February 13, 2013

Porridge: A Just-Right Meal To Fight Winter's Chill

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 1:50 pm

Porridge doesn't get a lot of love and respect. It's the fairy tale stuff of Goldilocks, or the pauper gruel of Oliver Twist. But really, porridge can be a beautiful thing, especially during the cold slog of winter. It's a comforting way to start the morning, a nice warm hug of a breakfast. And, dare I say, it actually can be kind of exciting.

Read more
Around the Nation
5:11 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Fugitive Ex-LAPD Officer Apparently Barracaded In Cabin

Originally published on Wed February 13, 2013 10:25 am

Kirk Siegler talks to Melissa Block for an update on the search for former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner. A man that authorities identified as Dorner was holed up in a cabin near Big Bear Lake, Calif., on Tuesday evening. Hundreds of officers surrounded the home. Dorner is wanted for questioning in three murders and one attempted murder.

History
4:45 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

1963 Emancipation Proclamation Party Lacked A Key Guest

Originally published on Sun April 7, 2013 6:04 pm

Fifty years ago, the White House was the site of an unusual party.

It was a celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation's centennial, held on Abraham Lincoln's birthday, and many of the guests were descendants of the people Lincoln's historic document freed.

But noticeably absent was the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The civil rights leader had declined the invitation after earlier conversations with President Kennedy about segregation had yielded few results.

Born Of Frustration

Read more
All Tech Considered
4:43 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Electric Car Review Dust-Up May Put Brakes On Tesla Profits

Credit Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images
Showgoers check out the Tesla Model S at the 2013 North American International Auto Show in Detroit in January.

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 11:19 am

One of the long-standing knocks against electric cars is that it can be hard for the machines to hold a charge in cold weather. That's exactly what New York Times reporter John Broder says he found when he took a Tesla Model S on a road trip from Washington, D.C., to Connecticut.

Read more
It's All Politics
4:36 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Live Blog: President Obama's State Of The Union Address

Credit Getty Images
President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday night to a joint session of Congress.

Originally published on Tue February 12, 2013 10:43 pm

In his State of Union address on Tuesday, President Obama set forth a sweeping vision for his second term, tackling not only monumental issues such as entitlement and tax reform but also everyday ones like raising the minimum wage and providing universal preschool.

Coming off an inaugural address that many saw as a powerful embrace of a liberal agenda, President Obama opened the speech with a nod to bipartisanship.

Read more
Asia
4:36 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

In The Waters Of India's Holy Rivers, Seeking A Glimpse Of Immortality

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 11:19 am

The Hindu gathering known as Kumbh Mela is on a scale difficult to fathom: The world's largest religious festival is millions of feet shuffling, millions of mantras chanted, countless sales of firewood to ward off the night cold. Millions of incense sticks will be burned and bells rung in devotional rituals called aartis.

Jet-setting swamis, naked holy men and foreigners fascinated by Eastern mysticism joined tens of millions of pilgrims for a dip in river waters believed to be holy.

Read more
Shots - Health News
4:13 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

World's Most Popular Painkiller Raises Heart Attack Risk

Credit Wikimedia Commons
The painkiller diclofenac is sold under several brand names in the U.S. and abroad, including Voltaren.

Originally published on Thu February 14, 2013 7:35 am

The painkiller diclofenac isn't very popular in the U.S., but it's by far the most widely used non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, or NSAID, in the world.

A slew of studies, though, show diclofenac — sold under the brand names Voltaren, Cambia, Cataflam and Zipsor — is just as likely to cause a heart attack as the discredited painkiller Vioxx (rofecoxib), which was pulled from the U.S. market in 2004.

Read more
The Two-Way
3:41 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Comcast To Finish Buying NBCUniversal For $16.7 Billion

Credit Chris Hondros / Getty Images
An NBC store is seen through a window reflecting Rockefeller Center in New York City. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, has owned 51 percent of NBCUniversal since 2011.

Comcast Corp. said Tuesday it will complete its buyout of NBCUniversal from GE for about $16.7 billion, ahead of schedule. Comcast, the nation's largest cable company, has owned 51 percent of NBCUniversal since their $28 billion merger in 2011.

NBCUniversal owns several familiar news and entertainment brands, including NBC, CNBC, Universal Pictures, Telemundo, USA Network and Universal Parks and Resorts.

Read more
Politics
3:36 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Live Chat: State Of The Union

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images
A U.S. flag flies Tuesday in front of the U.S. Capitol, where President Obama will give his annual State of the Union address during a joint session of Congress.

President Obama is expected to put specifics behind the vision he outlined in his inaugural address a few weeks ago. Get live updates from the speech and join NPR journalists in analyzing what it could mean for the future.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

The Two-Way
3:33 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Coast Guard Begins Probe Into Tall Ship's Fatal Sinking

Credit Jeff Haynes / AFP/Getty Images
The HMS Bounty replica sails past the Chicago skyline in July 2003.

A U.S. Coast Guard hearing opens Tuesday to investigate the October sinking of the replica ship HMS Bounty off Cape Hatteras and the deaths of her captain and a crew member as the vessel fought unsuccessfully to outmaneuver Hurricane Sandy.

At issue in the hearings are the actions of the ship's captain, Robin Walbridge, who chose to head out to sea despite the approach of Sandy, one of the largest storms in decades to hit the U.S. East Coast.

Read more
Politics
3:28 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Obama To Focus On Job Creation, Economic Growth In State Of The Union

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 11:19 am

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And we turn now to the big political news of the day. In a matter of hours President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress, the first of his second term. Tens of millions of Americans will be watching as the president lays out his agenda and picks up where he left off in his inaugural address last month. He's expected to focus on job creation and talk about how leveling the playing field to give everyone a fair shot will help the economy grow.

Read more
Politics
3:28 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Congressman Returning After 33 Years Says Congress Works And Cooperates Less Now

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 11:19 am

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. When President Obama speaks this evening, there will be one member of Congress sitting in the audience whose last chance to be there for the State of the Union address was January 23rd, 1980. That was for President Jimmy Carter's final State of the Union address. High on the president's list of concerns then was a couple of countries that presidents still talk about.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED SPEECH)

Read more
Politics
3:28 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Obama's Record On Political Money One Of Ambivalence

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 11:19 am

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Something that President Obama is not likely to dwell on tonight is the feeble state of campaign finance laws. It was three years ago that he used the State of the Union to challenge the Supreme Court on its Citizens United decision, which encouraged more corporate money in politics. This year, though, he has his own tax-exempt social welfare group backed with corporate contributions to help advance his agenda. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

Read more
Afghanistan
3:28 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Obama To Announce Withdrawal Of 34,000 U.S. Troops From Afghanistan

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 11:19 am

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

The U.S. will bring home 34,000 troops from Afghanistan by this time next year. President Obama is expected to announce the news tonight in his State of the Union address. That will cut the force in half and set the stage for the pullout of most of the remaining U.S. troops by the end of 2014. The drawdown from Afghanistan is just one of several developments today on Capitol Hill that will have a big impact on the Pentagon.

Read more
Sports
3:28 pm
Tue February 12, 2013

Summer Olympics To Drop Wrestling After 2016 Games

Originally published on Mon February 25, 2013 11:19 am

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Finally this hour, an unexpected announcement from the world of Olympic sport. The International Olympic Committee Executive Board has decided to drop wrestling from the games beginning in 2020. It is a major blow to the sport, which is among the world's oldest. Today, wrestling is represented on every continent. NPR's Mike Pesca reports on fallout from the decision.

Read more

Pages