Seventy years ago, 70 percent of U.S.-made cars came with a stick shift. The number is less than 9 percent today.
But at least one man is on a quest to reverse that slide.
Eddie Alterman loves automobiles. He's a gear head. He's the top editor at Car and Driver magazine. His whole career, he has watched the sales of cars with stick shifts decline. And when Ferrari failed to offer a manual option for the new 458 Italia, he said, enough's enough. Basta.
I'm Jacki Lyden and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Michele Martin is away this week. Coming up, spring hails all sorts of lovely flowers and in Washington it brings cherry blossoms on the trees that ring the city's tidal basin. We'll share the story behind the famed cherry blossoms in a few minutes. But first, the Supreme Court opens a three-day hearing today about the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act.
As the Supreme Court begins hearing arguments on the Affordable Care Act, Tell Me More continues the conversation about state reactions to the law. Guest host Jacki Lyden speaks with Florida Senate President Mike Haridopolos, about opposition to the Affordable Care Act in his state.
A bus in Washington, D.C., displays an advertisement for a female condom in July 2010. To encourage their use, community groups distributed more than 500,000 of the female condoms, flexible pouches that are wider than a male condom but similar in length, during instruction sessions at beauty salons, barber shops, churches and restaurants.
A second generation of female condoms, which was approved in 2009, is cheaper than the first version. Still, the condoms for women are a lot more expensive than those for males. And female condoms remain pretty unfamiliar to most people.
Matthew Weiner has received nine Emmy Awards for his work on Mad Men and The Sopranos.
Credit AMC
Jon Hamm stars in Mad Men.
Credit Frank Ockenfels / AMC
The staff of Sterling Cooper Draper Pryce returned to TV on Sunday night. Mad Men is now set in 1966, seven months after the final episode of Season 4.
The fourth season of the AMC drama Mad Men ended in a dramatically big way.
Protagonist Don Draper, played by Jon Hamm, seemed happy. So happy, in fact, that he surprised his secretary, Megan, with an engagement ring on a Disneyland vacation with his children. The last shot of the episode showed Megan happily asleep in bed with Don, as he remained awake, staring up at the ceiling, before turning his head and staring out the window.
The U.S. Supreme Court begin hearing oral arguments on the health care law Monday. Outside the court, protesters and counter-protesters gathered with signs and chants. Also, people hoping to get in to witness the proceedings started lining up Friday morning.
This week, New York Times correspondent Jeffrey Gettleman will receive a George Polk Award for being the first to report that the militant Islamist group al-Shabab had prevented starving people from leaving Somalia.
U.S. Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Reagan Lodge, Headquarters and Service Battalion, Marine Corps Base Quantico, conducts water running exercises during a phyiscal training session in Ramer Hall, The Basic School, on Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., Sept. 14, 2011.
