Search results for

Host Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Sarah Chayes about French Interior Minister Jean-Pierre Chevenement's threat to leave his cabinet post. Chevenment is upset over Prime Minister Lionel Jospin's plans to grant some autonomy to Corsica to reduce separatist violence there. As a defender of France's highly-centralized state, Chevenement has said that giving special status to Corsica will lead to more demands for special treatment from France's diverse regions.

Host Renee Montagne talks to author, Michele Serros about her new book, How to Be a Chicana Role Model. The book tells the story of a Chicana writer who's trying to find a way to embrace two very different cultures--without losing her identity in the process. (6:53) Stations: How to Be a Chicana Role Model by Michele Serros is published by Riverhead Books; ISBN: 15732

Steve Inskeep reports from the Pentagon that US officials say they have evidence shedding light on this month's tragedy aboard the Russian submarine Kursk. They say underwater sounds monitored by US vessels indicated one of the Kursk's own weapons misfired, causing the sub to sink, and costing 118 lives. Russian officials have voiced various theories about the cause of the accident, including a collision with another vessel in the Barents Sea.

The College Board today released its annual S.A.T. scores for this year's college freshman class. This year there are a record number of test takers. The highest percentage of foreign born students ever took the S.A.T. this year, and more test takers than ever are the first in their families to attend college. Although the overall math scores are the highest in 30 years, verbal scores did not budge for the fifth year in a row. NPR's Claudio Sanchez has a report.

Julie McCarthy reports from the Netherlands on today's developments in the trial of two Libyans accused of the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland. Defense attorneys demanded that the United States produce more classified documents relating to a star prosecution witness, Abdul Majid Giaka. The court today saw previously blacked-out passages of CIA cables about Giaka, a Libyan informer. The defense said those passages cast doubt on Giaka's credibility. The prosecution wants to use Giaka to link the defendants to the bombing, which left 270 people dead.

Colorado Public Radio's Andrea Dukakis reports on a controversy over the national motto "In God We Trust." The state school board passed a non-binding resolution that suggested public schools post the motto, but some schools have been hesitant to do so. Critics say the motto excludes students of different faiths, and some warn of possible legal battles.

NPR's Anthony Brooks reports that Vice President Al Gore took his campaign to Florida yesterday and launched a fresh attack on drug companies for their lobbying power in Congress. Today Gore is in Albuquerque focusing his attention on health care for children.

Robert talks to Richard Dawson, President of the Guild Of Air Traffic Control Officers in Taplow, England, about the increasing number of incidents of radio hackers posing as air traffic controllers contacting airline pilots and giving them false information. The British Civil Aviation Authority reports there have been 19 incidents in the last 8 months. These malicious radio transmissions have not yet resulted in disaster, because the pilots have called the tower to confirm. The tower has then told them the information was false.

Commentator Carol Wasserman grieves the end of summer. Although she's an adult, she still feels as if she will have to go back to school in the fall. She wonders why all the "shrinks" take this time of year off to vacation, when August is when they are needed most to deal with this leftover feeling from childhood.

Host Renee Montagne talks to Washington Post Reporter Howard Schneider, who's in Cairo, about the discussion President Clinton had with Egypt's President Hosni Mubarak concerning the stalled Middle East Peace process. The U.S. hopes that President Mubarak can be persuaded to get other Arab leaders to agree to leave East Jerusalem under Israeli sovereignty.

Host Renee Montagne talks to reporter Jonathan Miller, who's in Lima, about the decision by a Peruvian military court to overturn the life sentence of Lori Berenson. The 30-year-old New York native was found guilty of treason by the secret tribunal in January 1996 for allegedly helping the Tupac Amaru Revolutionary Movement plan an attack on Peru's Congress.

NPR's Scott Horsley examines the new "Bluetooth" radio link chip. The technology would allow everything from mainframe computers to cell phones communicate with each other via radio frequencies. And with such companies as IBM, Qualcomm and Microsoft backing it, Bluetooth could become an industry standard.

Renee Montagne talks to Jean Bethke Elshtain, professor of social and political ethics at the University of Chicago about this week's Millennium World Peace Summit. Elshtain says there's a real possibility that religious leaders can help bridge ethnic, religious, and political differences between people in ways traditional leaders can not.

Howie Movshovitz of Colorado Public Radio examines Aiyana Elliott's new documentary called The Ballad of Ramblin' Jack. The film is about her father Jack Elliot, a folk singer who studied under Woody Guthrie. Elliott says she made the film in order to focus attention on the contributions her father made to American folk music.

Bill Rice of member station WCPN reports on an election for the Ohio Supreme Court that's raising concern about the effect of campaign money on judicial independence. Republicans and business groups are trying to defeat Justice Alice Robie Resnick, a Democrat, because they disapprove of her votes in two close decisions.

NPR's Barbara Bradley reports on a controversy over whether or not DNA evidence should be used to overturn a prior conviction. More convicted prisoners are trying to prove their innocence by testing evidence as far back as 20 years. But, the use of DNA science is proving to be problematic in many of these cases because evidence has been thrown away or destroyed.

After a volunteer collected more than 200 dead migratory birds from the sidewalks around the World Trade Center, bird groups in the city called on the complex to dim unnecessary lights at night.

President Clinton has returned to Washington after a weekend trip to Africa. NPR's Mike Shuster reports that on his way home, Mr. Clinton stopped in Cairo for a meeting with Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak about the Middle East Peace process. They met for over an hour at the Cairo airport. Before the meeting, Clinton said he thinks that all the parties understand that without the leadership and support of Egypt, they will not be able to achieve a peace settlement.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports from Cartagena, Colombia, on President Clinton's visit today. The President wants to show support for Plan Colombia, which aims to end Colombia's 40-year cycle of political and criminal violence. The U.S. will provide nearly a billion dollars toward the plan, much of it in military aid. Human rights groups are worried that the plan will contribute to even more violence against civilian populations.

Renee Montagne talks with the BBC's John McLean about reports that Muslim separatists in the Philippines have kidnapped an American man.

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports on the rebirth of the rich musical tradition of the French island of Corsica. Back in the 1970's, when musicologists first started reviving ancient folk melodies, French authorities worried the songs could fuel separatism. Corsican nationalists did, indeed, use the island's unique polyphonic singing style to boost support for their cause. But many musicians object to the notion that their art is political. (5:45) You can find this music at http://www.corsicata.com/en/ There is also other Corsican music available from Harmonia Mundia, a US distributed label Harmonia Mundi HMC 901256 title: Corsica chants polyphoniques E Voce di u Cumune they have a web site http://www.harmoniamundi.com/hmUS/homeUS.asp Also there is a little shop in Corsica if you speak French. 011 334 9550

French forces killed the leader of the West African ISIS affiliate in a drone strike in southern Mali in August. French authorities described Adnan Abu Walid al-Sahrawi as "enemy No. 1" in the region.

Congress returns to work next week and its Republican leaders are eager to make their mark before the November elections. One way would be to tie some of their own priorities -- including tax breaks for small business -- to some of President Clinton's -- including a boost in the minimum wage. Brian Naylor has the story.

Frank Browning reports on an effort to reduce the number of heroin overdoses in San Francisco. The city has the dubious distinction of the highest rate of heroin overdoses in the country. A group called UFO -- You Find Out -- is trying to teach drug users how to shoot up more safely, and medical techniques like CPR to save lives.

Steve Rosenberg, in a piece filed for the BBC, reports on the effort to restore television broadcasts in Moscow after the fire in the city's television tower.