NPR News

Pages

Barbershop
9:31 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Could The President's Week Get Any Worse?

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 10:51 am

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

I'm Celeste Headlee. This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Michel Martin is away and it is time yet again for a visit to the Barbershop. That's where the guys talk about what's in the news, what's on their minds.

Read more
Health Care
9:31 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Nearly Half The Country Doesn't Know Health Law Exists

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 10:51 am

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

I'm Celeste Headlee and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, we go to Ohio where black business owners are meeting to swap some new ideas. Basketball legend Magic Johnson even got a lead on an investment there. We'll tell you more about that in just a few minutes. But first, House Republicans voted yesterday to repeal President Obama's signature healthcare law - again.

Read more
BackTalk
9:31 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Listener Encourages Hugs And Violins

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 10:51 am

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

And now, it's time for BackTalk. That's where we lift the curtain on what's happening in the TELL ME MORE blogosphere. Editor Ammad Omar is with us.

So, Ammad, what's going on today?

Read more
NPR Story
9:23 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Insects May Be The Taste Of The Next Generation, Report Says

A report from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization says insects offer a huge potential for improving the world's food security. Peter Menzel, co-author of Man Eating Bugs, describes some insect-based cuisine and the western aversion to creepy-crawly snacks.

The Two-Way
8:52 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Famed Race Driver Dick Trickle Dies, Suicide Suspected

Credit Bill Hall / Getty Images
Dick Trickle at the start of a NASCAR race in 1993.

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 10:36 am

Dick Trickle, a "short-track hero" in the '70s and '80s who moved to the NASCAR circuit later in his career, died Thursday.

According to The Charlotte Observer, the 71-year-old was killed by "an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, Lincoln County [N.C.] deputies said."

Read more
Parallels
8:39 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Young Gazan Men Get Unwanted Haircuts, Courtesy Of Police

Credit Emily Harris/NPR
Tarik al-Nakib (left) says Gaza Strip police officers picked him up on the street and forced him to get his hair cut recently. He's growing it out again in a style similar to that of his friend Mohammad Abu Ramadan.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 8:39 am

As 17-year-old Tarik al-Nakib tells it, he was just out to buy some bread one afternoon in April when a silver bus from the Gaza Strip police department pulled up next to him.

"One guy opened the door and asked me to get in the bus," Nakib says. "Another came out and pushed me in. I was trying to understand what was going on, what did I do? No one wanted to answer me."

Read more
The Two-Way
8:25 am
Fri May 17, 2013

For Trainer Of Derby Champion, 'My Dream Came True'

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 11:26 am

All eyes may be on Orb, the winner of the Kentucky Derby and the favorite to win Saturday's Preakness Stakes, but behind this feisty bay colt is a quiet, humble man named Shug McGaughey who has one thing on his mind: his job.

Read more
Monkey See
8:24 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Cancellation Blues And Cultural Etiquette

Credit NPR
  • Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour

To mark network upfronts week, we talk in this episode about the cancellation of shows, including the ones that came and went that we honestly can hardly remember as well as the ones — like ABC's delightful, hilarious Happy Endings — that break our hearts.

Read more
TED Radio Hour
7:59 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Giving It Away

Credit TED
"If you have something to give, give it now." – Mark Bezos

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 8:13 am

"It feels good to be able to change something. It feels good to give." -- Ron Finley

You can give away almost anything — your time, money, food, your ideas. Giving helps define who we are and helps us connect with others. And thanks to the Internet and a rise in social consciousness, there's been a seismic shift not only in what we're giving, but how. In this hour, stories from TED speakers who are "giving it away" in new and surprising ways, and the things that happen in return.

Read more
TED Radio Hour
7:55 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Do We Have The Wrong Idea About Charity?

Part 3 of the TED Radio Hour episode Giving It Away.

About Dan Pallotta's TEDTalk

Read more
TED Radio Hour
7:55 am
Fri May 17, 2013

When Is the Right Time To Give?

Part 1 of the TED Radio Hour episode Giving It Away.

