National and World News from NPR

Pages

On Aging
10:12 am
Thu May 3, 2012

Confronting Your Crown: Male Pattern Baldness

Credit Max Nash / AFP/Getty Images
"Macho types are inspired by the likes of Jason Statham," pictured here, writes Daniel Jones.

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 7:33 am

Men dealing with male pattern baldness have decisions to make — go with a comb over, take medication, get hair plugs or a toupee, or do nothing at all.

When New York Times contributing editor Daniel Jones started losing his hair, he chose what he considers a "cooler alternative" — head shaving.

"Losing your hair," he tells NPR's Neal Conan, "is a little bit like a girlfriend who's sort of drifting away, and you're clinging to her as she goes off and sees other people. ... It gets worse and worse. So it's better to take some sort of pre-emptive move."

Read more
Around the Nation
10:12 am
Thu May 3, 2012

What's So Compelling About Skyscrapers

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 10:56 am

After the terrorist attacks that brought down the twin towers in Manhattan, many said it was the end of an era for skyscrapers. New York City proved them wrong. The building constructed to replace the towers, 1 World Trade Center, has risen above 1,250 feet and surpassed the Empire State Building as the tallest in New York.

Read more
The Two-Way
9:40 am
Thu May 3, 2012

Congressman Calls For Hearing On Google Street View Data Collection

Credit Daniel Mihailescu / AFP/Getty Images
The camera mounted on a Google Street View car used to photograph whole streets obscures part of the U.S. Internet giant's logo.

Originally published on Thu May 3, 2012 9:59 am

Google may be facing new investigations into its Street View program, which collected 600 gigabytes of personal data including e-mails, passwords, pictures and web searches while its vehicles roamed the streets.

Read more
Movie Reviews
8:54 am
Thu May 3, 2012

'The Avengers': A Marvel-ous Whedonesque Ride

Originally published on Thu May 3, 2012 3:29 pm

Two spheres merge in The Avengers: the Marvel Comics universe and the Whedonverse, fans' name for the nerdy wisecracking existentialist superhero world of writer-director Joss Whedon.

The Whedon cult is smaller but maybe more fervent, inspiring academic conferences on such subjects as free will vs. determinism in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I find a lot of Whedon's banter self-consciously smart-alecky, but I love how he can spoof his subjects without robbing them of stature.

Read more
Television
8:47 am
Thu May 3, 2012

The Man Who Revitalized 'Doctor Who' And 'Sherlock'

Originally published on Thu May 3, 2012 9:35 am

TV writer and producer Steven Moffat specializes in injecting new life into old, familiar characters and stories. He first worked his magic on the revived edition of Doctor Who, leading to several BAFTA and Hugo Awards for the series.

More recently, he has turned his eye to the world's greatest detective, Sherlock Holmes. As the co-creator of the critically acclaimed BBC series Sherlock, Moffat is responsible for updating Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's famous fictional creation for a modern-day audience.

Read more
Television
8:40 am
Thu May 3, 2012

Julia Louis-Dreyfus: From 'Seinfeld' To 'Veep'

Originally published on Thu May 3, 2012 9:35 am

Julia Louis-Dreyfus will forever be known to millions as Elaine Benes, the character she played for nine seasons on Seinfeld. But she was also an early cast member of Saturday Night Live, and she won the Emmy for Best Comedy Actress while starring in the CBS series The New Adventures of Old Christine, which ran for five seasons after Seinfeld.

Read more
World
7:31 am
Thu May 3, 2012

A Look At Bin Laden's Letters To Confidants

Some of the documents found during the raid on Osama bin Laden's hideaway in Pakistan were released Thursday. West Point's Combating Terrorism Center has been reviewing those documents.

Shots - Health Blog
7:09 am
Thu May 3, 2012

Energy Drinks Can Take Teeth On An Irreversible Acid Trip

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images
Drinks like Red Bull contain citric acid, which can strip away the enamel that protects teeth from decay.

Originally published on Thu May 3, 2012 7:28 am

Drinks with a lot of sugar will rot your teeth, right? That's the conventional wisdom.

But what about the acid? It's not something we think much about, but dentists say it's high time we start, especially when it comes to the river of energy drinks we — and young people in particular — are consuming.

Read more
The Two-Way
6:04 am
Thu May 3, 2012

Militia Leader Reportedly Involved In Shooting Deaths Of Four In Arizona

Credit J.T. Ready / AP
J.T. Ready is a reputed neo-Nazi who has been conducting heavily armed patrols to catch illegal aliens in the Arizona desert.

A man fatally shot four people Wednesday outside of Phoenix before being found dead, authorities say. Among the victims was a girl between 1 and 2 years old. There are concerns about possible hazardous materials in 55-gallon drums in the backyard, The Associated Press reports, slowing the investigation.

Read more
The Two-Way
5:51 am
Thu May 3, 2012

Coming Up: Bin Laden Documents To Go Online

Credit AP
Osama bin Laden.

Originally published on Thu May 3, 2012 10:59 am

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was frustrated with "regional jihadi groups and his seeming inability to exercise control over their actions" in the last few years before he was killed by U.S. Navy SEALs.

That's "the most compelling story to be told," according to an analysis of some documents seized from bin Laden's Pakistani compound in the May 2011 raid that ended with his death, West Point's Combating Terrorism Center reported today.

Read more

Pages