KTEP

Igor Stravinsky's 'Rite Of Spring' Counterrevolution

NPR Staff — Fri, 24 May 2013 06:03:00 +0000

As the 100th anniversary of Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring approaches, commentator Miles Hoffman reminds us that — as earthshaking as that infamous debut was — the composer soon branched out into a variety of musical styles that would surprise his fans and critics.

Hoffman says that, up until the infamous (and riotous) Rite of Spring debut — on May 29, 1913 — the public had never heard anything like it

'Extremely Active' Atlantic Hurricane Season Predicted

Jon Hamilton — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:23:00 +0000

Unusually warm ocean temperatures and favorable wind patterns mean the Atlantic is likely to see "an active or extremely active" hurricane season this year, say officials from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The agency expects between seven and 11 hurricanes and as many as 20 named storms during the 2013 season, which runs from June 1 through November.

So for residents of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts, "now is the time to pay attention to preparedness," NOAA's acting administrator, Kathryn Sullivan, told a news conference Thursday at the agency's new Climate Prediction

Boy Scots Vote To Allow Gay Members, But Not Leaders

Kathy Lohr — Fri, 24 May 2013 00:23:00 +0000

Members of the Boy Scouts of America voted on Thursday to allow gay members.

Boy Scouts Vote To Admit Openly Gay Members

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:56:00 +0000

The Boy Scouts of America has agreed for the first time to allow openly gay boys as members, but a vote of the organization's National Council left in place a ban on gay Scout leaders.

The Associated Press reports that of the local Scout leaders voting at their annual meeting in Texas, more than 60 percent supported the proposal. The policy change approved by the 1,400-member National Council would take effect Jan.

Head Of IRS Tax-Exempt Division Reportedly Placed On Leave

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:52:00 +0000

Lois Lerner, the IRS official who oversees the branch of the agency that targeted conservative groups, has been placed on administrative leave a day after she refused to answer questions in a congressional probe of the scandal.

Lerner, who invoked the Fifth Amendment in refusing to testify at a House hearing on Wednesday, is effectively suspended from her job as head of the exempt organizations division, according to a congressional aide who spoke to The Associated Pres

Descending Into The Mariana Trench: James Cameron's Odyssey

Bill Chappell — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:41:00 +0000

At nearly seven miles below the water's surface, the Mariana Trench is the deepest spot in Earth's oceans. And the site north of Guam is where director and explorer James Cameron recently fulfilled a longtime goal of reaching the bottom in a manned craft.

For the dive, Cameron designed a 24-foot submersible vehicle, the Deepsea Challenger — "this kind of long, green torpedo that moves vertically through the water," as he tells All Things Considered's Melissa Block.

Srinivasan's Confirmation First For D.C. Circuit In 7 Years

Nina Totenberg — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

For the first time in seven years, the U.S. Senate has confirmed a judge to sit on the important federal appeals court for the District of Columbia. The Senate unanimously confirmed Deputy Solicitor General Sri Srinivasan on Thursday for the seat previously held by Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Srinivasan was confirmed because he had huge bipartisan support in the legal community and because he served in both the Bush and Obama administrations, while having no record in partisan politics.

Why You Have To Scratch That Itch

Rhitu Chatterjee — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:27:00 +0000

Everybody itches. Sometimes itch serves as a useful warning signal — there's a bug on your back! But sometimes itch arises for no apparent reason, and can be a torment.

Think of the itchy skin disorder eczema, or the constant itching caused by some cancers. "A very high percentage of people who're on dialysis for chronic kidney disease develop severe itch that's very difficult to manage," says Dr.

Abortion Opponents Try to Spin Murder Case Into Legislation

Julie Rovner — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:20:00 +0000

As predicted, abortion opponents on Capitol Hill are wasting no time in their efforts to turn publicity over the recent murder conviction of abortion provider Kermit Gosnell to their legislative advantage.

Their latest goal: a federal ban on most abortions after 20 weeks of pregnancy.

Rep.

Alabama Republican Jo Bonner Says He's Leaving Congress

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:08:00 +0000

Rep. Jo Bonner, R-Ala., says he will leave Congress effective in August to take a senior position at the University of Alabama.