About Mark Bezos' TEDTalk

Volunteer firefighter Mark Bezos tells a story of an act of heroism that didn't go quite as expected — but that taught him a big lesson: Don't wait to be a hero. Give now.

About Mark Bezos

Read more
TED Radio Hour
7:55 am
Fri May 17, 2013

How Can You Give A Community Better Health?

Credit James Duncan Davidson / TED
Ron Finley, renegade gardener, says food is both the problem and the solution.

Part 2 of the TED Radio Hour episode Giving It Away.

About Ron Finley's TEDTalk

Ron Finley plants vegetable gardens in South Central LA — in abandoned lots, traffic medians, along the curbs. Why? For fun, for defiance, for beauty and to offer some alternative to fast food in a community where "the drive-thrus are killing more people than the drive-bys."

About Ron Finley

Read more
TED Radio Hour
7:55 am
Fri May 17, 2013

How Do You Get People To Pay For Music?

Credit James Duncan Davidson / TED
Musician Amanda Palmer says she learned about trust and giving when she was a street performer.

Part 4 of the TED Radio Hour episode Giving It Away.

About Amanda Palmer's TEDTalk

Read more
Parallels
7:28 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Venezuelans Stock Up On Toilet Paper Amid Shortage

Credit Fernando Llano / AP
A woman who just bought toilet paper at a grocery store reads her receipt as she leaves the store in Caracas, Venezuela, on Wednesday. The government says it will import 50 million rolls of toilet paper amid a shortage.

Venezuelans may be used to a dearth of medicine, milk and sugar, but there's a new shortage that's, shall we say, a bit more problematic: toilet paper.

The government of socialist President Nicolas Maduro announced this week that it would import 50 million rolls of toilet paper to meet the growing demand.

"We will saturate the market so the people will be calm," Commerce Minister Alejandro Fleming told the official AVN news agency.

Read more
'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup
7:18 am
Fri May 17, 2013

It's All Politics, May 16, 2013

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
  • Listen to the Roundup

NPR's Ron Elving and National Political Correspondent Mara Liasson, sitting in for Ken Rudin, look back at the week of scandals rocking the Obama administration. The president says he's angry and fires the IRS chief for the agency's targeting of groups with names that include "Tea Party" and "patriot" for extra scrutiny. And Attorney General Eric Holder is back on Capitol Hill, this time testifying on the Justice Department's seizing of phone records of journalists.

Read more
The Two-Way
6:57 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Book News: Amazon May Be Called Before Parliament Over Taxes

Credit David McNew / Getty Images
Amazon's U.K. unit racked up sales of $6.5 billion last year, but only paid $3.7 million in corporate taxes.

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 7:39 am

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

Read more
The Two-Way
6:54 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Gingrich Cautions GOP About 'Overreach' On Scandals

Credit Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch / MCT /Landov
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich in April 2012.

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 9:36 am

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who was front-and-center during the Republican-led impeachment of President Clinton in 1998, is cautioning his GOP colleagues about the risk of appearing to be too eager as they dig into the scandals now dogging the Obama administration.

Read more
Monkey See
6:32 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Notes On A 'Scandal': Fitz Is The Most Dumpable Man On Television

Credit Randy Holmes / ABC
Tony Goldwyn as Fitz on Scandal.

If you watch Scandal, you know that there, Fitzgerald Grant is the President of the United States, and that he goes by "Fitz." Now "Fitz," let's face it, is already a pretty punchable name, given that combined with his personality, it makes him sound like somebody with a beanie and a lot of polo shirts grew up, got even richer, had a son, and taught him how to give swirlies to the math team. Fitz is involved, on and off (currently off, or possibly on, but maybe off) (maybe half-off, like end-of-the-season shoes), with Olivia Pope.

Read more
The Two-Way
5:57 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Kai The 'Hatchet Hitchhiker' Is Accused Of Murder

Credit Union County (N.J.) Prosecutor's Office / AP
Caleb "Kai" McGillvary.

