NPR News

News Media's Credibility Ratings Have Slipped Sharply, Survey Says

Credit Pew Research Center

By Mark Memmott

"Believability ratings have fallen significantly for nine of 13 news organizations tested," the Pew Research Center for the People & the Press reports today.

Its latest national survey signals that "the falloff in credibility affects news organizations in most sectors: national newspapers, such as The New York Times and USA Today, all three cable news outlets, as well as the broadcast TV networks and NPR."

1:10 pm

Thu August 16, 2012

When This Oil Spills, It's 'A Whole New Monster'

Next image Previous image

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

An oil sheen appears along the shore of the Kalamazoo. More than 800,000 gallons of oil entered Talmadge Creek and flowed into the Kalamazoo River, a Lake Michigan tributary. Heavy rains caused the river to overtop existing dams and carried oil 30 miles downstream.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Bolenbaugh holds up a hand coated with oil sludge he has found in the Kalamazoo River two years after the spill, and two weeks after the state and EPA reopened the river to recreational use.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

A culvert carries Talmadge Creek under a road in Marshall, Mich. After the spill, this small creek was flooded with oil, carrying it to the Kalamazoo River in the distance. Enbridge cleaned this area of oil twice. The second cleaning occurred after Bolenbaugh appeared on a local news channel falling through winter ice into a pool of oil in an area the company had declared free of oil.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Children fish at a newly opened recreational area built by Enbridge on the Kalamazoo River. Posted signs warn that most of the fish is not safe to eat. These children were not aware of the oil spill and were not area residents.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

One of dozens of houses along the Kalamazoo River sits empty since the spill. Enbridge offered to buy up most of the property along the river immediately after the spill, and most residents sold at deflated prices to escape the area.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Whistle-blower John Bolenbaugh wades through thick mud in the Kalamazoo River looking for leftover traces of oil from the July 2010 Enbridge tar sands pipeline spill.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

John Bolenbaugh stands in a forested stretch of the Kalamazoo River that borders a mobile home community in Battle Creek, Mich.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Oil rings on trees only 50 feet from the nearest home show the height of the oil and water, and its proximity to the Baker Estates Mobile Home Park in Battle Creek.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Michelle BarlondSmith and her husband lived in a riverfront trailer park. BarlondSmith says the sickening fumes from the oil lasted for months.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Whistle-blower John Bolenbaugh wades through thick mud in the Kalamazoo River looking for leftover traces of oil from the July 2010 Enbridge oil sands pipeline spill.

Credit Katie Hayes Luke for NPR

David Daniel stands on his property in Winnsboro, Texas, where the Keystone XL pipeline is slated to be installed. Daniel is opposed to the pipeline, which will carry oil from Canada's tar sands.

Credit John W. Poole / NPR

Professor Steve Hamilton of Michigan State University has studied the cleanup along the Kalamazoo River.

By Elizabeth Shogren

Originally published on Thu August 16, 2012 4:19 pm

Listen

Sometime in the next few months, David Daniel probably will have to stand by and watch as bulldozers knock down his thick forest and dig up the streams he loves.

His East Texas property is one of more than 1,000 in the path of a new pipeline, the southern stretch of what is known as the Keystone XL system.

For years, Daniel has tried to avoid this fate — or at least figure out what risks will come with it. But it has been difficult for him to get straight answers about the tar sands oil the pipeline will carry, and what happens when it spills.

12:36 pm

Thu August 16, 2012

CDC Recommends Hepatitis C Testing For All Boomers

By Jon Hamilton

Originally published on Thu August 16, 2012 4:19 pm

Listen

Listen up, baby boomers. The government wants every one of you to get tested for the hepatitis C virus.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention made a sweeping recommendation official amid growing concern about the estimated 2 million boomers infected with the virus, which can cause cirrhosis and liver cancer. The advice was published in the latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

11:40 am

Thu August 16, 2012

More Of The Nation Is Getting The Worst Of The Drought

Next image Previous image

Credit National Drought Mitigation Center

This week's drought map.

