National

Obama's Foreign Policy: The Way Forward With Iran

8:44am January 20, 2013

As President Obama prepares for a second term, a host of international challenges await. In a piece in the Washington Post, former national security adviser Zbigniew Brzezinski suggests that as Obama prioritizes his foreign policy goals, "It is essential that the issue of war or peace with Iran be fully vented."

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New education standards place more emphasis on nonfiction reading and writing over fiction works. Some say this could lead students away from a passionate engagement with literature.

New Reading Standards Aim To Prep Kids For College — But At What Cost?

9:17pm January 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

Almost the entire country has signed onto the Common Core Standards Initiative. The standards incorporate more nonfiction texts across all subjects to improve reading scores. But some fear the push for nonfiction reading could lead students away from passionate engagement with literature.

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On Campaign Promises Report Card, Obama Did 'Pretty Well'

7:25pm January 19, 2013

by NPR Staff

The president's record on keeping his campaign promises over the last four years: 47 percent, according to the watchdog PolitiFact. A boon to Obama's promise-keeping came from the passage of big-name programs like the economic stimulus package and the education program Race to the Top.

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House GOP Backs Off Debt Ceiling Demands

7:13am January 19, 2013

by David Welna

House Republicans held their annual retreat this week in Williamsburg, Va., to figure out their next steps. They dropped a demand to have spending cuts for ever dollar the debt ceiling is raised, at least for the next three months. GOP lawmakers are now pinning their hopes for deficit reduction on other looming budget battles.

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For Justice Sotomayor, Books Unlocked Imagination

7:13am January 19, 2013

by Nina Totenberg

Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor's autobiography, My Beloved World, debuted this week, and NPR's Nina Totenberg sat down with her to talk about her youth and schooling and career. Sotomayor discusses the role that books played in her life, from Nancy Drew to Shakespeare.

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Is A Fresh Start In Washington Possible?

7:13am January 19, 2013

Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Mara Liasson about whether the Obama administration and Congressional Republicans can find some common ground and overcome the political gridlock that characterized much of the president's first term.

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Stink Bug's Resurfacing May Squash Farmers' Hopes For A Strong 2013

5:14pm January 18, 2013

by Sabri Ben-Anchour

Last year, farmers caught a break from the stink bug, an invasive pest that can cause significant crop damage. The population dropped sharply in 2011, but experts say the insect could come back bigger than ever this year.

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National

N.Y. Governor Flexes Political Muscle To Pass Tough Gun Law

5:09pm January 18, 2013

by Karen DeWitt

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a new gun control bill into law Tuesday, just days after delivering an impassioned speech on the need to pass the legislation. The popular governor has managed to translate his high approval ratings into a number of political victories. But some say Cuomo is just padding his resume for a future presidential bid.

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For editorial cartoonists, Obama's ears are his signature. In some depictions, they've grown throughout the years, but Matt Wuerker says cartoonists have gotten lazy. "We did the same thing to George W. Bush. By the end of his administration he was just D

For Cartoonists Who Cover Obama: Four More Ears

5:09pm January 18, 2013

by Alison MacAdam

Four years ago, when the nation's first African-American president was inaugurated, even conservative editorial cartoonists marked the moment with reverence. Now, not so much. Political cartoonists Scott Stantis of the Chicago Tribune and Matt Wuerker of Politico weigh in on the evolution of a president's image.

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Bernard Holyfield (right) shares a childhood story with his friend Charles Barlow, about growing up in a racially charged Alabama during the early 1960s.

National

The Moment Race Mattered: A Haunting Childhood Memory

9:11am January 18, 2013

by NPR Staff

Bernard Holyfield was 5 years old when he learned that skin color made a big difference. He recalls an incident in the early 1960s in Alabama in which a drunken white man approached him and his brother while they were playing on their front lawn.

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