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 9:10 am

Around the Nation
5:27 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Washington D.C. Man Advertises For Wedding Date

On Cragslist, he describes himself as "a clean man" with a job and no arrest record, who adds, "I don't like murder." For extra motivation, he promises an open bar.

Around the Nation
5:19 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Theater Lover Takes A Stand Against Annoying Cell Phone

Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 9:18 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

Kevin Williamson took a stand against annoying cell phone use. The National Review writer attended a musical in New York and says the crowd was disruptive. One woman was Web surfing on her phone, violating theater rules. Mr. Williamson tells Gothamist he complained to the woman. She replied: So don't look. That's when Williamson grabbed her phone and threw it across the theater, an offense for which he says he's glad to go to jail if he is prosecuted.

Read more
The Two-Way
5:08 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Reports: Russia Sends More Missiles, Has Ships Near Syria

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 9:03 am

Friday's major news about the conflict in Syria:

-- "Russia Sends More Advanced Missiles to Aid Assad in Syria."

According to The New York Times, "Russia has sent advanced antiship cruise missiles to Syria, a move that illustrates the depth of its support for the Syrian government led by President Bashar al-Assad, American officials said Thursday."

Read more
The Two-Way
4:34 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Congress Due To Grill Ousted IRS Chief

Credit Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images
Outgoing acting Internal Revenue Service (IRS) Commissioner Steve Miller as he was being sworn in Friday before a House Ways and Means committee hearing.

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 10:53 am

(Most recent update: 12:50 p.m. ET.)

Saying that "foolish mistakes were made by people trying to be more efficient in their workload selection," the outgoing head of the Internal Revenue Service told Congress on Friday that he and the agency want to apologize for the targeting of some conservative groups during the 2012 campaign cycle.

Read more
Around the Nation
3:31 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Cape Cod Community To Vote On Status Of Wind Turbines

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Next week, voters in Falmouth, Massachusetts decide whether to spend $14 million to tear down two wind turbines - or turbines if you prefer. The Cape Cod town installed these turbines just three years ago in an effort to produce renewable energy and cut costs. Nearby residents says the turbines are a health hazard and that the only cure is to take them down.

Sean Corcoran of member station WCAI has more.

(SOUNDBITE OF WIND TURBINES)

Read more
Business
3:25 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Obama Names OMB Controller As Acting IRS Commissioner

On Thursday, President Obama named Daniel Werfel, 42, acting IRS commissioner. The announcement comes a day after the resignation of Steven Miller, who got caught up in the controversy over the IRS targeting Tea Party groups.

Law
3:22 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Weighing Freedom Of The Press Against Public Safety

The Justice Department has been scrutinized this week for secretly obtaining phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors while investigating the disclosure of a CIA operation to thwart a terrorist attack. Steve Inskeep talks to Floyd Abrams, a leading First Amendment lawyer, about how the Constitution and the law treat press freedom.

Commentary
3:14 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Kiss In 'Bombay Talkies' Breaks New Ground In Bollywood

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 4:31 am

To celebrate the 100th anniversary of Indian cinema, four famous Bollywood directors have made an anthology movie, Bombay Talkies. Commentator Sandip Roy says one of the shorts is pretty revolutionary because it has a gay protagonist, and what is probably Bollywood's first gay kiss.

Afghanistan
3:14 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Select Young Afghans Chosen As Commandoes In Training

Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 12:11 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

All right, through much of this week, we've been hearing from young Afghans on the future of their country after NATO troops withdraw in 2014. Yesterday, our colleague Renee Montagne met with the American general who commands coalition forces in Afghanistan. They traveled to a special forces base where young Afghan men - and a few women - are being trained.

(SOUNDBITE OF HELICOPTER)

Read more
Business
3:14 am
Fri May 17, 2013

Business News

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 4:43 am

A 79 percent drop in earnings — That's what the computer maker reported to investors Thursday. The reason, analysts say, it's harder to sell PCs these days with the growing popularity of smartphones and tablets

Pages