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As Deep Cuts Loom, Continued Appeals For A Deal, Finger-Pointing The nation's governors said the automatic spending cuts would hurt state governments, as congressional Republicans and Democrats continue to blame each other for the impasse. Without a last-minute deal, the across-the-board spending cuts go into effect March 1. |
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Karzai Asks U.S. Forces To Leave Key Afghan Province The province in question is Wardak, the focus of recent counterinsurgency operations. The Afghan president's move comes amid allegations of torture and disappearances centering on Afghans who are part of the U.S. forces. |
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Paul C.P. McIlhenny, CEO Of Company That Makes Tabasco Sauce, Dies Paul C.P. McIlhenny was the sixth member of his family to be named president of the McIlhenny Co., which makes the iconic hot sauce. He was 68 years old. |
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Pope Benedict XVI Delivers Final Sunday Blessing At Vatican Some 100,000 people packed St. Peter's Square to hear the pope's last blessing. They interrupted him several times with applause and cheers. Benedict has one more scheduled public event: a general audience in St. Peter's Square on Wednesday. |
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Israel Restores Wetlands; Birds Make It Their Winter Home Like many countries, Israel tried to drain many of its swamplands, then realized it was destroying wildlife habitats. So the country reversed course, and has been restoring the wetlands of the Hula Valley in the north. The result: a huge and rather noisy payoff. |
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Greeks Ask Themselves: Who's A Greek? In a time of economic hardship and social upheaval, some anxious Greeks fear their national identity is under threat. It's difficult for immigrants to get citizenship, and a recent court ruling could make it even tougher. |
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Ancient Chompers Were Healthier Than Ours By examining ancient dental plaque, researchers have concluded that prehistoric humans' diets made for healthier mouths. The addition of flour and sugar to modern diets may have set the stage for a near-constant state of oral disease. |
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Overseas Trip A Road Test For Secretary Of State Kerry One dominant theme of the trip will be how to resolve the crisis in Syria, where an estimated 70,000 people have been killed over the past two years. Kerry is portraying his first trip as secretary of state as a listening tour, and he certainly expects to hear a lot about Syria. |
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In China, Not Everything Has Changed China has transformed itself in recent years. But for an NPR reporter now on his second tour of the country, some things, like re-education through labor camps, remain the same. |
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NASCAR Crash Sends Car Debris Into The Stands At Daytona More than two dozen fans were injured after a multi-car crash at the end of Saturday's race. A car slammed into — and partially went through — the fence and into the stands. |
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Flipping The Switch: What It Takes To Prioritize Electric Cars Estonia now has the world's first nationwide electric car charger network. What would the U.S. have to do to make a similar leap? |
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Top GOP Voter ID Crusader Loses Virginia Election Panel Post To those who closely follow the voter ID wars, Hans von Spakovsky is a household name, one of the nation's leading and controversial crusaders against voter fraud. So it was news that the Republican lawyer failed to get a second term on the electoral board of Virginia's largest county. |
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The Four Biggest Best Picture Oscar Upsets, Statistically Speaking As the Directors and Producers Guild Awards go, so does the Academy. At least most of the time. |
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Bloomberg's Anti-NRA Message — And Money — Could Sway House Race In Chicago One of the most important events in the national gun violence debate takes place Tuesday far from Newtown, Conn., and Washington, D.C. And if the candidate backed by Michael Bloomberg wins, look for congressional candidates nationwide to start eyeing the New York City mayor and his superPAC |
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Obama Administration Urges Supreme Court To Rethink DOMA It argues that a portion of the Defense of Marriage Act is unconstitutional. Specifically, the administration points to a section that denies married same-sex couples access to federal benefits enjoyed by heterosexual couples. |
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Syrian Opposition Group Boycotts International Meetings The Syrian National Coalition says it won't attend meetings in Moscow, D.C., and Rome in protest of the continued violence. The announcement comes as fighting in Aleppo intensifies. |
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Liberal Watchdog Group: 'Fix The Debt' Movement More Astroturf Than Grassroots The Center for Media and Democracy says Fix the Debt — a key unit in philanthropist Pete Peterson's corps of organizations to battle the national debt — is a well-funded, pro-business enterprise. A Fix the Debt spokesman scoffs at the claim. |
