NPR News

Pages

The Two-Way
12:30 pm
Wed July 11, 2012

Florida A&M President Resigns In Wake Of Hazing Scandal

Credit Gerry Broome / AP
James Ammons in 2006.

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 12:50 pm

The hazing scandal at Florida A&M University has cost the university president his job, the AP is reporting.

James Ammons submitted his resignation today just after the parents of Robert Champion added the university to a wrongful death lawsuit.

Champion, an A&M drum major in the famed "Marching 100" band, died in November after going through a violent hazing ritual on parked bus. Eleven marching band members have been charged.

Read more
World Cafe
12:26 pm
Wed July 11, 2012

Bear In Heaven On World Cafe

Credit Shawn Brackbill
Bear in Heaven.

Bear in Heaven, the brainchild of Jon Philpot, spent the winter trimming down (from a quartet to a trio) and stocking up, releasing its third album I Love You, It's Cool this spring. To promote the record, Philpot posted it in its entirety on the band's website, but not before slowing the audio down 400,000 times. At its original tempo, Bear in Heaven's music is at once ambient and energized, resonating in synth-driven waves that swell and pulse through an electric sea.

Read more
Presidential Race
12:26 pm
Wed July 11, 2012

Where They Stand: Obama, Romney On Immigration

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 1:51 pm

Below are President Obama's and Republican challenger Mitt Romney's policies and proposals regarding immigration. NPR will be comparing the two candidates on various issues in the run-up to the November election. If you have suggestions for other issues you'd like us to explore, please leave a note in the comments section below.

DREAM Act:

Obama:

Supports; also endorses letting foreign students stay in U.S. after college graduation.

Read more
Favorite Sessions
12:17 pm
Wed July 11, 2012

KCRW Presents: Bahamas

Credit KCRW
Bahamas performs on KCRW.

Originally published on Thu July 12, 2012 2:50 pm

Bahamas' music has really grown on us at KCRW. The group is led by Afie Jurvanen, who previously played guitar with Feist and is such an aficionado of the instrument that he doesn't even have a bassist in his band. Instead, he's accompanied by a drummer and a pair of backup singers who reinvent his gorgeous pop songs in a live setting.

Read more
The Two-Way
11:52 am
Wed July 11, 2012

That's 'Gnathia Marleyi' To You: Scientist Names New Species After Bob Marley

Credit Ann Marie Coile / Arkansas State University
Male gnathiids.

Originally published on Thu July 12, 2012 2:00 pm

We're not quite sure what to make of it. Is it an honor? Is it an insult?

Read more
Europe
11:51 am
Wed July 11, 2012

In France, The (Abandoned) Dog Days Of Summer

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 3:33 pm

For Europeans, it's not uncommon to take a whole month of vacation in the summer. But the season can be a deadly time for the many pets left behind — permanently.

The abandonment of domestic animals by vacationers is a scourge in many countries across Europe. And in France, this summer isn't likely to be different despite campaigns by animal-rights groups against the practice.

Read more
It's All Politics
11:44 am
Wed July 11, 2012

Romney Absorbs Boos, Tells NAACP That Democrats Have Failed Blacks

Credit Pat Sullivan / AP
Mitt Romney speaks at the NAACP annual convention Wednesday in Houston.

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 1:02 pm

Movie Interviews
10:47 am
Wed July 11, 2012

'Margaret:' Inside The 'Fall' Of A Teenager

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 11:32 am

Kenneth Lonergan's critically acclaimed film Margaret was completed in 2006, but because of several lawsuits, it wasn't released until last year.

Called "nothing short of a masterwork" by The New Yorker, the film stars Anna Paquin as Lisa, a Manhattan teenager who tries to make sense of a bus accident she may have caused — one that resulted in a woman's death. Lonergan tells Terry Gross that he wrote the film because he was interested in how teenagers transition into an adult world.

Read more
Book Reviews
10:40 am
Wed July 11, 2012

'A Door In The Ocean' Leads To Dark Depths

Originally published on Mon July 16, 2012 12:23 pm

Many of the key scenes in David McGlynn's striking new memoir, A Door in the Ocean, take place at the beach or in swimming pools. McGlynn was a surfer and competitive swimmer in his school days and still squeezes into his Speedos for races like the annual 5K "Gatorman" off the coast of La Jolla, Calif. Ocean swimming, in particular, transports McGlynn to another realm, and he does a terrific job of dramatizing the allure of solitary swims in open water. Midway through his book, he writes:

Read more
The Two-Way
10:39 am
Wed July 11, 2012

Kim Dotcom, Megaupload Founder, Offers To Extradite Himself

Credit Michael Bradley / AFP/Getty Images
Megaupload boss Kim Dotcom, left, leaves court after he was granted bail in the in Auckland, New Zealand.

Originally published on Wed July 11, 2012 11:31 am

Kim Dotcom, the founder of Megaupload, now says he's ready to fly himself to the United States to face charges and forgo what could be a lengthy extradition process.

As you might expect, Dotcom made the offer of self-extradition on Twitter, saying:

"Hey DOJ, we will go to the US. No need for extradition. We want bail, funds unfrozen for lawyers & living expenses."

Read more

Pages