Search results for

Grand Rapids Riverfest

Tony Hawk has turned what many consider a childhood activity into a professional career. For Hawk, skateboarding is not only a job, it's a means of expression and a foundation for personal belief.

Congress is demanding answers from the Bush administration about published allegations that the National Security Agency is secretly collecting the phone records of millions of Americans. Lawmakers and privacy advocates say they're still not being told the full story about the domestic activities of the NSA.

The U.S. Army says it has banned the use of body armor that is not issued by the military. Army officials say any soldier wearing commercially purchased body armor will have to turn it in and have it replaced by authorized gear. Military officials said they cannot guarantee the commercial gear's safety.

The city of Vernon, with less than 100 legal residents, has long been controlled by just a couple of families and at one time went more than 25 years without an election. But a lawsuit and government investigations could change all that.

A jury will begin deliberations in the case of former White House aide David Safavian, the first public official to face trial in connection with the Jack Abramoff lobbying scandal. Safavian is accused of covering up his ties to the embattled lobbyist.

One of the most popular items in the National Archives is a 1970 photo of Elvis Presley and President Nixon. It all started with a letter Elvis wrote to Nixon, requesting a meeting.

Andrew Lloyd Webber's The Phantom of the Opera became the longest-running show in Broadway history Monday, breaking the uber-composer's own record that he set with Cats.

Commentator Kelly Beatty says that when he was growing up, space exploration was all about one thing: the race to the moon. It was easy to measure progress leading up to a specific goal. Now that space exploration is all about the planets and the solar system, there is a dizzying array of spacecraft traveling all over the place.

Jay McShann, nicknamed "Hootie," helped define the Kansas City style of jazz, which mixed blues and boogie woogie. In this program from 1980, McShann talks about those early days in Kansas City and meeting a young sax player named Charlie Parker.

Two kinds of people consume Christmas music: those who actually like the stuff, and folks who need something listenable on hand in case seasonal visitors insist on some ornamental mood music. For both groups, two new jazz brass albums should do the trick. Critic Kevin Whitehead reviews.

Norah Jones became an immediate star after the release of her 2002 album Come Away With Me. Having sold more than 36 million records, Jones decided to move in a different direction with her new fourth album, titled The Fall. Rock critic Ken Tucker says it's an improvement over her last two.

He didn't see it coming when his sensitive crooning launched him to pop fame in 1996. But with one Tony Award-winning musical in the books and another production on the way, his work as a stage composer has put him in the spotlight again.

He grew up with John Coltrane, gigged with Art Blakey and shared the silver screen with Tom Hanks. Now, on the eve of 80, illustrious saxophonist and jazz composer Benny Golson is re-creating his greatest ensemble: the six-person Jazztet.

President Biden says he wants the biggest refiners to do more to increase gasoline supply and lower prices. He says he's ready to use emergency powers to boost capacity — but he didn't give details.

Gov. Phil Murphy sent a letter to nearly 60 businesses suggesting they could expand into New Jersey because the state protects abortion rights.

Democrats are hoping to finish Jackson's confirmation process before Congress leaves for Easter recess April 11.

The People's Friendship Arch was gifted to Ukraine by the Russian government and opened in Kyiv in 1982. Ukrainians weigh in on the future of the enormous monument, in the midst of war with Russia.

Round 9 of Three Minute Fiction is currently underway. Readers from more than a dozen graduate programs are plowing through the nearly 4,000 entries received. Host Guy Raz shares one of the favorite picks so far, The Generous Application of Grease by Stephen Fratus of Walnut Creek, Calif. You can read the full story below along with other stories at www.npr.org/threeminutefiction.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer used monsters as a metaphor for everyday high school problems. The show premiered on March 10, 1997.