Now Playing

Loading streams...

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

All ContentRSS
View all podcasts & RSS feeds

NPR News

Pages

The Torch
2:33 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Live Blog: The Opening Ceremony

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Franck Fife / AFP/Getty Images
Animals and actors enter the stadium for a British meadow scene.
Credit Paul Gilham / Getty Images
Britain's Bradley Wiggins, who won the Tour de France this year, rings the 23-ton Olympic bell, which was manufactured by the same company that made Big Ben.
Credit Pat Benic / UPI/Landov
Sheep are led onto the field during the ceremonies.
Credit Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
British soccer star David Beckham drives a speedboat carrying the Olympic flame to the opening ceremony.
Credit Richard Heathcote / Getty Images
A general view of the opening ceremony. The 2012 Olympic Games will see 26 sports contested by 10,500 athletes over 17 days of competition.
Credit Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
British actor Rowan Atkinson, in his role as Mr. Bean, takes part in the ceremony .
Credit Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images
Fireworks light up Tower Bridge as the London 2012 Olympics opening ceremony takes place Friday.
Credit Pool / Getty Images
The Olympic Rings are assembled in the 80,000-seat Olympic Stadium.
Credit Stu Forster / Getty Images
The Olympic Cauldron is lit during the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games.
Credit Matt Dunham / AP
Performers dance during the opening ceremony.
Credit Lars Baron / Getty Images
Winged performers ride bicycles during the opening ceremony.
Credit Michael Regan / Getty Images
Sir Chris Hoy of the Great Britain Olympic cycling team carries his country's flag during the opening ceremony.
Credit Fabrice Coffrini / AFP/Getty Images
Artists climb chimneys during The Age of Industry scene of the opening ceremony.
Credit Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Torchbearer Sir Steve Redgrave hands the Olympic Flame over to seven young athletes who present Britain's hopes for the next Olympics.
Credit Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Performers with jet packs take part in the opening ceremony.
Credit Alberto Pizzoli / AFP/Getty Images
Fireworks explode from the roof of the Olympic Stadium.
Credit Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images
British musician Paul McCartney raises his arms as he sings at the end of the opening ceremony.
Credit Matt Dunham / AP
Performers dance during the Opening Ceremony at the 2012 Summer Olympics on July 27.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 10:30 pm

Queen Elizabeth II declared the London Games open. The Olympic cauldron is lit.

It came after a staggering and cinematic opening ceremony that celebrated all aspects of British life — from its bucolic beginnings to the industrial revolution to modern-day Britain.

Read more
The Torch
2:32 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

London Opens Up, In Danny Boyle's 'Warm-Up Act' For The Summer Olympics

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Franck Fife / AFP/Getty Images
Animals and actors enter the stadium for the British meadow scene prior the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on Friday.
Credit Franck Fife / AFP/Getty Images
Animals and actors enter the stadium for a meadow scene before the opening ceremony of the London 2012 Olympic Games on Friday.
Credit Hannah Johnston / Getty Images
The Red Arrows, the Royal Air Force's aerobatic team, fly over the Olympic Park during the ceremony.
Credit Olivier Morin / AFP/Getty Images
British film director Danny Boyle talks before the ceremony, which he masterminded. The show celebrates British culture, music and literature.
Credit Dylan Martinez / Reuters/Landov
Rain falls on spectators in the Olympic stadium.
Credit Paul Gilham / Getty Images
Britain's Bradley Wiggins, who won the Tour de France this year, on stage during the ceremony. The cyclist rang the 23-ton Olympic bell, which was manufactured by the same company that made Big Ben.
Credit Lars Baron / Getty Images
A fan wearing 3-D glasses watches the ceremony.
Credit Pat Benic / UPI/Landov
Sheep are led onto the field at Olympic Park.
Credit Franck Fife / AFP/Getty Images
Actors perform during the British meadow scene.
Credit Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Performers depict a view of the English countryside by playing a game of cricket.
Credit Cameron Spencer / Getty Images
Guitarist Frank Turner performs on the hillside.
Credit John MacDougall / AFP/Getty Images
Spectators play with a giant balloon at the Olympic stadium.
Credit Paul Sancya / AP
Ryan Musgrave of Chicago holds a U.S. flag.
Credit Jeff J Mitchell / Getty Images
"We don't get lost in show business" during the opening ceremony for the London 2012 Olympics, says Danny Boyle, who directed the show. Boyle spoke with reporters before Friday's ceremony, which begins at 9 p.m. London time.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 4:33 pm

Every recent opening ceremony of the Olympics went for glitter and glamour, in an escalating war of excess. Ceremony fanatics consider the Beijing opening ceremony the gaudiest of all — and Oscar-winner Danny Boyle (the director of Slumdog Millionaire) had $42 million to try to outdo the Chinese organizers.

Instead, Boyle says, "You can't get bigger than Beijing. So that, in a way, kind of liberated us. We thought, 'Great. Oh good. We'll try and do something different, then.' "

Read more
Planet Money
2:24 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Losing With LIBOR: One Trader's Story

Credit Oli Scarff / Getty Images
London-based Barclays Bank agreed to pay a $453 million fine over charges it manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate — LIBOR — a key global interest rate.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 4:02 pm

We've been talking a lot lately about what's been dubbed the "LIBOR rate fixing scandal," where some of the biggest banks in the world have been accused of manipulating a key global interest rate.