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Senate Decisions Could Put Lindsey Graham's Seat At Risk The South Carolina Republican has been outspoken in his criticism of President Obama's administration lately, particularly his opposition to Chuck Hagel as secretary of defense. But this may have to do more with a possible primary challenge than the nomination itself. |
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'Nordic Cool' Illuminates D.C.'s Kennedy Center From the Danish modern furniture of the 1950s to the omnipresence of Ikea, Americans have long been attracted to the austere design of Nordic countries. Now a massive festival in Washington, D.C., showcases artists and designers from the very top sliver of the globe. |
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States Take Sides As Court Revisits Voting Rights Act The last time the Supreme Court heard a challenge to the Voting Rights Act of 1965, only one state asked that its key provision be struck down. But just four years later, seven states say the most effective civil rights statute in the nation's history has outlived its usefulness. |
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Fighting Stream Of Terrorist Capital, Kenya Cracks Down On Somali Businesses U.S. counterterrorism efforts include choking off the flow of cash to extremists and urging friendly countries to help. But in places like the Nairobi neighborhood of Eastleigh, where Somali refugees have flocked, it's hard to distinguish between tainted money and honest cash. |
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A Dramatic Way To Uncork The Bubbly: Use A Sword   The art of sabrage, or knocking open a bottle of Champagne with a sword, probably started during the time of Napoleon. A sword is handy but not necessary; a kitchen knife can also work, according to a Champagne expert. |
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Civil Rights Exhibit Highlights Successes, Work Left To Be Done The exhibit at Emory University in Atlanta lays out the history of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, a group first presided over by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The group tackled issues of health care, poverty and gun violence — issues still seen as relevant today. |
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Nuclear Waste Seeping From 6 Containers In Washington The state's governor called the news "disturbing" but said there is no health threat at the moment. Hanford has been in existence since the 1940s, when the site was used to prepare plutonium for bombs. |
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What's The Sequester? And How Did We Get Here? They've been everywhere this week: dire warnings about threats posed by across-the-board federal spending cuts. But what's the real story? Here are the answers to four burning questions about the cuts known as "the sequester." |
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Boston Grapples With The Threat Of Storms And Rising Water Superstorm Sandy was a wake-up call for the Eastern Seaboard — especially Boston, where flooding rivers can meet a surging ocean, all in Boston Harbor. So what's a city to do? Retreat from the water or better shield buildings from flooding. |
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As Police Drones Take Off, Washington State Pushes Back Unmanned aerial vehicles are starting to show up in American police departments, courtesy of grants from the Department of Homeland Security. But that's caused something of a backlash, and now some state legislatures are considering legal limits on drones to address opponents' privacy concerns. |
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Attack By Chondrite: Scientists ID Russian Meteor The meteor that caused at least 1,000 injuries in Russia after a startling and powerful daytime explosion one week ago has been identified as a chondrite, the most common type of meteor that falls on Earth. But that hasn't stopped a black-market economy from developing around the fragments. |
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After Long Isolation, Myanmar Now Has Suitors Myanmar's contacts with the world are now expanding rapidly. President Obama's visit last November was a sign of that shift. And China is building major oil and gas pipelines that link the two countries. |
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Sequester In South Carolina: A Tale Of Fighter Jets And Preschools If across-the-board federal spending cuts go into effect March 1, the F-16s will be taking fewer flights from Shaw Air Force Base. And nearby, the Head Start program would have to cut 50 kids. But some residents are wondering if the whole thing is just hype. |
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Pentagon Grounds Fleet Of F-35 Fighter Jets Because Of Engine Problems At an estimated cost of $400 billion, it is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program. While ambitious in its scope, the program has had numerous stumbles. |
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An Oprah-less Chicago Tries To Keep Talk Show Spirit Alive It's been nearly two years since Oprah ended her daily show, and Chicago's been adjusting to the loss of the daytime talk queen. She left a void, but there's no need to write an obituary for the talk genre in Chicago. The city is still home to two shows, Windy City Live and the Steve Harvey Show. |
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Contagion On The Couch: CDC App Poses Fun Disease Puzzles Dozens of kids get sick after a seemingly innocent birthday party. Was it the homemade ice cream or an accident in the pool? A new iPad app lets you solve outbreak puzzles just like real disease detectives. It's pleasing entertainment, if not as infectious as real video games. |
