LATEST FROM NPR

Pages

9:12am

Mon June 11, 2012
The Two-Way

New Coma Report About Mubarak

Originally published on Mon June 11, 2012 10:49 am

Credit AFP/Getty Images
An image grab taken from Egyptian state TV shows ousted Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak sitting inside a cage in a courtroom during his verdict hearing in Cairo on June 2.

Former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak "entered today into a full coma," according to Interior Ministry spokesman Alaa Mahmoud, CNN says.

Piers Scholfield of the BBC, though, reports on his Twitter page that a ministry spokesman has told his nework that Mubarak, 84, "has some health problems but is not in a coma."

Read more

8:38am

Mon June 11, 2012
The Two-Way

Nadal Wins Record Seventh French Open

Credit Bernat Armangue / AP
Rafael Nadal of Spain celebrates winning the French Open earlier today.

Rafael Nadal today won his record seventh French Open tennis title.

His 6-4, 6-3, 2-6, 7-5 win over Novak Djokovic had been delayed a day, when rain forced suspension of play on Sunday.

Nadal, from Spain, had shared the record of 6 French titles with Sweden's Bjorn Borg. He's now won 11 Grand Slam titles (the French, U.S., Australian and British opens).

Djokovic, a Serbian, had been trying to win his fourth straight major title.

Read more

8:24am

Mon June 11, 2012
The Two-Way

Egad! British Prime Minister Left 8-Year-Old Daughter Behind In Pub

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 6:41 am

Credit Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
British Prime Minister David Cameron in London last month.

Dad thought she was with mum. Mum thought she was with dad. But 8-year-old Nancy wasn't with either of them.

Instead, she was left behind at a pub in Buckinghamshire, England. It was about 15 minutes before the mistake was realized and the little girl was reunited with her parents.

Oh, yeah, about her parents: They are British Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha.

Read more

7:51am

Mon June 11, 2012
The Two-Way

'Relief Rally' Weakens As Markets Study Spanish Deal

Originally published on Mon June 11, 2012 1:07 pm

  • NPR's Philip Reeves, reporting on 'Morning Edition'

After rising sharply earlier today, European financial markets have come off their highs as investors "question the logistics of the $125 billion bailout of Spanish banks and wonder ... whether Monday's gains in financial markets were nothing but a relief rally," Dow Jones Newswires reports.

Read more

7:16am

Mon June 11, 2012
The Two-Way

Commerce Secretary Cited For Hit-And-Run After Car Crashes

Originally published on Mon June 11, 2012 10:36 pm

Credit Rajanish Kakade / AP
Commerce Secretary John Bryson in March, during a visit to Mumbai, India.

Commerce Secretary John Bryson suffered an apparent "seizure" before a series of car crashes on Saturday in Los Angeles, a department spokesman says, according to an Associated Press "alert" issued just after 9:30 a.m. ET today.

As we reported earlier, Bryson was involved in three seemingly fender benders that did little damage and left those involved with only minor injuries — but led police to cite him for "felony hit-and-run."

Update at 10:26 p.m. ET. Bryson To Take Medical Leave:

Read more

6:47am

Mon June 11, 2012
Around the Nation

A Comeback For Downtown Cleveland

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 11:11 am

Almost 11 years ago, Phil Alexander opened his company, BrandMuscle, in the affluent Cleveland suburb of Beachwood.

The company sells marketing software to corporate clients worldwide, and its offices have a lean, energetic vibe, with 20-somethings tossing around ideas in multiscreened meeting rooms or a comfortable coffee bar.

Read more

4:44am

Mon June 11, 2012
Revolutionary Road Trip

Looking To The Future, Libya Erases Part Of Its Past

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 11:11 am

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is taking a Revolutionary Road Trip across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team are traveling some 2,000 miles from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya and on to Egypt's megacity of Cairo. In his first story from Libya, he looks at what has changed in a country that was dominated for decades by one man.

