Search results for

News Analyst Daniel Schorr takes a look at the Oklahoma City Bombing Trial. While trial has only just begun, it represents the conflicts of our times.

NPR's John Burnett is in Ft. Davis, Texas, the site of a standoff between law enforcement officials and some members of The Republic of Texas separatist group. The group had held two people hostage until this morning. Members have retreated into the West Texas mountains. They are also wanted on a variety of civil and criminal charges related to bad checks and bogus liens on property all over the state.

Commentator Ralph Schoenstein laments the fact Nabisco Animal Crackers are not cut out anymore, but are bas relief renderings of animals on rectangles. He calls the president of the company, who denies they ever were cut out. He wonders where this trend is headed.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports on this morning's reopening of a main bridge linking Grand Forks, North Dakota with East Grand Forks, Minnesota. The bridge had been closed since April 18 and its closing meant a drive of more than 150 miles just to get across the Red River. Many people who had been trapped on one side of the river were reunited with their families and co-workers today.

Musical History is being made in Wales with the performace of the first Japanese male choir singing in Japanese. The BBC's Tim Hersh reports.

Commentator Alan Cheuse reviews "Payback," a debut novel by Thomas Kelly about two Irish brothers caught up in the struggle between honest labor and mob corruption. Publisher is Knopf.

Cliff Island, Maine. Its population is small and getting smaller. Next year the one room schoolhouse may be down to one student, a situation islanders fear could soon lead to its closure. To counter the trend, year-round residents are actively recruiting outsiders to move to the island. Andrea de Leon of Maine Public Radio reports.

NPR's Wendy Kauffman reports from Seattle as the battle over federal judicial appointments heats up. Republicans complain that Clinton has nominated too many liberal activist judges and vow to demand consideration of some of their own candidates (4:00).

Daniel talks with Madeleine Burnside, co-author of "Spirits of the Passage", a new book which traces the journey of an 18th century slave ship which went down off the coast of Florida in the 1700's. . Burnside says though slaves were kept under tight control throughout the journey from Africa, many would still try to throw themselves overboard and to certain death rather than spend the rest of their days as slaves in the 'New World'.

Joined by former Presidents Bush and Carter, President Bill Clinton today opened a three day National Volunteer Summit in Philadelphia. Eric Westervelt brings us a report from Philadelphia.

In the last few weeks, thousands of Albanian refugees have been streaming into Italy through the port city of Brindisi. Robert talks with Orla Guerin, the Southern Europe correspondent for the BBC, about the Italian government's plans to send many of them back to Albania.

Linda talks with Dr. Harmon Eyre, the chief medical officer for the American Cancer Society, and Dr. Robert Lawrence, a professor of Health Policy and Medicine at the Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, about the controversy surrounding the recommendation of mammograms for women over 40 years of age.

NPR's Richard Harris reports on new developments in tobacco litigation. Following last week's announcement that the Liggett tobacco company had agreed to settle 22 state lawsuits against it, a court in Alabama has taken steps that could bar pending and future lawsuits against the cigarette maker - including suits brought by smokers, their survivors and second-hand smoke victims.

In a small rural town in Massachusetts, there is a thriving business surrounding a car that hasn't been made in some thirty years. The Corvair... the car that launched the public safety career of Ralph Nader... was discontinued after concerns about the design of the car were made public. Steve Tripoli of member station WBUR in Boston visited a business that sells parts for Corvairs... which still have a loyal following after all these years, both here in America and around the world.

Commentator Don Eberly says this summit comes at a time when America's reputation for volunterrism is in doubt---and he offers several suggestions for making the summit worth the effort. For example: We have to see volunteerism as something more than just a way of filling the gap--giving is an essential part of being human, the call to volunteer must be a call to join voluntary associations, volunteers are no substitute for family.

NPR's Ed Lifson takes a look at German newspapers. As far as Berlin newspapers are concerned, The Wall is still standing as high as ever. People in what was West Berlin read papers published in the western part of the city, and people in East Berlin read papers published in...the eastern part of the city? Is it editorial content? is it just habit? Whatever the reason, papers on both sides are trying to lure readers from the other...with few results. (4:15) Funder 0:29 XPromo 0:29 CUTAWAY 1B 0:29 RETURN1 0:29 NEWS 2:59 NEWS 1:59 THEME MUSIC 0:29 1C

Linda Wertheimer talks with Elizabeth Drew about her new book "Whatever It Takes: The Real Struggle for Political Power in America." In her book Drew takes a look at what happened in the 1996 election from the perspective of the fight for control of the Republican party. The fight was waged in part by the Leave Us Alone coalition... whose members ranged from people from the Christian Coalition, the Beer Wholesalers to interest groups seeking reduced taxes. (Station Note: The book is published by Viking)

NPR's Elaine Korry reports on today's Labor Department announcement that first-time claims for jobless benefits took a dramatic drop last week. That put the four-week jobless claims average at an eight-year low. The nation's unemployment rate fell to 5.3% in February, amid strong job creation. The survey of business payrolls showed a net increase of 339,000 jobs for the month, far more than was expected. The stock and bond markets reacted favorably because there was little hint of any inflation in the new numbers.

NPR's Laurie Neff reports that a decision by Israel's cabinet to transfer a portion of West Bank territory to Palestinian control has further enraged the Palestinian people. They say Israel is not handing over enough territory. The Palestinians already were angry over Israel's decision to expand Jewish neighborhoods in Arab East Jerusalem.

Daniel talks with NPR's Sylvia Poggioli, who is in the Albanian capital of Tirana, about the latest developments in the political crisis there. Amid a huge financial scandal that has bankrupted thousands of Albanians who now blame the government, Poggioli says another town in the south has fallen, placing the entire southern third of the country in rebel hands.