National and World News from NPR

Pages

Africa
12:58 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

Joseph Kony Is Now A Star — But Will He Be Caught?

Credit STR / AP
Joseph Kony's Lord's Resistance Army has been among the world's most brutal rebel forces for a quarter-century. But the Ugandan group received only sporadic international attention before this week, when an Internet video about Kony went viral. Here, Kony is shown in 2006 in southern Sudan.
The Two-Way
12:54 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

Justice Dept. Warns Apple, Publishers Over E-Books Price Collusion

Credit Manu Fernandez / AP
A customer reads a book an iPad.

The Justice Department is warning Apple and five big publishers that it may sue them for colluding to increase the price of electronic books.

The Wall Street Journal, which first reported the story, explains that Justice's concerns emerged as Apple released its first iPad. Essentially, the paper explains, they were afraid that Apple would do to them what it did to the recording industry, which is tie them to prices set by Apple.

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
12:35 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

Surgeon General Calls Smoking A 'Pediatric Epidemic'

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
U.S. Surgeon General Regina Benjamin totes a copy of a report on the need to reduce children's use of tobacco.

The U.S. Surgeon General today issued the first report on youth smoking since 1994. And the findings aren't encouraging.

Surgeon General Regina Benjamin calls tobacco use a "pediatric epidemic." The nation's war on smoking hinges on preventing young people from taking up the habit in the first place, she says.

She talked about the problem and possible solutions with All Things Considered host Melissa Block.

Read more
Europe
12:13 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

With Cutbacks, Greeks Say Antiquities Are At Risk

Credit Dimitris Papaioannoy / EPA/Landov
The entrance to the Museum of the Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece, is cordoned off last month, after two hooded thieves broke into the museum and made away with more than 70 ancient objects. The stolen loot included chariots, horses and a gold ring that was more than 3,000 years old. Greeks say such sites are vulnerable because of cutbacks that have reduced the number of guards.

At the Museum of the Olympic Games in Olympia, Greece, lush pine trees and olive groves are filled with chirping birds. The one guard at the site looks nervously at the few visitors.

There is still a sense of shock in Olympia following the theft last month at the museum, when armed robbers broke into the building and tied up the single guard on duty.

Archaeologist Kostantinos Antonopoulos says they ran off with 77 priceless objects, including votive figurines, chariots and horses.

Read more
The Two-Way
12:10 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

While Controversial, 'Kony 2012' Has Put Focus On Atrocities

Credit Stuart Price / AP
The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, in 2006.
The Two-Way
12:03 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

A Scoop, Really? BuzzFeed, Breitbart.com Spar For Credit On Obama Video

Credit Frontline
A still frame from a video shot in 1990.

Last night a bewildering debate broke out on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight over video posted online yesterday of a young Barack Obama speaking at a student protest at Harvard Law School more than two decades ago.

The debate focused on whether the new BuzzFeed website or Breitbart.com deserved credit for the scoop.

My bewilderment stemmed from the question of why anyone would consider this video to be a scoop at all.

Read more
Afghanistan
11:43 am
Thu March 8, 2012

For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard

Originally published on Thu March 8, 2012 5:33 pm

The image of Afghan women wearing police and army uniforms is meant to inspire pride and hope for a future where the rights of women will be protected in Afghanistan.

So why would female police officers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif be ashamed to admit they wear the badge?

"Except my very close family members, no one really knows that I am a police officer," said one woman at a NATO training session.

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
10:56 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Detailed Genetic Tests Reveal Cancer's Complexity

Credit Wikimedia Commons
A study of kidney cancer patients finds the complexity of tumors may thwart simple attempts to personalize treatment.

Cancer may be even more complicated than everybody already thought. And that's why a single tissue sample taken from a single tumor may not be the best way to figure out a course of treatment.

British researchers took multiple samples within kidney tumors (before and after drug treatment) and also got samples from tumors that had spread from the original cancers in four patients.

They performed all kinds of genetic tests, including detailed DNA sequencing, on the cancers and found wide variations in some key traits.

Read more
The Two-Way
10:55 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Gives Rare — If Brief — Praise For U.S.

Credit AFP/Getty Images
A handout photo provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him addressing a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts in Tehran on Thursday.

Iran's supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he welcomed President Obama's comments that attempted to cool off tensions between the West and Iran.

The Christian Science Monitor calls it an "unprecedented praise."

Read more
The Two-Way
10:36 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Solar Storm Goes Easy On Earth — But More Are Sure To Come, NASA Says

Credit NASA/JPL
The sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft captured this image of filaments erupting off the sun's surface and magnetic plasma blasting into space. The field of view of this image, seen in ultraviolet light, extends some 1.243 million miles from the solar surface.

Originally published on Fri March 9, 2012 9:07 am

Pages