NPR News

Pages

Movies
11:03 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Eugene Levy Stays Smart, Even In The Cheapest Gag

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:32 am

George Needleman is the chief bean counter of an investment bank who, in Madea's Witness Protection, is too consumed with family problems to realize he's being set up to take the fall for a Ponzi scheme. When he grasps what's going on, he's placed in witness protection — at Madea's house.

Tyler Perry, who wrote and directed the movie, plays Madea, as well as most other members of her family. Needleman, the latest fussy, funny, bushy-eyebrowed, precise and put-upon man, is portrayed by Eugene Levy.

Read more
The Two-Way
5:29 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Formally Charges Armstrong

Credit Thao Nguyen / AP
Lance Armstrong.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said that one of its panels reviewed the evidence against Lance Armstrong and decided to formally charge the seven-time Tour de France winner with doping.

The AP reports if Armstrong fights the charges, the case goes to an arbitration panel, which will decide the merits.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
5:28 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

The Day After A Health Care Crescendo, Each Side Plays A Familiar Refrain

Credit David Goldman / AP
Joy Reynolds of San Diego, Calif., looks over Friday's front pages on display at the Newseum in Washington, the day after the Supreme Court ruling on President Barack Obama's health care law.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 9:26 pm

On the day after the Supreme Court upheld the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law, Washington returned to business as usual.

In other words, supporters of the law were busy praising its virtues, and opponents calling for its demise.

Over at Georgetown University Law Center, several health law experts got together to dissect the court's ruling and what it might mean down the line.

Read more
Music Interviews
5:27 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

A Lone Trumpeter Serenades The National Mall

Credit Devon Kodzis / NPR
Trumpeter John Thornton plays at the corner of 7th Street and Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C., just a few blocks from NPR's headquarters.

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 3:23 pm

This summer, Weekend Edition Saturday is listening to the sounds of music al fresco. Today, we present an audio postcard of a trumpeter we recently heard blowing "The Star-Spangled Banner" just down the street from NPR.

Read more
Judging The Health Care Law
4:53 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Court's Recent Rulings Shake Up Partisan Narrative

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
The U.S. Supreme Court justices — (first row, from left) Clarence Thomas, Antonin Scalia, Chief Justice John Roberts, Anthony Kennedy, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, (back row) Sonia Sotomayor, Stephen Breyer, Samuel Alito and Elena Kagan — pose at the Supreme Court in 2010.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 9:26 pm

It's a bit less likely now than a week ago that you'll hear people accuse the Supreme Court of being politicized.

That's because this week, the court ended its session with two controversial decisions — neither one of which was decided on the usual and predictable split between the five justices appointed by Republican presidents and the four appointed by Democrats.

But that doesn't make the court any less of a political animal.

Read more
It's All Politics
4:50 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Ironies Abound In New Romney Ad

Originally published on Tue July 3, 2012 10:57 am

In a new anti-Obama ad, Mitt Romney's campaign has struck a mother lode of delicious ironies.

Read more
The Two-Way
4:50 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Students Seen Bullying Bus Monitor Suspended For A Year

Credit youtube.com
From the video of Karen Klein being bullied.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 5:18 pm

The Greece Central School District in Western New York has decided on a punishment for the students seen bullying their 69-year-old school bus monitor on a YouTube video that went viral earlier this month.

Superintendent Barbara Deane-Williams said the parents of the four middle school students agreed to a one-year suspension and 50 hours of community service with senior citizens. They will also be required to complete a bullying prevention program.

Read more
It's All Politics
4:38 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Opponents Of Secondary Provisions In Health Care Law Look To Lower Courts

Credit David Goldman / AP
A demonstrator protests outside the the Supreme Court Thursday in Washington, D.C.

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 12:45 pm

When the Supreme Court upheld the central tenet of President Obama's health care law, it meant that several lower court fights on other aspects of the sweeping legislation can move forward.

Those cases, including high-profile lawsuits by Catholic organizations challenging the law's contraception coverage rules, would, obviously, have been affected if the court had found the individual mandate unconstitutional or struck down the law in its entirety.

But with the law intact, the lawsuits — many of them held in abeyance pending the high court's decision — will proceed.

Read more
Politics
4:29 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Tea Party Sees Ruling As New Rallying Cry

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 9:26 pm

Some of the earliest and most vocal opponents of President Obama's health care law were members of the Tea Party. In fact, health care quickly became the issue fueling the rise of the movement.

Anger over the Affordable Care Act drove the Tea Party and Republicans to big gains in the 2010 elections, but since then the movement has seen its prominence and influence wane.

Now, Tea Party activists say the Supreme Court's decision to uphold the law will reignite that original passion in time for this fall's election.

Call For Repeal Continues

Read more
Music News
3:54 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

After Two Years, Gifted Classical Students Leave The Nest

Credit Stephanie Berger / Getty Images
Nathan Schram (back row, third from left) performs with his students from PS 75 in Brooklyn.

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 7:48 am

The odds of making it in the classical music business are long, but for the past two years, 25-year-old viola player Nathan Schram has received a stipend, health insurance, lots of amazing performance opportunities and a real-world education teaching violin students at an inner-city elementary school in Brooklyn. Now, Schram and his colleagues have to say goodbye to The Academy.

Read more

Pages