Search results for

Rep. Marcy Kaptur (D-OH) joins the race to become House minority leader, emphasizing campaign finance reform. Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) appears to be the frontrunner in a competition that also includes Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN). NPR's David Welna reports.

As Kermit the Frog gets a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, The Muppet Show he starred in celebrates the 25th anniversary of its debut. NPR's Bob Edwards looks back at the enduring legacy of Jim Henson's creation.

Burmese writer Pascal Khoo Thwe has written his autobiography From the Land of Green Ghosts: A Burmese Odyssey. (HarperCollins). Thwe grew up part of a tiny remote tribe in Burma which practiced a combination of ancient animist and Buddhist customs mixed with Catholicism. He was the first member of his community to study English at University. When a brutal military dictatorship took over Burma, Thwe became a guerrilla fighter in the movement for democracy.

U.S. Rep. John Thune (R-SD) will not contest his narrow loss in a bid to unseat incumbent Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson. Thune says a recount would be "painful for the state." The margin of Johnson's victory was just over 500 votes. Curt Nickisch of South Dakota Public Radio reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court hears cases from Alaska and Connecticut as it reviews statutes based on "Megan's Law." Justices are considering whether alerting communities to a convicted sex offender's whereabouts is constitutional. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

The American Civil Liberties Union demands in court that the Justice Department reveal how many patron reading lists it has requested from libraries and book stores. Last year's U.S.A. Patriot Act allows the collection, but critics say it violates patron privacy. NPR's Jason DeRose reports.

The Republican-controlled House approves the creation of a Homeland Security Department in a 299-121 vote. Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle (D-S.D.) predicts the bill will pass in the Senate by next week. NPR's David Welna reports.

A new blood test that checks for a certain protein proves just as good at predicting the risk of a heart attack as conventional cholesterol tests, according to a new study. The results leave heart experts at odds over whether the test should become a part of routine checkups. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

Pub-goers in London cheer Queen Elizabeth II's announcement that Parliament will soon consider allowing pubs to stay open 24 hours. Currently, pubs must close at 11 p.m. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with London pub manager Charlotte Renick. (This story was corrected on air on Nov. 14, 2002: "It's Thursday, the day we read from your letters, and we start with a correction to yesterday's program. I said that Britain's pubs have closed early, ever since World War II. Our thanks to Charles Day in Bozeman, Montana, Marc James Small in Roanoke, Virginia and Peg Willingham in Arlington, Virginia. All pointed out that closing the pubs early was a World War I innovation, part of the Defence of the Realm Act. Mr. Day notes that the law was "affectionately known to the British' by its acronym 'DORA.' The logic of the pub closings was, he writes, 'to keep factory production levels high. Factory workers, particularly the ammunition factory workers, would be home from the pubs at a reasonable hour so that they would show up well rested on the factory floor the next morning.'"

Host Bob Edwards talks to Commentator John Feinstein about the tip-off of the college basketball season, which begins tonight. John makes his annual prognostications about the top teams and tells his yearly "feel-good" human interest story about a college athlete.