NPR News
Advocates Want Bush Abortion Policies Reversed
Abortion-rights backers want quick action from the president-elect, although they may not press for sweeping changes. Obama has said he is looking to find common ground on reproductive health issues.
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Flood Of Immigrants To Long Island Sparks Tension
People born and raised in Suffolk County, N.Y., complain about dozens of people living in single-family homes; immigrants complain that they are victimized by locals. An Ecuadorean day laborer was murdered last year, allegedly by teenagers who said they regularly looked for immigrants to bash.
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New Weekly Jobless Claims Unchanged
New jobless claims were unchanged last week at 505,000, matching analysts' expectations, but the four-week moving average of claims dropped to its lowest in almost a year, the Labor Department said Thursday.
New Karzai Term, But Same Old Problems
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was inaugurated in Kabul on Thursday for a new term amid tight security and ceremonial flourishes. But his second term is already beset by severe doubts that he will be any more effective at tackling the country's rampant corruption.
GOP Governors Meeting Decidely Upbeat
The Republican Governors Association is holding its annual meeting this week in Austin, Texas. Thanks to recent election victories in Virginia and New Jersey, Republicans are feeling good again. They plan to use those wins to help the party rebound in 2010.
Calif. Officials Will Need To Confront Budget Shortfall
California faces a budget deficit of nearly $21 billion. That's according to a report released Wednesday by a non-partisan budget analyst. The study was released less than four months after legislators patched together a budgetary compromise.
Mammogram Wars: Experts Feel The Backlash
A firestorm erupted this week after an expert panel released recommendations that yearly mammograms aren't necessary for all women under age 50. The criticism isn't surprising, given the emotional valence of breast cancer. But not everyone thinks the panel is wrong.
GOP Uses Mammogram Study To Its Benefit
The uproar over a new mammogram recommendation came at an inconvenient time politically speaking. The Senate is about to take up a health care bill that Democrats don't yet have the votes to pass. Republicans say the study reinforced their nightmare scenario about health care rationing.
Holder Defends Sept. 11 Prosecution Strategy
Attorney General Eric Holder spent hours testifying on Capitol Hill Wednesday. He defended his decision to send the alleged mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks and four other men to New York to face a criminal trial. Senators spent much of the hearing telling Holder why they think he's wrong.
Evaluation Raised Concerns About Maj. Hasan In '07
Documents obtained by NPR show that psychiatrists at Walter Reed Army Medical Center put their concerns about the accused Fort Hood shooter in writing. Two years ago, a top official there wrote an evaluation that harshly criticized Maj. Nidal Hasan's incompetence and unprofessional behavior.
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Afghan President Pledges To Clean Up Corruption
Afghan President Hamid Karzai was sworn in for another five-year term Thursday. Watching with a critical eye were foreign dignitaries who are pressing Karzai to make his second term in office far better than his first. Karzai promised to prosecute corrupt officials.
U.S.-Cuba PAC Money May Have Changed Votes
A group of Cuban Americans has had unusual success getting House members to change their positions and vote against closer ties with Cuba. New analysis shows some political contributions from the U.S.-Cuba Democracy Pac reached lawmakers within days of them switching their vote.
Reid Introduces Senate Health Care Plan
Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has unveiled the Democrat's bill overhauling health care. It costs less than the health care bill the House passed earlier this month, and its expansion of insurance coverage is somewhat more limited.
McCann, Stiles Win National Book Awards
The 60th annual National Book Awards were handed out Wednesday night in New York. Colum McCann's Let the Great World Spin, a novel about daring, luck and mortality in 1970s New York, won the fiction prize. T.J. Stiles' biography of Cornelius Vanderbilt, The First Tycoon, was the nonfiction winner and Keith Waldrop's Transcendental Studies: A Trilogy won for poetry.
Ruling May Spur More Katrina Flood Lawsuits
Five residents and a business have won a lawsuit against the Army Corps of Engineers over flood damages from Hurricane Katrina. A federal judge in New Orleans ruled Wednesday that the Army Corps' shoddy oversight of a navigation channel contributed to massive flooding of New Orleans' Lower Ninth Ward and neighboring St. Bernard Parish. The case has been watched closely by other Katrina victims seeking compensation from the government.
Newly-Inaugurated Karzai Vows To Fight Corruption
Afghanistan's President Hamid Karzai promised Thursday to prosecute corrupt government officials and end a culture of impunity, speaking during an inauguration closely watched by the international community for signs that his administration is moving beyond the cronyism and graft of the past five years.
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Environment Or Economy? Obama's Balancing Act
To sell Congress and others on the idea of taking bold steps to curb global warming, President Obama casts his arguments in terms of job creation. Many environmental activists say they wish he'd do more to push the "green" agenda.
FDA Bows To Pressure From Fans Of Raw Oysters
Facing political pressure from the Gulf Coast oyster industry, the FDA has backed off a plan to require that raw Gulf of Mexico oysters be treated to rid them of a potentially deadly bacteria found in warm-water oysters. The plan had sparked anger in Louisiana — especially in New Orleans.
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GM Plans To Pay Off Government Debt, Despite Falling Sales
Despite sales dropping 26 percent this quarter, management at General Motors was optimistic Monday as they announced plans to begin paying off $8.1 billion in debt to the U.S. and Canada. Jerome Vaughn, a reporter for NPR member station WDET in Detroit, and John Stoll, who covers the Detroit auto industry for The Wall Street Journal, discuss whether GM's repayment commitment is too big and too soon.
N.Y. Congressional Candidate Retracts Concession
Conservative candidate Doug Hoffman has withdrawn his concession in the close 23rd District Congressional race as New York election officials begin counting paper ballots.