Credit National Drought Mitigation Center

Last week's drought map.

Credit National Drought Mitigation Center

This week's drought map.

By Mark Memmott

The drought gripping much of the nation is "exceptional" — the most severe classification — in an area covering 6.26 percent of the lower 48 states, according to the latest data from the National Drought Mitigation Center.

That's up from 4.21 percent the week before.

The center's latest map shows increases in size of the areas in Colorado, Kansas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Missouri that are experiencing exceptional drought conditions.

11:39 am

Thu August 16, 2012

A Gift From The Interwebs: A Brilliant Auto-Tuned Burger Review

Credit YouTube

A screenshot from a YouTube video.

By editor

Originally published on Fri August 17, 2012 11:42 am

11:39 am

Thu August 16, 2012

Frank Langella Embodies Wicked In 'Robot & Frank'

Next image Previous image

Credit Samuel Goldwyn Films and Stage 6 Films

In Robot & Frank, a robot cares for an aging ex-burglar who has dementia. Frank Langella, who plays the burglar, says his character "becomes fond of the robot only because it is a tool for his wicked, wicked ways."

Credit Joe Fornabaio

Frank Langella, who earned an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon, stars in the new film Robot & Frank, about an aging ex-burglar. He says he was drawn to the unsentimental role.

By editor

Originally published on Fri August 17, 2012 8:07 am

Listen

Frank Langella's career has not been an upward trajectory of success — and he likes it that way. He's had memorable roles on stage and screen, and times when he couldn't find work, or even an agent.

Now at 74, Langella is as busy as ever, and, as he tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies, he's never been hungrier to act.

10:44 am

Thu August 16, 2012

Bahrain Sentences Prominent Activist To 3 Years In Jail

Credit Hasan Jamali / AP

A man walks past a picture of human rights defender Nabeel Rajab and Arabic that reads, "freedom to human rights defender Nabeel Rajab."

By editor

Originally published on Thu August 16, 2012 10:55 am

The government of Bahrain, today, handed down a three-year jail sentence for prominent activist Nabeel Rajab, the head of the Bahrain Center For Human Rights.

Rajab, reports The Guardian, was already serving a three month sentence for posting for his anti-government comments on Twitter. The government said the three-year sentence is a result of his participation in an "illegal demonstration."

10:33 am

Thu August 16, 2012

Two Deputies Killed, Two Wounded In Louisiana Shootings

By Mark Memmott

Three days after the shooting death of a constable in College Station, Texas, there's word that two sheriff's deputies in Louisiana's St. John the Baptist Parish were killed this morning and another two were wounded in what appear to be connected shootings.

10:33 am

Thu August 16, 2012

Spreading Their Wings In Columbus, Ohio

Credit Courtesy of Yahaira Perez

The butterflies of Proyecto Mariposa.

By editor

For the past year Yahaira Perez has led a group called Proyecto Mariposa, or Project Butterfly, that helps provide life skills to Latina girls and their mothers while ensuring they do not forget their Latin roots.

Proyecto Mariposa is made up of 16 mothers and their daughters, ages 2 to 13. They meet weekly at a church in Columbus to make crafts, read in Spanish and receive guidance on issues such as personal health and proper nutrition.

Yahaira, who moved from Puerto Rico to attend The Ohio State University, has gotten many people involved — including her family.

10:06 am

Thu August 16, 2012

Autosalvage: The Psychedelic Band That Vanished

Credit Courtesy of the artist

Autosalvage, a New York quartet, made one album and then stopped playing.

By Ed Ward

Originally published on Fri August 17, 2012 1:14 pm

A little over 10 years ago, a friend with a small record company in England called me and asked if I wanted to do liner notes for an album he was re-releasing. When he told me it was the Autosalvage album, I flipped. Of course I did!

Now Playing

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

NPR News

Pages

The Two-Way

1:21 pm

Thu August 16, 2012