The Offbeat--Eschew Obfuscation: A Literary Collection (Offbeat (East Lansing, Mich.), No. 2.)
NPR (Free subscription) | yesterday
Is it unconstitutionally cruel and unusual punishment to send a juvenile away to prison for life, without the possibility of parole, for a non-homicide crime? The Supreme Court on Monday will examine two cases, including that of Joe Sullivan, who was convicted of rape when he was 13 years old.
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/09/2009
The House of Representatives passed a bill to overhaul the nation's health care system Saturday night. The vote was close, 220-215, and it only included a single Republican. To pass the bill, Democrats also had to allow a controversial amendment banning abortion funding in both public and private plans in the new marketplaces the bill would create. But as NPR's Julie Rovner reports, passage represents...
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/08/2009
Deployments are usually hard on families. Spouses must become single parents for months on end, managing households with little outside help. These challenges become even more daunting for families with special needs children.
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/07/2009
In his new book, Al Gore argues that consumers have "all the tools we need" to solve climate change. But unless the United States takes a leadership role, "it would be impossible to resolve this crisis," he tells NPR.
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/06/2009
Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, is calling for a counterinsurgency strategy based on more U.S. troops and more training of afghan troops. Max Boot, of the Council on Foreign Relations, backs this strategy. But Vice President Joe Biden instead wants the focus to be counterterrorism. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) is seeking a limited troop increase, and a credible Afghan partner....
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/05/2009
Same-sex marriage supporters are vowing to continue their fight after a loss at the polls in Maine on Tuesday. Voters there passed a measure blocking gay marriage, dealing a major blow to the cause of same-sex marriage around the nation.
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/04/2009
In the 1980s, the "golden era" of the NBA, basketball superstars Larry Bird and Earvin "Magic" Johnson had an intense rivalry that elevated the entire league. But after years of hating each other, they developed a close friendship, chronicled in a new book, When The Game Was Ours.
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/03/2009
A former Florida state House speaker, Rubio is challenging former Gov. Charlie Crist for the Republican nomination in next year's Senate race. Rubio is confident and gifted on the stump, but some local GOP officials worry his message is too extreme to attract moderate voters.
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/02/2009
Why do middle-class black and Latino teens often have lower test scores and college attendance rates than their white peers? Some researchers suggest media stereotypes might be to blame; others point to a peer culture of underachievement.
NPR (Free subscription) | 11/01/2009
There's an old joke: How do you become a millionaire? Have $1 billion — then buy the Chicago Cubs. Well, Tom Ricketts did buy the storied franchise and its famous ballpark, Wrigley Field, spending almost $900 million. And it's a team that hasn't won a World Series for more than a century.
NPR (Free subscription) | 10/31/2009
Not everyone who has been put away for 25 years to life under California's three strikes law has committed a violent crime, including two people convicted of stealing. Both challenged the law — and while one was released, the other wasn't as lucky.
NPR (Free subscription) | 10/30/2009
House Democrats bowed toward their more conservative members with their new health care overhaul bill, which was unveiled Thursday. Throughout the negotiations, Republicans remained firmly on the sidelines, leaving Democrats to cobble together a bill that can satisfy enough of their own members to make a majority
NPR (Free subscription) | 10/29/2009
California voters passed the nation's strictest three strikes law in 1994. The "third strike" carries a mandatory 25 years to life. Mike Reynolds, whose daughter was murdered in 1992, brought the ballot initiative and has fought to uphold it since. But Sue Reams, whose son is in prison because of it, is working for change.
NPR (Free subscription) | 10/28/2009
Joe Carbone is the gym teacher at a small New York Charter School called The Equity Project, based in Manhattan's Washington Heights. The former NBA strength coach has given up the big league to teach gym at the innovative charter school where the kids are only somewhat impressed with his NBA credentials.
NPR (Free subscription) | 10/27/2009
The vast majority of the Phoenix metropolitan area — 90 percent — was built after 1950. It's been a pell-mell push for growth. But like many places, that growth came to a screeching halt during the recession. Planners now wonder whether the area can build a more sustainable economy.
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