Read more

4:42am

Mon June 11, 2012
Middle East

Court's Ruling May Force Africans To Leave Israel

Originally published on Sun June 17, 2012 9:00 am

Credit JIim Hollander / EPA/Landov
African migrants line up to receive a free hot meal provided by a group of Israelis called Soup Levinsky in Levinsky Park in Tel Aviv on Sunday. A court in Jerusalem ruled that Israel could deport South Sudanese nationals back to their home country.

An Israeli court last week upheld a government plan to deport all South Sudanese residents now living in the country, a move that comes amid a wider government crackdown on the 60,000 African nationals who've entered Israel illegally over the past few years.

Human rights groups have objected to Israel's handling of the Africans, saying the government does not do enough to differentiate between economic migrants and genuine asylum-seekers.

Read more

4:39am

Mon June 11, 2012
Planet Money

Three Ways To Stop A Bank Run

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 11:11 am

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images
This is what you don't want.

There's a slow-motion bank run happening in Europe, as depositors move their money from financially troubled countries like Greece and Spain to stronger countries like Germany.

Banks take depositors' money and lend it out. So even a strong bank is in trouble if all the depositors suddenly decide to pull their money out. A full-blown run can sink a bank in an afternoon.

Once a run starts, there are basically three ways to stop it.

1. Slow it down

Read more

4:37am

Mon June 11, 2012
Asia

In India, A Different Kind Of Austerity

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 7:44 pm

Credit Sajjad Hussain / AFP/Getty Images
Facing economic woes, India is looking to trim spending - but cutting government services is extremely unpopular. Instead, politicians are targeting foreign travel and meetings at lavish hotels like the Oberoi in Mumbai.

In Europe, the concept of austerity has meant deep, painful cuts to government spending. In India, however, austerity looks a little different.

India's government has started by reeling in departmental spending on things like hotel space and foreign travel. It may seem like window dressing, but it can be difficult to make deep spending cuts in that country. Many voters see government largesse as a right and usually applaud pork-barrel spending.

Read more

4:36am

Mon June 11, 2012
Monkey See

Picturing Tunisia: A Favorite Hollywood Location Through A Different Lens

Originally published on Mon June 11, 2012 6:48 am

Here's a movie scene burned into my brain: Harrison Ford, playing Indiana Jones, is on a chase through the streets of Cairo. It's in the original movie Raiders of the Lost Ark, which I saw as a kid. Today I couldn't tell you who was chasing whom or why, but I remember the climax. Jones is pushing through a mass of people when the crowd abruptly parts. He's confronted by a swordsman, who flips his giant scimitar around both artfully and menacingly.

Read more

4:34am

Mon June 11, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

Doctors Deploy Shots And Drugs Against Whooping Cough Outbreak

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 7:45 pm

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP
A nurse in Washington administers the whooping cough vaccine to a child in May. In response to the epidemic, more than 82,000 adults have also received the vaccine this year.

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from my son's middle school alerting families that several students had been diagnosed with whooping cough, also called pertussis. I didn't pay too much attention; my son has been vaccinated and he got a booster shot a couple of years ago so I hoped he would be protected.

Then I started to cough.

A visit to my doctor and a pertussis test confirmed that I am one of the 338 people infected with it in Oregon this year. That's three times higher than last year.

Read more

4:34am

Mon June 11, 2012
Judging The Health Care Law

Health Care Decision Hinges On A Crucial Clause

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 11:12 am

Credit Mark Wilson / Getty Images
For more than 200 years, the Supreme Court has interpreted the meaning of the Commerce Clause of the Constitution. Its latest test is the case challenging the Obama health care law.

All of Washington is breathlessly awaiting the Supreme Court's imminent decision on the Obama health care overhaul. Rumors circulate almost daily that the decision is ready for release. As usual, those rumors are perpetrated by people who know nothing, but the decision is expected by the end of this month.