Bonner, who has represented Alabama's 1st District for six terms since 2003, will become vice chancellor of government relations and economic development at Alabama.

After The Storm: Students Gather For One More School Day

David Schaper — Thu, 23 May 2013 22:05:00 +0000

Under cloudy skies and through intermittent showers, 4-year-old Kamrin Ramirez holds in her little hands two cards, one addressed to Ms. Patterson, the other for Ms. Johnson, her two preschool teachers at Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore, Okla.

"I write thank you so much," she says.

Plaza Towers was obliterated by Monday's powerful twister, and seven children died beneath the rubble there.

Black Caucus Leader: We Disagree With Presidents, Even Obama

Frank James — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:51:00 +0000

During his time as the first black president in the White House, President Obama has occasionally been criticized by a group he once belonged to as a U.S. senator — the Congressional Black Caucus — for not doing more to ameliorate the difficult lives of many African-Americans.

But Rep. Marcia Fudge, an Ohio Democrat who was elected in November to head the CBC, doesn't see why criticism should be surprising.

'We Steal Secrets': A Sidelong Look At WikiLeaks

Mark Jenkins — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:48:00 +0000

Current-events buffs probably think they know the tale of WikiLeaks and its founder, Julian Assange. Prolific filmmaker Alex Gibney may have thought the same when he began researching his film We Steal Secrets. But this engrossing documentary soon diverges from the expected.

Even the movie's title, or rather the source of it, is a surprise. Not to spoil the fun, but it's neither Assange nor one of his allies who nonchalantly acknowledges that "we steal secrets."

Assange himself, currently in self-imposed exile at the Ecuadorean Embassy in London, didn't speak to Gibney.

Health Officials Decry Texas' Snubbing Of Medicaid Billions

Wade Goodwyn — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:30:00 +0000

The state of Texas is turning down billions of federal dollars that would have paid for health care coverage for 1.5 million poor Texans.

By refusing to participate in Medicaid expansion, which is part of the Affordable Care Act, the state will leave on the table an estimated $100 billion over the next decade.

Texas' share of the cost would have been just 7 percent of the total, but for Gov.

Justice Sotomayor Takes Swing At Famed Baseball Case

Nina Totenberg — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:23:00 +0000

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's wicked, waggish sense of humor — and knowledge of baseball — were on full display Wednesday, when she presided over a re-enactment of Flood v. Kuhn, the 1972 case that unsuccessfully challenged baseball's antitrust exemption.

The event, put on by the Supreme Court Historical Society, took place in the court chamber, and as Sotomayor took her place at the center of the bench, normally the chief justice's chair, she remarked puckishly, "This is the first time I've sat here.

Georges Moustaki, Who Wrote Songs For Edith Piaf, Dies

Elizabeth Blair — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:15:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NfdRaVPQnH8

To 'Fill The Void,' A Choice With A Personal Cost

Ella Taylor — Thu, 23 May 2013 21:03:00 +0000

Driving home from a screening of the ravishing new Israeli film Fill the Void, I caught sight of a young man in full Hasidic garb, trying to coax his toddler son across a busy Los Angeles street.

Breaking Down Obama's New Blueprint For Fighting Terrorism

Greg Myre — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:56:00 +0000

Ever since the Sept. 11 attacks, the U.S. search for a coherent counterterrorism strategy has revolved around three basic questions:

1. How do we locate suspected terrorists?

2. Once located, how do we go after them?

For Second Time, Moore Family Loses Home To A Tornado

Bill Chappell — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:53:00 +0000

The tornado that devastated Moore, Okla., Monday destroyed some 12,000 homes, according to Oklahoma City Police. And for one family, it was the second house they've lost to a tornado in the past 14 years.

This 9-Year-Old Girl Told McDonald's CEO: Stop Tricking Kids

Maria Godoy — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:47:00 +0000

It's not every day that a 9-year-old girl chastises the CEO of one of the world's biggest fast-food chains.

Yet that's exactly what young Hannah Robertson did Thursday morning at McDonald's annual shareholders meeting in Chicago. When the meeting opened up to questions, Hannah was first up at the mic with a pointed criticism.

"It would be nice if you stopped trying to trick kids into wanting to eat your food all the time," she told McDonald's CEO Don Thompson.

