NPR News

Pages

The Two-Way
2:12 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

Trustees Warn Social Security Is Headed Toward Insolvency

Originally published on Mon April 23, 2012 4:37 pm

The trustees in charge of nation's Social Security program said a sagging economy has hit the program hard. The program's trust fund, which goes mostly to retirees, said the trustees, will run dry by 2033.

The AP reports "Medicare's finances have stabilized but the program's hospital insurance fund is still projected to run out of money in 2024."

Read more
Your Health
2:05 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

Gerson: Dieting's A Bore We're Ill-Prepared For

Originally published on Mon April 23, 2012 2:43 pm

Regular readers of Michael Gerson's column in the Washington Post know he usually tackles timely issues in politics, religion, foreign policy and global health and development. Recently, he dealt with what may be an even more challenging — and personal — issue: the difficulties of dieting.

It's All Politics
1:58 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

Romney Backs Extension Of Student Loan Relief

Originally published on Mon April 23, 2012 3:08 pm

Mitt Romney on Monday endorsed the idea of extending a law that curbs interest rates paid by some recipients of federal student loans, a cause that President Obama has made a campaign issue.

Read more
The Two-Way
1:54 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

AP Analysis: Half Of Recent College Grads Are Jobless Or Underemployed

Credit Christopher Furlong / Getty Images
Students from John Moores' University celebrate graduation.

It's hard out there for a college grad.

The AP analyzed government data and came up with this stunning figure: "Half of young college graduates [are] either jobless or underemployed in positions that don't fully use their skills and knowledge."

The whole story is worth a read, so we encourage you to click over, but here is the meat of the AP's analysis:

Read more
The Two-Way
1:13 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

Obama Announces New Sanctions Targeting Syria, Iran

Credit Pool / Getty Images
U.S. President Barack Obama speaks at the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC.

President Obama announced a set of new sanctions that target "Syria and Iran and the 'digital guns for hire' who help them oppress their people with surveillance software and monitoring technology," the AFP reports.

The president made the announcement during a visit to the Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington. His visit was the first as president.

Read more
The Two-Way
12:21 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

DARPA Explains Crash Of Hypersonic Glider

Credit AFP/Getty Images
This US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency(DARPA) artists rendering shows the Falcon Hypersonic Technology Vehicle 2 (HTV-2).

The forces on the unmanned hypersonic glider tested last summer by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) were so great that large parts of its skin peeled off causing its emergency system to plunge it into the ocean.

As we reported last August, the Falcon HTV-2 "was shot up on a rocket and right at the edge of space, it separated and glided through the atmosphere at 13,000 mph."

Read more
Food
12:04 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

Can Outsiders Appreciate The 'Bawlmer' Berger?

Baltimore residents have long cherished the city's classic Berger cookies. But now that they're available beyond city limits, Baltimore native Andrew Reiner asks whether non-Baltimoreans can truly appreciate the venerated cookie. He speaks with host Michel Martin.

Arts & Life
12:04 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

Hip-Hop Author Freestyles In Haiku

As part of Tell Me More's series for National Poetry Month, host Michel Martin shares a poetic tweet, in the form of a haiku, from Scott Heath. He's a professor of African-American literature and black pop culture. Listeners are invited to tweet original poems of 140 characters or less to #TMMPoetry.

Sports
12:04 pm
Mon April 23, 2012

'Ball Boys' Peeks Into World Of Sports Memorabilia

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

As fans celebrate the first weeks of baseball season, there's a new reality show hoping to win over sports fans. "Ball Boys" is set in a sports memorabilia shop called Robbie's First Base. The cast includes the father and son who own the shop and two employees.

On the show, the guys - what do you think they do? They talk about sports and they get the occasional visit from legendary athletes like Pete Rose and football legend Jim Brown.

Here's a clip from when Jim Brown came into the shop to verify his signature on a helmet.

Read more
The Two-Way
11:52 am
Mon April 23, 2012

VIDEO: Space Out With NASA's 'Walking On Air'

Credit NASA.gov
From NASA's 'Walking on Air' video, a view of an aurora from space.

If you're into images of Earth taken from space, NASA has a new video for you. Called Walking on Air, it "features a series of time lapse sequences photographed by the Expedition 30 crew aboard the International Space Station" and is set to the song Walking in the Air by Howard Blake.

Read more

Pages