Read more
The Record
2:24 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

The Race To Create A Music Superlabel Still Faces Hurdles

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images
Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group Lucian Grainge (left) and Roger Faxon, the CEO of EMI Group, testify during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Universal's proposed merger with EMI.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 5:26 pm

It's been a tough decade for the music industry. Revenues have tumbled — from more than $14 billion in 1999 down to $7 billion last year. EMI, one of the big four record labels, was taken over by venture capitalists and then taken over again, after they defaulted, by Citigroup. Now, Universal Music Group wants to buy the recorded music division of EMI for $1.9 billion. But critics say if the two companies merge it will create a superlabel that will dominate the music industry.

Read more
Middle East
2:24 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Syrian Rebels Heavily Manage Their Message

Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 4:02 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

All this week, we've been hearing from parts of Syria that are controlled by the Free Syrian Army. NPR's Kelly McEvers recently returned from a weeklong trip there. And because such reporting is so rare these days, we've heard stories on both MORNING EDITION and on this program.

Read more
The Two-Way
2:13 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Google Admits It Did Not Delete Data Taken From Wi-Fi Devices

Credit Daniel Mihailescu / AFP/Getty Images
The camera mounted on a Google Street View car used to photograph whole streets obscures part of the U.S. Internet giant's logo.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

We told you before about the Google Street View vehicles that illegally collected data from unprotected Wi-Fi devices while they took pictures of the streets in Europe, Australia and the United States.

Read more
It's All Politics
2:12 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Obama Pre-Empts Romney's Israel Visit With Security Aid Bill Signing

Credit Susan Walsh / AP
President Obama is flanked Friday by congressional sponsors and officials with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., for legislation increasing U.S. security aid to Israel.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Tue July 31, 2012 7:47 am

It may have just been a coincidence that on the eve of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's visit to Israel, President Obama signed legislation that increases U.S. military and security aid to the Jewish state.

But the timing was nonetheless fortuitous for the president, and showed once again the benefits of incumbency in an election year.

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
2:07 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

A Walk Through The AIDS Conference's Global Village

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
"You've been condomized!" said Joy Lynn Alegarbes, of The Condom Project, which promoted safe sex at the 19th International AIDS Conference. The group handed out more than 850,000 condoms this week.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
"You've been condomized!" said Joy Lynn Alegarbes, of The Condom Project, which promoted safe sex at the 19th International AIDS Conference. The group handed out more than 850,000 condoms this week.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Getting the word out about HIV was a major goal of the Global Village. Helena Nangombe from Namibia holds up a sign written by her friend during a session that aimed to promote communication about HIV.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
The International AIDS Conference is one of the only medical meetings that invites the public to come and share ideas through art, music and debates.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Choirs from churches and schools around the District of Columbia joined together on Thursday afternoon to perform a concert in the Global Village.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Music and dancing filled the Global Village from morning to evening, often spilling out into other parts of the convention center. Khadijan High, a member of the Dance Institute of Washington, performed a hip-hop routine for The Condom Project.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Cris Thomas, a teacher in Washington school system, said she came to the AIDS conference with a friend.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
A fashion show on Tuesday evening featured dresses decorated with female condoms. Here Olwin Manyanye from Zimbabwe prepared backstage for the show, which raised awareness for the growing need of female condoms.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
On Tuesday afternoon, thousands of people marched from the Washington Convention Center to protest several issues related to AIDS, including high prices of HIV drugs and inequalities for women.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
At a booth dedicated to people living with HIV, Michel Bourrelly from France handed the mic to Roger Yves from Cameroon to lead the group in an African song on Thursday afternoon.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Women's garments hang from a clothesline at the Women's Network Area in the Global Health. The area promoted the diversity and pride of woman around the world.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Sophia (left) and Sarah Denison-Johnston of Berkeley, Calif., are 16-year-old twins, who are HIV-negative even though their mother was HIV-positive while pregnant with them. Their mother took part in one of the first clinical trials testing whether anti-retroviral drugs could successful block HIV transmission from mother to infant.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
A lubricant tasting booth in the Global Village set up by The Condom Project. The booth offered a variety of fruit flavors, as well as vegan and sugar-free options.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Safe, Stupid or What? The Ashe Performing Arts Company, based in Kingston, Jamaica, performed a musical television game on Thursday in the Global Village. The show used song and dance to explain how HIV is transmitted.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Small steps forward and international cooperation are ingredients in the fight against AIDS. Elizabeth C. Otieno of Allentown, Pa., embodies this spirit. She was born in Kenya but is now an HIV case manager in the U.S.
Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Colorful flags and candies decorate the LGBT Networking Zone. More than 120 groups from around the world set up booths in the Global Village to distribute information about the AIDS epidemic.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 3:04 pm

The 19th International AIDS Conference is wrapping up today in Washington, and it's been an exciting one.

Read more
Economy
1:57 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Will A Slowing GDP Nudge The Fed To Do More?

Next imagePrevious image
Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke appears before the House Financial Services Committee July 18. Economists expect Fed policymakers to consider further steps to boost growth when they meet next week.
Credit John Moore / Getty Images
A worker at a Colorado National Guard construction site funded by federal stimulus funds in 2010 in Lakewood, Colo. Economists say the latest gross domestic product report shows the recession was less severe than previously thought. That's because government spending helped prop up the economy. Now, eyes are turning to the Federal Reserve to boost growth.
Credit
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

The Commerce Department's latest report confirms that economic growth was as lousy this spring as you suspected it was.

Now the question is: Can anyone do anything to make it better in the year's second half?

Read more
World Cafe
1:46 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Joe Jackson On World Cafe

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Joe Jackson.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Joe Jackson is well known as the writer of the 1979 hit "Is She Really Going Out With Him?" and for his biggest single, "Steppin' Out." Jackson — who grew up in Portsmouth, England and attended the Royal Academy of Music — has also had five Grammy nominations over his illustrious four-decade career.

Read more

Pages