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Presidential Race
3:27 am
Sun August 26, 2012

Despite Delay, Republican Stage Is Set In Tampa

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Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Workers prepare for the Republican National Convention inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum in Tampa, Fla., on Saturday.
Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Utah Rep. Jason Chaffetz stands on the stage Saturday during preparation for the convention.
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Originally published on Tue August 28, 2012 7:32 am

After a year and a half of preparations, Tampa, Fla., is ready host the Republican National Convention.

Some 70,000 delegates, support personnel, media and protestors are gathering for the party's nominating event. Originally scheduled to start on Monday, the convention was pushed back because of Tropical Storm Isaac.

Inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum — a hockey arena that's been transformed into a high-tech political stage — it's a vision in red, white and blue. There's a nod to tradition, placards marking the sections reserved for each state's delegation.

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Remembrances
3:21 am
Sun August 26, 2012

In Just 'One Small Step' Armstrong Became An Icon

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Credit NASA / Getty Images
Armstrong stepped into history July 20, 1969, leaving the first human footprint on the surface of the moon.
Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Neil Armstrong testifies before a House panel about human space flight in 2011. Armstrong died on Saturday at 82.
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Originally published on Sun August 26, 2012 10:32 am

It was the kind of history that ignites the imagination of humanity.

On July 20, 1969, hundreds of millions of people around the world watched or listened as the lunar module Eagle carried astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin to the surface of the moon. Armstrong got on the radio to let them know "the Eagle has landed."

Almost seven hours later, Armstrong stepped off the ladder in his bulky white space suitand said those famous words: "That's one small step for [a] man, one giant leap for mankind"

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Middle East
3:21 am
Sun August 26, 2012

If Only Briefly, Palestinians Flood Into Israel

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Credit Daniel Estrin for NPR
A mother and son wait to enter Israel through the Qalandia checkpoint, which separates the West Bank and Jerusalem. Most of the year, Israel permits relatively few Palestinians to visit, but over the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, 1.2 million Palestinians were allowed in.
Credit Uriel Sinai / Getty Images
Palestinians enjoy a day at a beach last week. Many West Bank Palestinians allowed into Israel in recent weeks headed to the Mediterranean shore.
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Originally published on Sun September 2, 2012 9:27 am

As Palestinian Muslims in the West Bank celebrated the end of Ramadan this past week, many traveled to a place that's usually off limits: Israel.

At the main Israeli checkpoint between the West Bank and Jerusalem, you could hear the taxi drivers offering to take Palestinians to the beach in Tel Aviv.

The drive is no more than an hour from the West Bank boundary to Israel's Mediterranean coast. Yet many Palestinians have not taken a dip in years, if ever.

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Megafires: The New Normal In The Southwest
3:20 am
Sun August 26, 2012

'Torture Lab' Kills Trees To Learn How To Save Them

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Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Powers walks along plastic gutters designed to keep rain away from tree roots to simulate drought. Scientists here are studying the effects of sustained drought conditions on the tree species of the Southwest.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Instruments attached to the trees monitor how they respond to simulated drier, hotter conditions. Scientists say the cycle of heat and drought in the Southwest has intensified because of climate change.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Powers looks in on a climate-controlled tree chamber. Silvery hoses carry heated air into the chambers.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
The temperature inside this tree chamber is about 7 degrees hotter than outside — roughly the increase predicted by computer models of climate change over the next 80 years or so.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Researchers study every aspect of the tree as it fails under intense heat and lack of water. This device monitors the tree's respiration.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Powers walks past a tree chamber. Researchers say drought-stressed trees appear to start consuming their own carbon stores.

Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Instruments wrapped around the stem of a tree measure its diameter every few minutes.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A sign outside a tree chamber
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Steve Garrity (from left), Heath Powers and Mike Jenkins look into a tree chamber. Scientists at the lab hope their work will help predict where tree losses will occur in a warming climate, and where trees might survive.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Heath Powers climbs through a maze of wiring at the "tree torture" lab at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Powers is a project manager at the lab.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Heath Powers, a project manager at the Los Alamos National Laboratory's "tree torture" lab, climbs through a maze of wiring outside a tree chamber.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A tree stands surrounded by a chamber that keeps the temperature about 7 degrees warmer than the outside air. Scientists say the cycle of heat and drought in the region has intensified because of a warming climate.
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Originally published on Sun August 26, 2012 4:03 pm

Last of a five-part series

The droughts that have parched big regions of the country are killing forests.

In the arid Southwest, the body count is especially high. Besides trying to keep wildfires from burning up these desiccated forests, there's not much anyone can do. In fact, scientists are only now figuring out how drought affects trees.

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture
11:12 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Making Peace With Our Cyborg Nature

Credit Arnulfo Franco / AP
Lance Armstrong competes in the Ironman Panama 70.3. triathlon in Panama City, Panama.
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Originally published on Mon August 27, 2012 6:51 am

I loved the TV show The Six-Million Dollar man growing up. For me, Steve Austin (played by Lee Majors) wasn't less cool because he had bionic implants that enabled him to perform superhuman feats. He was more cool.

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Presidential Race
6:16 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

RNC Shuts Down Monday's Events Due To Storm

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The Republican National Convention in Tampa has canceled almost all events for Monday night, citing Tropical Storm Isaac. Convention organizers made that announcement saying safety is their primary concern. NPR's Jeff Brady joins guest host Laura Sullivan.

The Two-Way
5:27 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Storm Forces Republicans To Cancel Monday Convention Events

Credit National Hurricane Center
Tropical Storm Isaac's projected path on Saturday, Aug. 25, 2012
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Originally published on Sat August 25, 2012 6:55 pm

Tropical Storm Isaac has been difficult to track, but its potential to affect Florida has caused the Republican National Convention to change its plans. Events for Monday have been canceled, though the committee will convene briefly. As Alan Greenblatt reported for It's All Politics, this is now the second-consecutive Republican National Convention to be delayed by a storm.

Update at 8:55 p.m. ET. Nomination Delayed:

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Remembrances
3:12 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Astronaut Neil Armstrong Dies

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Originally published on Sat August 25, 2012 6:16 pm

Transcript

LAURA SULLIVAN, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Laura Sullivan, in for Guy Raz.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

NEIL ARMSTRONG: That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.

SULLIVAN: Astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to walk on the moon. He died today at the age of 82 after complications from a heart procedure. He was the first of just 12 Americans to step on the moon from 1969 to 1972.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

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Remembrances
3:12 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Neil Armstrong: An 'Exemplary Life'

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Originally published on Sat August 25, 2012 6:16 pm

Transcript

LAURA SULLIVAN, HOST:

James Fallows of The Atlantic joins us as he does most Saturdays. Jim, let me get your thoughts on the passing of Neil Armstrong.

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Presidential Race
3:12 pm
Sat August 25, 2012

Tampa Gears Up For RNC And A Possible Storm

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Originally published on Sat August 25, 2012 6:16 pm

Transcript

LAURA SULLIVAN, HOST:

While some 70,000 visitors are expected for the Republican National Convention, it's not the only big event heading towards Tampa. On Tuesday, another important visitor could be on the way, though perhaps not directly through Tampa - Tropical Storm Isaac. As of now, Isaac is still in the Caribbean. But as NPR's Greg Allen reports from Tampa, it's likely to be a hurricane when it passes near the city later in the week.

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