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Justice Department Joins Lawsuit Against Lance Armstrong The lawsuit alleges that Armstrong and his team's pervasive doping campaign defrauded the U.S. Postal Service out of more than $31 million in sponsorship fees. |
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In Document Left Behind By Al-Qaida, 22 Tips To Avoid Drones Strikes Among them, specific tips on how to scramble signals and more obvious tips on hiding beneath trees. The document was left behind as al-Qaida fighters streamed out of Timbuktu. |
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Aquarium Dumping Linked To Giant Tahoe Goldfish The giant fish in Lake Tahoe are thought to be spawning and schooling after being dumped there by aquarium owners. |
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FBI Raids The Scooter Store; Will TSA Crack Down On 'Wheelchair Miracles'? The Scooter Store says it's fully cooperating. Investigators wanted to see its billing records. Questions have been raised about the money Medicare has to spend on power chairs. Meanwhile, at airports there's a growing problem: travelers who abuse wheelchair rules to get around long lines. |
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Penn State Officials Take Booze Out Of 'State Patty's Day' Mix  Bar owners near the university agreed to not sell alcohol Saturday for what's become known as "State Patty's Day." Local officials say the unofficial St. Patrick's Day celebration brings unwanted and unruly behavior into downtown State College, Pa. |
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Despite Lingering Drought, USDA Predicts A Flood Of Grain The U.S. Department of Agriculture says farmers may get a record harvest of corn, and a higher supply of soybeans and wheat in 2013. The corn harvest is expected to be up nearly 40 percent over last year's drought-crippled level. |
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Venezuela Says Chávez Still Suffering From Respiratory Problems Chávez returned to Venezuela from Cuba on Monday. He is being treated for cancer at a military hospital. |
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Is China's Military Behind Cyberattacks on U.S.? A new report released by an American security firm alleges the Chinese military is linked to extensive cyberattacks against American corporations and government agencies. Is China engaged in cyberwarfare? How should the Obama Administration respond to cybersecurity threats? |
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After Uproar Over Removed Mural In London, A New Banksy-Like Work Appears The controversy began when a piece of graffiti on a London wall appeared at a Miami auction house. The piece of art is scheduled to fetch up to $700,000. The community in London said its sale would be immoral. Now, after a tug of war, a stenciled rat has appeared nearby. |
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Dead Mice Are Going To Be Dropped On Guam From Helicopters (Really) The idea is that brown tree snakes will eat these snacks from the sky. Then, it's hoped, the snakes will die because the mice will be laced with painkillers. The active ingredient in those drugs should be toxic to the snakes. |
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Does Danica Patrick Have An Edge In The Daytona 500? Danica Patrick became the first woman to win a pole in NASCAR's elite division, but that doesn't mean her No. 1 position at the start of Sunday's Daytona 500 will give her an edge. Experts say that a 40-pound weight advantage might not help either. |
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Who Should We Honor On Presidents' Day? Tell Me More host Michel Martin and editor Ammad Omar crack open the listener inbox. This week, they clear up a Presidents' Day misunderstanding, and see if the idea of Legos for girls really has legs. |
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Could Minimum Wage Increase Boom Or Bust Economy? President Obama's plan to jump-start the economy starts with increasing the minimum wage and avoiding sequestration. Host Michel Martin talks about those challenges and others, like rising gas prices and expanding waist lines. She's joined by NPR's senior business editor Marilyn Geewax and Wall Street Journal economics reporter Sudeep Reddy. |
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Will 'Blade Runner' Be The New O.J.? South African Olympian and Paralympian Oscar Pistorius has been granted bail, but the hearing brought to light bizarre details about the murder charges against him. So will the case turn into another O.J. Simpson fiasco? Host Michel Martin asks the barbershop guys for their thoughts. |
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Midnight In The Garden Of Long Exposures For one of these night photographs to turn out, the stars have to align — almost literally. |
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Parents, Just Say No To Sharing Tales Of Drug Use With Kids Kids whose parents have talked to them about the dangers of drugs are more likely to think that using isn't OK. That message can become mixed when parents bring up their own experience. There's no need to lie to a child, but parents should be careful about offering too much information. |
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A User's Guide To Washington Jargon If you can't tell what politicians in Washington are talking about, you're not alone. But eventually terms such as "sequester" and "reconciliation" can become less impenetrable, if only because of their constant repetition. |
