National

A wheelchair is among debris from Superstorm Sandy in the Queens borough of New York on Nov. 13, 2012. A judge ruled Thursday that the city does not have adequate plans for evacuating people with disabilities.

National

Ruling On NYC Disaster Plans For Disabled May Have Far Reach

5:00pm November 09, 2013

by Robert Lewis

A federal judge has ruled that New York City didn't do enough to protect residents with disabilities when Superstorm Sandy hit last year. The city is widely considered a leader in disaster response, so the ruling is likely to prompt cities around the country to re-evaluate their own plans.

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Where In the U.S. do people say pee-kahn over pi-kahn? Joshua Katz answered your burning question by mapping Bert Vaux's dialect survey on regional variations in the continental United States.

National

The Enigmatic Pecan: Why So Pricey, And How To Pronounce It?

3:08pm November 09, 2013

by NPR Staff

The weather and demand from China are driving prices up. But how do you say the word pecan? NPR's Melissa Block gets answers from a pecan farmer and a linguistics expert.

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Attorney Francis Chin (center) runs through his lines with Yang Chen at a rehearsal for 22 Lewd Chinese Women, the latest trial re-enactment by the Asian American Bar Association of New York.

National

Asian-American Lawyers Act Like '22 Lewd Chinese Women'

11:24am November 09, 2013

by Hansi Lo Wang

A cast of lawyers and a federal judge in New York City perform dramatic re-enactments of historic trials involving Asian-Americans. Their latest production, 22 Lewd Chinese Women, focuses on a 19th-century Supreme Court case with parallels to present-day immigration debates.

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This Blockbuster store in Mission, Texas, is franchised by Border Entertainment. The company has 26 stores across Texas and Alaska that will live on after the last 300 or so company-owned stores are closed by early January 2014.

Blockbuster Fades Out, But Some Zombie Stores Will Live On

8:08pm November 08, 2013

by Serri Graslie

Dish Network announced this week that it will shutter the 300 or so remaining Blockbuster stores it owns across the country. But in some places, dozens of the video stores will have an unlikely afterlife.

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A Secret Service counter-sniper team looks out on the area as President Obama campaigns at a rally on Nov. 4, 2012, in Concord, N.H.

How Kennedy's Assassination Changed The Secret Service

10:45am November 08, 2013

by Brian Naylor

The Secret Service made some immediate changes after the president's death 50 years ago this month: Open limousines were out. And it began taking a more aggressive approach to its advance work. Over the years, the service has established counter-sniper units, assault teams and surveillance units.

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Hairdresser Lara Imler used to be an accountant. She doesn't miss her old job, except for the insurance.

Persistence Pays Off For Uninsured Alaskan

10:17am November 08, 2013

by Annie Feidt

A hairdresser in Alaska is one of the first people to get health insurance through HealthCare.gov. The 37-year-old woman has a chronic thyroid problem, so she's thrilled to find affordable coverage. Insurers are bracing for sick people like her to be among the first entering the market.

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National

Should TSA Agents Have Broader Law Enforcement Powers?

10:17am November 08, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

The shooting at Los Angeles International Airport is renewing debate over whether security at airports is tough enough. Some aviation security experts say the response at LAX went as well as it could have in this era of "random violence" in public areas.

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National

School Named For Former KKK Leader Reconsiders Its Legacy

8:41pm November 07, 2013

by Karen Feagins

Nathan Bedford Forrest High School in Jacksonville, Fla., was named decades ago for a Confederate hero — who was also the first grand wizard of the Ku Klux Klan. More than 160,000 people have signed a petition urging a name change, but the current name has also drawn passionate support.

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National

When It Comes To Public Opinion, More News Is Not Good News For NSA

6:51pm November 07, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

New public opinion polls show distaste for National Security Agency surveillance does not break cleanly across party lines. Despite the administration's attempts otherwise, one new study finds that the more people know about the NSA, the more they dislike it.

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A composite image shows part of the NPR/Center for Responsive Politics reporting team's whiteboard at NPR headquarters that was used to map out how Wellspring connects to other social welfare groups. (Click the enlarge button to see a full-size image.)

Secret Persuasion: How Big Campaign Donors Stay Anonymous

4:48pm November 07, 2013

Tax-exempt social welfare groups have become the vehicle of choice for big political contributions. NPR, in partnership with the Center for Responsive Politics, traces the money moving through a Washington, D.C., group, and the law that makes this activity possible.

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