Search results for

Veteran Missouri Congressman Bill Clay is retiring after 32 years in office. The state's first African-American congressman, he is extremely popular and has proven to be unbeatable during his career. But his bid to anoint his son as his successor is finding some resistance in tomorrow's Democratic primary. From St. Louis, Kevin Lavery of member station KWMU reports. (4:45) Music following story: theme from "Dynasty", from the CD "Television's Greatest Hits of the 70s and 80s".

In a recent visit to his homeland, Commentator Andrei Codrescu stopped at the grave of former Romanian dictator Nicolae Ceacescu. He remarks on the ironic symbolism at the site.

Linda talks with Congressional Statistician Bruce Oppenheimer about Al Gore's Congressional voting record. Dr. Oppenheimer is a professor of Political Science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. His latest book is called Sizing Up the Senate; University of Chicago Press, October 1999.

Janet Babin of member station WCPN reports that scientists at a small company in Ohio have come up with what they see as a solution to a growing problem in many U.S. lakes. Eurasian water milfoil is a weed that grows so large and fast that it clogs the water and makes boating difficult. The company is using a tiny beetle which feeds on the weed to control it.

The Reform Party opened its national convention in Long Beach California today, still divided over the official standing of presidential candidate Pat Buchanan. Supporters of the firebrand conservative insist he has won a mail-in primary for the Reform nomination, while other party members say he has been disqualified. Buchanan supporters had the upper hand in the convention hall, so the dissenters walked out. NPR's Andy Bowers talks to Noah live from Long Beach.

Researching family history, short-story writer Desiree Cooper turns to classified ads from the 1700s which describe runaway slaves. She wonders if the man who fled wearing a blue suit and carrying a fiddle might be a distant relative.

Alan Cheuse reviews Alice Lichtenstein's first novel called, Genius of the World, about an American family in turmoil. The publisher is Zoland.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from Berlin that the under the pressure of globalization, the German government is moving to loosen up the country's highly regulated economy. German officials are considering whether to abandon the country's strict regulation of shopping hours. Shops are still forbidden to open on Sundays and must close by 8 pm during the week.

NPR's Steve Inskeep reports that Republican Presidential candidate George W. Bush is campaigning today with Senator John McCain on the West Coast.

Linda and Noah read from the All Things Considered listener mailbag, including reactions to commentator Carol Wasserman's Aug. 8 essay on the realities of aging.

Charles de Ledesma reviews the new CD from Trilok Gurtu, called African Fantasy. Gurtu is a composer and percussionist from Bombay, well known for incorporating the sounds of his native India with other music, like jazz and rock. This CD explores the common musical ground of India and Africa. The Label Is The Verve Music Group.

NPR'S Jack Speer reports the Securities and Exchange Commission adopted a new rule today that should give individual investors better access to timely information. The SEC's new rule will require companies to publicly disclose important information at the same time it is shared with the analysts and brokerage firms on Wall Street. Brokerage firms remain opposed. They say the new rule will have a "chilling" effect on communication.

In the 1980s, Dungeons and Dragons inspired millions of kids to spend their spare time pretending to be wizards and dwarves. A new version of the D&D rule book comes out tonight, and the designers are betting it will lure today's kids away from video and computer games.

NASA has decided to take advantage of the next landing opportunity on Mars and put two robotic rovers on the planet's surface. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports on what will be the the first-ever "twin-rover" expedition to explore the surface, and the first touchdown since last December's crash landing of the ill-fated Mars Polar Lander mission.

Noah speaks with Coast Guard Commander Rick Ferraro about the search for the ship that dumped oil off of Florida's southern coast. It's the area's worst spill in at least a decade. Since Tuesday, investigators from the Coast Guard and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have been tracking down vessels that were in the area at the time the spill occurred. Ferraro says oil samples from all of the known vessels have been collected, and a lab is comparing those samples with oil from the slick.

Noah talks with Sam Norris a biologist with the West Virginia Division of Natural Resources and a former president of the West Virginia Mycological Association. He says it's been an unusually good year for mushrooms due almost daily warm rains in the highlands of West Virginia. They've collected large amounts and rare varieties including one mushroom which changes to the color blue when picked.

NPR's David Welna reports as Chicago works to improve its public housing some suburban mayors fear the city's just transferring the problems and people into their struggling neighborhoods. Chicago is tearing down its high-rise public housing and the residents are reconcentrating in predominantly black suburbs. Not so fast, say the suburbs.

Republican presidential nominee George W. Bush spent a second day barnstorming California today, bringing along the man who nearly derailed him back in the primaries. Once a rival, Arizona Senator John McCain has become a cheerleader for Bush, and the two are showing off their newfound camaraderie. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Linda from Salinas, California.

Commentator Dave Bean, an English teacher at Gould Academy in Bethel, Maine, wonders what's happened to Ricky Valarde, a student flirting with gangs and dropping out of school, who gets excited about climbing. He presses Bean to take him and they work in exchange for the gear. Bean goes climbing with him one last time, and learns they can count on each other.

The famous North Beach bookstore founded by poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti is about to be named a historic landmark in San Francisco. From member station KQED, Cy Musiker reports.

Hubble's iconic images captured the public's imagination. Will NASA's next big space telescope, which sees infrared light, produce astronomy scenes that pack a similar punch?

Patients with advanced cancer and heart disease are among those who have had to wait for surgeries and other procedures as critically ill, unvaccinated COVID patients strain the medical system.

Pfizer is seeking the FDA's permission to offer a third COVID-19 vaccine dose to those 16 and older. There's data that the vaccine's efficacy is waning and evidence that a booster can reverse that.

President Biden isn't on the ballot next fall. But Republican lawmakers, campaign operatives and candidates believe his handling of the economy will drive voters' decisions.

A demonstration is planned in support of defendants charged after a pro-Trump mob stormed the Capitol. The FBI says there's no specific threat, but security officials say they're ready no matter what.