NPR National News

Pages

Health
2:23 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Can Komen Recover From Controversy?

Credit Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Nancy G. Brinker, CEO and founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has had one of the worst weeks in terms of public relations of any organization in recent memory.

Read more
The Two-Way
2:20 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Winklevoss Twins May Reap $300 Million From Facebook IPO

Credit Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images
Tyler (left) and Cameron Winklevoss.

Before we finish the week, we have to pass on at least one more story related to Facebook's plan to raise about $5 billion with its first sale of shares to the public.

It seems that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — the "Winklevii" twins — could get up to $300 million worth of Facebook shares when the deal goes through.

Read more
Afghanistan
2:18 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Afghans View Peace Talks With Hope, Suspicion

Credit Aref Karimi / AFP/Getty Images
Taliban fighters walk with their weapons after joining Afghan government forces during a ceremony in Herat province, last month. Thirty fighters left the Taliban to join government forces in western Afghanistan. The Taliban announced recently that they would open a political office in Qatar ahead of talks with Washington.

The surprise announcement last month that the U.S. and the Taliban could soon begin peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar may have increased the chances of a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan.

But Afghans are treating the prospect with equal measures of hope and suspicion — perhaps more of the latter from the government of President Hamid Karzai.

Read more
Movie Interviews
2:02 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Sharon Van Etten: Learning How To Rock

Credit Dusdin Condren
Sharon Van Etten says that when she writes music, "it's to heal."

Sharon Van Etten was once an aspiring songwriter in Tennessee, but she had no idea how the music industry worked. So she moved to New York City and took an unpaid internship working for a record label.

"I started doing mail orders and then learned my way around the music blogs," Van Etten says in an interview with Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz. "I didn't know what a music blog was at the time."

Read more
NPR Story
2:00 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Candidates Take Pitches To Nevada

Republican candidates are campaigning across the state ahead of Saturday's caucuses. The state looks much different than it did four years ago — today it leads the country in home foreclosures, personal bankruptcies and unemployment.

NPR Story
2:00 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Jobs Numbers Surprise Economists

The Labor Department released its monthly report Friday, which shows unemployment down to 8.3 percent. Is the dip strong enough to push the rate down further in the coming months?

Sports
2:00 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

The Physics Of A Football Player's Performance

The New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs is a 6'4", 270 pound running back. And with that kind of size, you think he'd be able to run right through would-be tacklers, especially when he only needs to pick up a few yards. But he often can't — Jacobs's stats are below average in those situations. A couple NFL greats and a physics professor have the answer.

Shots - Health Blog
1:57 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Many Hits, Rather Than A Big One, Pose Greatest Concussion Risk

Credit Purdue University
Members of the Jefferson High School football team took 200 to more than 1,800 hits to the head in a season.

High school football players have changes in their brain function long before they have recognizable signs of a concussion, according to a new study.

The more hits a player got, the more brain function changed. The findings support the growing belief that a concussion comes as the result of a succession of insults, not just one bad hit.

Read more
The Salt
1:30 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

Prison Meal Deal: Where The Staff Serves Lunch ... And Time

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:04 am

The Fife and Drum Restaurant offers a daily lunch bargain that sounds hard to pass up: For just $3.21, you get a hot, tasty meal, made mostly from scratch and delivered to your table by friendly waiters.

So what's the catch? You have to go through security before you're served.

Read more
The Two-Way
12:55 pm
Fri February 3, 2012

After A Tepid Start, Cities Like Rome, Denver Receive Winter Battering

Credit Angelo Carconi / AP
A man dressed as a Roman Gladiator stands in front of the ancient Colosseum as snowflakes fall in downtown Rome on Friday.

Denver and Rome could not be farther apart. But today one city used to massive snow storms is facing a blizzard so big it cancelled 310 flights, even though the Denver airport has 500 workers clearing the snow. The other one hasn't seen this much snow since the '80s.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli told our Newscast unit the 1.5 inches of snow in Rome and the 16 inches that have accumulated in the northern suburbs have meant that very few attended schools and big tourist attractions like the Colosseum were closed.

Read more

Pages