NPR News

Pages

The Two-Way
6:20 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Wikipedia Irks Philip Roth With Reluctance To Edit Entry About His Novel

Credit AFP / Getty Images
Author Philip Roth resorted to an open letter to Wikipedia when his efforts to correct an error on the site were rebuffed. The entry in question was about his book, The Human Stain.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 7:24 pm

The Two-Way
5:18 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Armless Archer Matt Stutzman Describes How He Shoots A Bow — And Wins Medals

Credit Dennis Grombkowski / Getty Images
Archer Matt Stutzman of the U.S. prepares to shoot in the London Paralympics. Born without arms, Stutzman uses a release trigger strapped to his shoulder to fire.

American Paralympian Matt Stutzman won the silver medal in archery this week, a feat he accomplished despite being born without arms. In the men's compound open final, he was narrowly beaten by Finland's Jere Forsberg, who has the use of both arms.

In the gold medal match, Forsberg fired a perfect 10 on his final arrow to avoid a shoot-off with Stutzman.

The Paralympics have helped Stutzman, who is from Fairfield, Iowa, become something of a celebrity, thanks to his competitive spirit and his refusal to let his talents go to waste.

Read more
Sports
4:12 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Suspensions Of New Orleans Football Players Lifted

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Read more
Presidential Race
4:04 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Obama, Romney Spin New Jobs Report Differently

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

With the conventions over and the latest jobs report out, both President Obama and Mitt Romney were on the road Friday. Mr. Obama began in New Hampshire and ended in Iowa, and his Republican challenger did just the opposite.

Economy
3:47 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Obama Administration: 'Recovery Has Been Resilient'

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

Joining us now to talk about today's jobs numbers is Alan Krueger. He's the chairman of the White House Council of Economic Advisers. Welcome.

ALAN KRUEGER: Thank you.

SIEGEL: Is it fair to say that the good news here, the lower unemployment rate is produced by bad news, so many people leaving the workforce and that 96,000 jobs in a month is a discouraging jobs report?

Read more
Presidential Race
3:47 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

A Few 'Baloney' Facts In Biden, Obama's Speeches

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

Melissa Block talks to Robert Farley, deputy managing editor of FactCheck.org, to truth squad some of the comments made Thursday night by President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, North Carolina.

The Salt
3:46 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Want To Control Your Alcohol Intake? Ask For A Different Glass

Credit Gretchen Cuda Kroen / NPR
Question: Which one of these glasses contains the most liquid? Answer: None. Each of them contains 4 oz. of iced tea.

Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 3:10 pm

Downed a few too many drinks at the office happy hour? The shape of the glass may be at fault — at least in part — for encouraging drinkers to overindulge. The reason, scientists say, is simple: A curved glass interferes with the ability to judge alcohol intake.

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
3:40 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

How Broken Is The U.S. Health Care System? Let's Count The Ways

Credit IOM
Complaints about disorganized health care are rampant.

Originally published on Tue September 11, 2012 11:29 am

Just about everybody who's ever needed health care in this country has seen firsthand the problems that make our system inefficient, costly and often downright unsatisfying.

The nonpartisan Institute of Medicine just put out a 450-page report about the problems along with some ideas for improvements.

Read more
The Two-Way
3:21 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Texas Road Will Inaugurate 85 MPH Speed Limit, Nation's Highest

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

The highest speed limit in America will be officially unveiled in November, when drivers on one portion of a Texas highway will be allowed to reach 85 mph without keeping an eye out for police cars and speed cameras.

As Transportation Nation reports, the new speed limit allows drivers to "legally drive faster than hurricane force winds."

Read more
Planet Money
2:06 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

The Economics Of Stealing Bikes

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

The normal bike market is pretty straightforward — supplier, middleman and buyer. The market for stolen bikes has the same roles, but different players. Here's a quick look at how it works.

The Supplier

The supplier, instead of Schwinn or Cannondale, is the bike thief.

Hal Ruzzal, a bike mechanic at Bicycle Habitat in Manhattan, describes two types of thieves.

Thief Type 1: "Your standard drug addict."

Read more
Summer Nights: Funtown
2:02 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

A Slamming Good Time On The Jersey Shore

Originally published on Mon September 10, 2012 5:30 pm

The "Bumper Car Psychos" are easy to spot. While the other bumper cars at New Jersey's Keansburg Amusement Park spin wildly from one collision to the next, the Psychos cruise gracefully around the track, grinning from ear to ear as they slam their targets into the wall.

