Search results for

Noah Adams talks with Mott Linn, coordinator of Archives and Special Collections at Clark University, about the 75th anniversary of the first rocket launch. Robert Goddard pioneered the way for space flight when on this day three-quarters of a century ago he launched a 10-1/2 pound rocket from his aunt's farm in Auburn, Mass.

With foot-and-mouth disease scaring many people away from beef, Europeans are increasingly turning to a different red meat -- kangaroo. Australian trade officials say they expect sales to Europe to rise by 20 percent this year. Linda Wertheimer talks with John Kelly, the development manager of the Kangaroo Industries Association in Australia.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports from Kiev that Ukraine is going through its worst political crisis since the break-up of the Soviet Union. The now independent country has long been mired in corruption and economic hardship. But with revelations that President Leonid Kuchma may have rigged elections and ordered the disappearance of a murdered journalist, more and more Ukrainians are calling for his ouster. Despite a series of demonstrations in recent months, however, the opposition remains fractured and leaderless.

Joel Obermayer reports that the days of high pressure, back-slapping car salesmen may be numbered. Now many dealerships are training their staff to master the "soft sell," one where the consumer sets the pace. But some experts warn that consumers should be wary -- despite the change in technique, making money remains the primary goal of the sales staff.

Commentator Walter Shapiro says he thinks President George W. Bush must be the most efficient man alive.

Host Bob Edwards concludes his interview with Richard Allen, National Security Adviser to President Ronald Reagan, about the tape recordings he made in and around the White House Situation Room the day Reagan was shot. Today's conversation covers the behind-the-scenes events surrounding Secretary of State Alexander Haig's famous "I am in control" speech to the press. Allen also explains why these tape recordings have been kept secret for 20 years.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on a study in the Journal of the American Medical Association that suggests pregnant women may be particularly vulnerable to some kinds of violence. Researchers found pregnant women in Maryland were twice as likely to be victims of homicide, and that murder was the leading cause of death for expecting mothers. The study did not say why pregnant women are so often the targets of violent attacks, but some experts are now calling on doctors to be more diligent in identifying and reporting signs of domestic violence, especially when it involves a pregnant woman.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports on the newly appointed Argentine Economics Minister, Domingo Cavallo. Cavallo gave the Argentine economy a much-needed boost ten years ago when inflation rates were sky-high. Many hope he'll do the same for the struggling economy this time around.

Critic Tom Manoff reviews Mikhail Pletnev, Live at Carnegie Hall. Manoff says Pletnev looks for the musical essence in every piece he plays, and probes the piano for every inch of sound and color, as if it were an orchestra. The electricity of the concert hall that night is very present on the recording. The audience responded with five encores, which are included on an extra disc with this release. The label is Deutsche Grammophon, copyright 2001.

Host Bob Edwards talks with NPR's Andy Bowers about the testimony of Captain Scott Waddle of the USS Greeneville. The Naval Court of Inquiry into the fatal submarine accident with a Japanese fishing boat ended yesterday.

NPR's Rob Gifford reports that the Chinese government has arrested a computer analyst who is based in the U.S. The Chinese-born professor at the American University in Washington, D.C., who was traveling in China, is being charged with endangering national security.

NASA and its Russian counterpart have been quietly sparring over an American businessman named Dennis Tito. Tito is paying the Russians a reported $20 million for a ride into space. Russia plans to take him to the international space station. NASA doesn't like that idea. NPR's Larry Abramson reports on the first official response by NASA to Russian determination to send Tito to the station.

NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports on a recent study of a synthetic version of estrogen that is thought to help post-menopausal women fight osteoporosis. The study suggests it may not be as effective as many researchers previously thought.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports on the reaction among investors to the FederalReserve's cut of interest rates by only a half of a percentage point. Some had expected a more aggressive, three-quarter percent cut.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez continues the series on literacy on Morning Edition with a visit to an Ohio school where students and teachers take standardized tests this month. Some educators complain that classroom curriculum focuses entirely on preparing students for performance tests, rather than developing critical thinking skills.

Vice Premier Qian Qichen is in Washington. He is the highest ranking Chinese official to visit since the Bush administration took office. Qian will meet with the president tomorrow at the White House. China's top concern right now is a decision Mr. Bush must soon make on U.S. arms sales to Taiwan. Taiwan wants to buy advanced anti-missile technology (Aegis destroyers) but China is adamantly opposed to such a sale. If the sale goes through, some analysts say China will drop the more moderate stance it has recently adopted toward Taiwan. Other analysts say China's views should not be a factor in any U.S. decision to sell weapons to Taiwan.

NPR's Guy Raz reports from Macedonia that ethnic Albanian guerrillas today announced an unlimited, unilateral cease-fire to allow for negotiations with the government. The guerrillas made the offer just hours before a government ultimatum was to run out. The government ordered the rebels to surrender or withdraw from the areas they hold around the city of Tetovo or face an all-out assault.

NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from the Pentagon that the United States is not considering sending troops to Macedonia or increasing its deployment in neighboring Kosovo. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld discussed the crisis today with his British counterpart, Geoffrey Hoon. Gjelten reports that the Bush administration seems unprepared for this latest Balkan crisis.

NPR's Richard Harris reports on a new fossil skull, perhaps the most complete ever from a crucial period 3.5 million years ago. It was a period when the pre-human line was branching in several evolutionary directions. A member of the Leakey family found the skull. The Leakeys have been discovering fossils for three generations.

Commentator Bert Ely says yesterday's Federal Reserve interest rate cut was too little, too late, and that the Fed has a history of either under or overreacting. And he says Greenspan gets too much credit for what goes right. He says the market can do a better job than the Federal Reserve of keeping the economy on an even keel.

NPR's Jon Hamilton reports on today's seizure of a flock of Vermont sheep that some suspect may have been in contact with mad cow disease. The owners of the flock maintain that the sheep do not have the disease and have not been exposed to it. Nevertheless, federal officials arrived at the farm today and removed the sheep. The flock was quarantined in 1998 after being imported from Belgium. Federal offiicials maintain that the sheep ate contaminated feed while there. Since then, the Agriculture Department says tests show four sheep have a form of disease related to mad cow.

NPR's Nina Totenberg reports on a Supreme Court decision that hospitals cannot reinstate a practice of testing pregnant patients for drugs and turning over the results to the police, unless they get the woman's permission first. The justices ruled 6-3 that testing women who did not understand that the results could be used to prosecute them was a violation of the constitutional protection against unreasonable searches.

Linda Wertheimer talks with Pamela Schaeffer, managing editor of the National Catholic Reporter newspaper, about alleged sexual abuse of nuns by priests in the Catholic Church. According to reports written over several years by senior members of women's religious orders, the abuse has taken place in a number of countries including the United States.

NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports on the urgent search for ways to end airport gridlock. Airline travel is surging and flight delays are becoming common. Federal authorities are ready to say what they believe the problems are and what can be done about them.

The president of the International Flat Earth Society has died in Lancaster, Calif. Charles Johnson believed the Earth is actually as flat and circular as a phonograph record, with the North Pole right in the middle. Johnson and his fellow believers have rejected NASA and space exploration as an elaborate hoax perpetrated by the government. He was 76 years old.