Read more

4:33am

Mon June 11, 2012
Dead Stop

'Bill W.' Day Celebrates Alcoholics Anonymous Hero

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 7:45 pm

Credit Steve Zind / NPR
Visitors to Bill Wilson's grave in Vermont often leave sobriety chips atop his headstone, marking how long they have been continuously sober.

Alcoholics Anonymous has long been known for the anonymity of its members. But there are two key figures in AA's history whose names are well known.

One is co-founder Bill Wilson, known as "Bill W." Beginning in the 1930s, Wilson and Dr. Bob Smith began helping other alcoholics in order to maintain their own sobriety.

Wilson's simple grave in Vermont makes no mention of his work. That doesn't stop people from visiting it, especially on this annual Bill W. Day. But people seek out Wilson's grave in a small cemetery near his birthplace in East Dorset, Vt., all year long.

Read more

4:31am

Mon June 11, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

To Sniff Out Childhood Allergies, Researchers Head To The Farm

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 11:11 am

Credit iStockphoto.com
Contact with animals and dirty environments may be one reason farm kids are less likely to get allergies, researchers say.

Allergies are on the rise these days, especially in children. Nearly half of all kids are now allergic to something, be it food, animals, or plants. Federal health officials say that rate is two to five times higher than it was 30 years ago.

And as researchers are trying to understand why, they're increasingly looking at kids who grow up on farms.

Read more

2:03am

Mon June 11, 2012
Music Interviews

The Tallest Man On Earth: Tired Of Running

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 11:11 am

Credit Courtesy of the artist
There's No Leaving Now, Kristian Matsson's newest album as The Tallest Man on Earth, comes out Tuesday.

Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson performs as The Tallest Man on Earth. That's just his stage name, though: Matsson himself stands at about 5 feet 7. His new album, There's No Leaving Now, comes out Tuesday.

Matsson has been praised as a poet, and is frequently compared to Bob Dylan. He often sings about nature, inspired by the scenery near his home in Falun, Sweden.

Read more

5:01pm

Sun June 10, 2012
Politics

Future Of Health Care Law Hangs In Balance

Originally published on Sun June 10, 2012 6:01 pm

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

At some point this month, maybe next week, maybe even tomorrow, the Supreme Court will decide whether all or parts of the Affordable Care Act, the health care law backed by the White House, is constitutional or not. And for that reason, a man in Oregon named Rocky King isn't sleeping very well. Have you slept in the past two years?

ROCKY KING: Three times.

RAZ: Three times in the past two years.

Read more

5:01pm

Sun June 10, 2012
Interviews

Assessing Obama's Team Of Rivals

Originally published on Sun June 10, 2012 6:01 pm

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

Back in 2008, shortly before Barack Obama became President Obama, he told a reporter that an Obama Cabinet would be a team of rivals, smart people with different viewpoints who would, in Mr. Obama's words, push him out of his comfort zone.

Read more

5:01pm

Sun June 10, 2012
Interviews

Bond Donned A Suit, A Stylish Suit

Originally published on Sun June 10, 2012 6:01 pm

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

And if you're just joining us, you're listening to WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz. Fifty years ago, a film franchise ushered in a new era of action, adventure, and of course, style.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

RAZ: James Bond. Men wanted to look like him, and women also wanted men to look like him.

(SOUNDBITE OF FILM, "DR. NO")

SEAN CONNERY: (as James Bond) Am I properly dressed for the occasion?

YVONNE SHIMA: (as Sister Lily) Quite suitable.

Read more

12:03pm

Sun June 10, 2012
Music Interviews

Fiona Apple: 'I Don't Really Have A Plan'

Originally published on Tue June 12, 2012 7:43 pm

It's been seven years since Fiona Apple has released a new album. The singer-songwriter, who broke out in 1996 with Tidal, says the delay is a quirk of her creative process.

Read more

Pages