Read more
Sports
1:59 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

A Year After War Wound, American Wins Paralympics

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 9:06 pm

The first thing you need to know about Navy Lt. Brad Snyder is that he's a bit intense.

If you go to the U.S. Naval Academy, swim competitively, and make the cut for the Navy's elite bomb-disposal squad, you're probably going to be the competitive type.

"Crossfit, surfing, biking, running, swimming, you name it I'm into it. Rock climbing," says Snyder.

The second thing you should know is that Snyder plans to continue doing all these things — even though he's now blind.

Read more
Mom And Dad's Record Collection
1:30 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

'American Pie' And The Box Of Records A Father Left Behind

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Mel Fisher Ostrowski played Don McLean's American Pie until she "learned every word."

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

This summer, All Things Considered has asked listeners and guests to share a personal memory of one song discovered through their parents' record collection.

NPR listener Mel Fisher Ostrowski wrote in to tell us about how Don McLean's "American Pie" helped her "bridge a gap between my long-deceased father and baby boy." Hear the radio version at the audio link above — and read a lightly edited version of Ostrowski's original letter to NPR below.

Read more
It's All Politics
1:04 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Deflating Jobs Report May Not Move The Needle On The Election

Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
President Obama spoke at a campaign event at Strawbery Banke Museum in Portsmouth, N.H., on Friday.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 1:52 pm

It wasn't what President Obama was hoping for: another disappointing jobs report the morning after he accepted the Democratic nomination and asked Americans to stay the course.

The U.S. economy added just 96,000 jobs last month, according to the Labor Department, and a drop in the unemployment rate to 8.1 percent was mostly due to people giving up on job searches.

Read more
Book Reviews
1:04 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Safe Landing For 'Stag's Leap'?

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 5:18 pm

What do you do when, after 30 years, your husband tells you he is leaving you for someone else? If you're poet Sharon Olds, you grab your spiral-bound notebook and write about it. And though the marriage ended in 1997, she has waited 15 years to tell us about it — half as long as her marriage lasted.

Read more
Asia
12:40 pm
Fri September 7, 2012

Little Islands Are Big Trouble In The South China Sea

A storm has been brewing for decades in the South China Sea, and it has nothing to do with the weather.

Instead, it's a virtual typhoon of competing claims over tiny, uninhabited island chains that ring the South China Sea and reach even farther north. They all have one thing in common: China has claimed control of them.

Read more
Election 2012
11:37 am
Fri September 7, 2012

The 7 Coolest Presidents In American History

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 2:34 pm

When former President Bill Clinton referred to present President Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention as "cool on the outside," Clinton was underscoring the notion that Obama is, well, cool.

Read more
The Two-Way
11:27 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Suspect Charged In 'Air Hoax,' And Victim Arrested On Unrelated Charges

Credit Clem Murray / MCT /Landov
The US Air flight that was forced to return to Philadelphia on Thursday because of the hoax.

File this under "you think you had a bad day?" and "that was a really dumb idea."

First, a plane headed from Philadelphia to Texas is turned around Thursday because someone called authorities to say a passenger was carrying a "liquid explosive."

Read more
Economy
10:58 am
Fri September 7, 2012

What August Job Numbers Mean

The Labor Department reported that the economy added 96,000 jobs in August, far fewer than analysts had predicted. The unemployment rate fell from 8.3 percent to 8.1 percent, an indication that more people moved out of the workforce. Host Michel Martin discusses the latest unemployment numbers with NPR Senior Business Editor Marilyn Geewax.

Election 2012
10:58 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Sandra Fluke: Health Access Is An Economic Issue

Sandra Fluke found herself in the center of a media storm earlier this year. She became a political target after she testified in favor of President Obama's policy to require most employers' insurance plans to cover contraception. Fluke spoke at this week's Democratic convention, and talks about it with host Michel Martin.

Sports
10:58 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Paralympians 'Dream, Drive, Do' In London

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 4:04 pm

Team USA wheelchair sprinter Anjali Forber-Pratt may have won two bronze medals at the Beijing Paralympics, but she told NPR's Michel Martin that competing in London this year has blown her away.

"Oh my goodness, the stadium itself is just unbelievable," she said. "There's about 80,000 fans, and everyone is just genuinely excited to support all of the athletes here. It's surreal."

