NPR News

Hostage Tell-All Books Fly Off Shelves In Colombia

NPR Top Stories - March 6, 2010 - 7:50am

Colombians are enthralled with a new tell-all account by three Americans held hostage by rebels in the country's jungle for five years. They write about their lives and have unkind words for Ingrid Betancourt, the best-known former hostage of all.

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Advocates Want Bush Abortion Policies Reversed

NPR Top Stories - December 11, 2009 - 12:25pm

Abortion-rights backers want quick action from the president-elect, although they may not press for sweeping changes. Obama has said he is looking to find common ground on reproductive health issues.

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Timeline: U.S.-China Economic Relations, 1972-2009

NPR Top Stories - 1 hour 20 min ago

China has become an economic powerhouse over the past 40 years. U.S. presidents from Nixon to Obama have visited the country to develop and expand economic ties. Today, China's economy continues to grow, largely because of massive stimulus spending.

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FDA Bows To Pressure From Fans Of Raw Oysters

NPR Top Stories - 5 hours 20 min ago

Facing political pressure from the Gulf Coast oyster industry, the FDA has backed off a plan to require that raw Gulf of Mexico oysters be treated to rid them of a potentially deadly bacteria found in warm-water oysters. The plan had sparked anger in Louisiana — especially in New Orleans.

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Former Rep. William Jefferson Sentenced To 13 Years

NPR Top Stories - 5 hours 23 min ago

The Louisiana Democrat was convicted of bribery and racketeering earlier this year.

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Louisiana's Jefferson Gets 13-Year Prison Term

NPR Top Stories - 5 hours 26 min ago

William Jefferson, a former Democratic congressman from Louisiana who famously stashed cash in his freezer, was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for taking hundreds of thousands in bribes in exchange for using his influence to broker business deals in Africa.

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Senior White House Counsel Steps Down

NPR Top Stories - 5 hours 50 min ago

Senior White House Counsel Greg Craig will leave his post and will be replaced by Bob Bauer. Craig has faced growing criticism over the difficulties in closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

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Terrorism Cases To Bring New Scrutiny To N.Y. Court

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 24 sec ago

The federal courthouse in Manhattan has seen a series of high-profile terrorism cases before now, but the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and the other Guantanamo detainees will be the most scrutinized by far. Melissa Block talks about some of the legal obstacles to come with Joshua Dratel, a consultant with the ACLU's John Adams Project, which fought on behalf of Guantanamo detainees to get their cases transferred out of military court.

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Sept. 11 Cases Move From Military To Civilian Courts

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 5 min ago

The Justice Department has decided to try the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York. Until now, military commissions at the Guantanamo Naval Base have been handling the legal case against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who has admitted to planning the attacks. Now, the Obama administration will hand the case to the federal criminal courts.

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Investigators Seek Motive In Fort Hood Shootings

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 22 min ago

As Congress prepares to examine whether the government mishandled reports of behavioral issues with Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, the suspected gunman in the Fort Hood shootings, one key question being raised is: Could terrorism have been a motive? Investigators warn it's too early to speculate.

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Ohio Changes Executions After Botched Attempt

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 29 min ago

After a botched execution in September, Ohio officials announced late Friday that they will change how they administer lethal injections. The state had stopped executions after prison officials failed to kill an inmate while administering a cocktail of chemicals. Karen Kasler reports from Ohio Public Radio.

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'Balloon Boy' Parents Plead Guilty

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 31 min ago

The parents of a Colorado boy who came to be known worldwide as the "balloon boy" after his parents led authorities to believe he'd floated away in a silver helium balloon pleaded guilty to criminal charges Friday.

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Catholic Bishops' Lobby A Force On The Hill

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 47 min ago

Democrats recently came to terms with a lobbying force of unexpected influence in the health care debate: the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. Though the group has nary a lobbyist on its payroll, it successfully pushed for an anti-abortion amendment to be added to the House health overhaul bill.

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Water Ice Hides In Moon's Dark Craters

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 50 min ago

A rocket set on a collision course with the moon reveals it's not just a dull, dry satellite. Water lurking in its craters could someday provide everything from drinking water to rocket fuel for astronauts exploring the moon.

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One Man's 'Polar Obsession,' In Pictures

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 51 min ago

A book out this month by photographer Paul Nicklen, Polar Obsession, documents the wildlife of the Arctic and Antarctic. Nicklen, who was raised in an Inuit community in Canada's Arctic and whose work has been published in hundreds of magazines around the world, including National Geographic, talks with Melissa Block about the roots of his preoccupation with frigid regions.

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Alcohol Plus Caffeine Equals FDA Action

NPR Top Stories - 6 hours 52 min ago

Alcoholic "energy" drinks are coming under FDA scrutiny. Manufacturers of the beverages have 30 days to prove their products are safe.

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U.S., Japan Hone Alliance As Obama Starts Tour

NPR Top Stories - 11 hours 12 min ago

President Obama is just getting to know the Japanese premier, who took office less than three months ago. It is a period of adjustment for U.S.-Japanese relations. Obama pledges, "We will be deepening our engagement in this part of the world." His Asian trip also takes him to Singapore, China and South Korea.

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Veterans' Voices: Returning Home From The Gulf War

NPR Top Stories - November 11, 2009 - 1:46pm

Charles Sheehan-Miles was a tank loader in the Gulf War, engaged in combat in the 24th Division. He had a hard time coming back to civilian life. How do you answer, he wonders, when someone asks, "How was it?" Sheehan-Miles wrote a fictionalized account of his time in the Gulf, called Prayer At Rumayla, to give some indication.

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Ex-U.S. Hostage Named Senior Iran Policy Official

NPR Top Stories - November 11, 2009 - 1:43pm

When former ambassador John Limbert, a former hostage in Iran, retired a few years ago, he lamented the fact that Iran experts and Farsi speakers don't have much of a career path at the State Department. But now, the Obama administration has created a new job to focus on Iran policy — a deputy assistant secretary of state — and Limbert was just plucked out of retirement to take on the assignment.

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Veterans' Voices: Returning Home From Afghanistan

NPR Top Stories - November 11, 2009 - 1:42pm

This Veterans Day, we're bringing you stories of veterans recounting their homecoming. Some remember being welcomed to the sound of band music and cheering. But Army Spc. Jeanne O'Brien remembers a different, somber scene when she returned home from Afghanistan.

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