Ouch.

Hannah, a native of Kelowna, British Columbia, didn't get to Chicago on her own, of course.

Okla. Family Must Rebuild Tornado-Damaged Home A Second Time

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Authorities in Moore, Oklahoma say that 12,000 homes were damaged in Monday's tornado. In this next story, we're going to meet one family that was affected, and not for the first time. The Phillips lost their home in a tornado that hit Moore on May 3rd, 1999.

Obama Pledges To Be More Transparent About Drone Program

Carrie Johnson — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

In a speech today, President Obama laid out a new vision of the global war on terror. He said that more than a decade after the 9/11 attacks, the threat from terrorism has changed and U.S. policy must change with it.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: As our fight enters a new phase, America's legitimate claim of self defense cannot be the end of the discussion.

In La., Families Still Searching For Storm-Scattered Remains

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Lionel Alverez is in the Promised Land Cemetery again, taking inventory. He has been coming to this cemetery in Plaquemines Parish, La., all his life. The graveyard is hemmed in between the Mississippi River and the marsh on a lonely stretch of highway.

Promised Land has been the final resting place for the Alverezes for generations. Alverez, 61, points out several graves, one by one. "Albert Alverez. Huey Alverez and Harold Alverez. My brother Allen is near the rear, back there."

Lionel's mother, Leola Alverez, wanted to be entombed here as well.

Syrian Rebels Continue To Clash With Hezbollah-Backed Forces

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Robert Siegel speaks with Anne Barnard, Beirut bureau chief for The New York Times, about clashes between Syrian rebels and government forces backed by Hezbollah fighters.

One Of London Attack Suspects Had Troubled Past

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

For more on this story, we turn now to Sandra Laville, a reporter for The Guardian newspaper in London. Thanks for joining us today.

SANDRA LAVILLE: Hi.

SIEGEL: You've done quite a bit of reporting on at least one of the suspects, the young man in the now famous cell phone video. What can you tell us about him?

LAVILLE: Well, from that image we all saw of this man with bloodied hands and a meat cleaver, what's emerging is a kind of story of a young British boy who grows up on the streets of Rumford and Essex, just an ordinary schoolboy really.

Four Arrested After British Soldier Hacked To Death In London

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. In London, authorities and the public are grappling with the brutal murder yesterday of a British soldier who was hacked to death on the street. All the evidence suggests this was a terrorist attack by Islamist extremists.

More Young Syrians Flee Home Lives To Face The Unknown

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Over the past few months, the security situation in the Syrian capital Damascus has been deteriorating. For many Damascenes, the city they always called home is no longer a livable place. They can't make a living anymore, and everyday is a risk that tempts fate. In an exodus from Damascus, many young professionals are abandoning their lives at home to flee abroad and face the unknown.

'Lunch Lady' Author Helps Students Draw Their Own Heroes

editor — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:44:00 +0000

Author and illustrator Jarrett Krosoczka is just 35 years old, but he's already published 20 books, including the popular Lunch Lady graphic novel series, NPR's Backseat Book Club pick for May.

The Lunch Lady is actually a secret superhero with all kinds of special cooking gadgets — fish stick nunchucks, a hairnet that catches the bad guys and a spatula that spins into a helicopter. She doesn't just serve food — she serves justice.

Duke Ellington: Highlights Of His Twilight

David Brent Johnson — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:38:00 +0000

When Duke Ellington received the news that Billy Strayhorn, his songwriting and arranging partner of 28 years, had died, Ellington reportedly cried and told a friend, "No, I'm not all right! Nothing is going to be all right now."

The cancer-stricken Strayhorn passed away on May 31, 1967, and Ellington himself would follow seven years later, dying on May 24, 1974, at the age of 75.

NOAA Predicts Above-Average Hurricane Season

Scott Neuman — Thu, 23 May 2013 20:10:00 +0000

With memories of last year's Superstorm Sandy still fresh, NOAA is warning East Coasters and those farther inland to brace for another active Atlantic season, predicting that as many as six major storms will develop between the beginning of June and the end of November.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration believes that this year, there is a 70 percent chance of 13 to 20 named storms, with winds of 39 mp