Forber-Pratt says that the sound from the stadium carries a mile away to where the athletes live. "Whenever there's a U.K. athlete ... you can actually hear the roar of the crowd," she laughs.

Read more
Election 2012
10:58 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Top Speechwriters Grade Conventions

President Obama's acceptance of the Democratic nomination capped two weeks of speeches at the political conventions. Host Michel Martin discusses hits and misses with Mary Kate Cary, former speechwriter for President George H.W. Bush; and Paul Orzulak, former speechwriter for President Clinton and Vice President Al Gore.

Krulwich Wonders...
10:55 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Volcano Shoots Geyser Of Water Up Into Space

Originally published on Tue October 9, 2012 10:53 am

What we have here is a moon — a small one (slightly wider than the state of Arizona) — circling Saturn.

If you look closely, you will see a small splay of light at its top, looking like a circular fountain.

That's because it is a fountain — of sorts. A bunch of volcano-like jets are sending fantastically high geysers of water vapor up into the sky, so high that you can see them in this remarkable print by Michael Benson, back lit by light bouncing off of Saturn.

Read more
It's All Politics
10:38 am
Fri September 7, 2012

In Case You Missed It: Video Of Gabrielle Giffords Leading The Pledge

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Former Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., waves to the delegates at the Democratic National Convention.

It was, as Eyder wrote Thursday night, "one of the convention's most emotional moments."

So here, in case you missed it, is a video clip of former Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords leading her fellow Democrats in the Pledge of Allegiance.

Read more
Election 2012
10:15 am
Fri September 7, 2012

'Why I'm A Democrat'

Credit Eyder Peralta / NPR
Whitney Babbitt, 26, from Indianapolis, is a campaign manager and page for the state delegation.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 11:58 am

At the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., NPR digital journalists asked delegates, politicians and other attendees to react to the statement: "Why I'm a Democrat." Here are some of those responses. (And here's what we heard from Republicans the week before.)

Read more
The Two-Way
10:00 am
Fri September 7, 2012

VIDEO: Jennifer Granholm's High-Energy Address To The DNC

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm making one of her points Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.

President Obama and Vice President Biden are naturally getting the big headlines. But it's former Michigan Gov. Jennifer Granholm who is getting a lot of the buzz this morning for her high-energy address Thursday night at the 2012 Democratic National Convention.

Thanks to the video archive that C-SPAN helpfully makes available, we've created a clip of her 6 minute, 30-second appearance.

Read more
The Two-Way
9:23 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Clinton Signs Report Designating Haqqani Network As Terrorist Group

Credit Kirsty Wigglesworth / AP
A U.S. Predator drone flies through the night sky over Kandahar Air Field in Afghanistan. Such drones have been targeting groups such as the Haqqani network that are accused of attacking U.S. and Afghan forces.

One of the most violent groups operating in Pakistan and Afghanistan — one which top U.S.

Read more
U.S.
9:15 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Close Read: Obama's Speech And The Jobs Numbers

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP. HOST: And I'm Steve Inskeep. Hours after President Obama delivered his speech at the Democratic Convention, the latest unemployment report provided a reminder of what's at stake. The unemployment rate dropped in August, which sounds good, but the number of jobs created was below expectations for August.

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
9:14 am
Fri September 7, 2012

X-Ray Tests May Heighten Cancer Risk In Susceptible Women

Credit Bill Branson / National Cancer Institute
Mammograms may pose a particular risk to women with genetic mutations that predispose them to breast cancer.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 11:53 am

Researchers report that women with genetic mutations that put them at dramatically increased risk of developing breast cancer may also face a heightened risk from radiation used during medical screening and diagnosis.

The imaging tools that help doctors identify disease, injury or damage to the body have long been known to carry some risk of cancer, in large part because ionizing radiation can damage the genetic material in the body.

Read more
'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup
9:02 am
Fri September 7, 2012

It's All Politics, Sept. 6, 2012

Credit Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 9:42 am

  • Listen to the Roundup

The Republicans and the Democrats have had their say. The bad news: NPR's Ron Elving and Ken Rudin now have to have their say. This week's episode of the "It's All Politics" podcast reviews both conventions, the highs and the lows, and what if anything it all means for November.

Join Rudin and Elving for the latest political news in this week's roundup.

Read more

Pages