It took over five years for Nathaniel Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.
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In two interviews airing Sunday night, Tiger Woods acknowledged living "a lie," saying he alone was responsible for the sex scandal that caused his downfall, and that no one in his inner circle was aware of his misdeeds.
Democrats appear confident they will have the 216 votes needed to pass a pair of bills designed to provide near-universal health insurance coverage. Republicans — unanimous in their opposition — describe the bills as "a disgrace."
Frustrated with the lack of action to overhaul the country's immigration system, thousands of demonstrators rallied on the National Mall and marched through the streets of the capital Sunday, waving American flags and holding homemade signs in English and Spanish.
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Israel will not restrict construction in east Jerusalem, Israel's prime minister said Sunday hours before leaving for Washington, despite a clear U.S. demand that building there must stop and a crisis in relations between the two longtime allies.
No. 1 seeds Syracuse, Duke and Kentucky will play on. But so will No. 12 seed Cornell, No. 11 seed Washington and No. 10 seed Saint Mary's — not to mention Kansas-killer Northern Iowa. Eight more teams advanced Sunday, including three from the Big Ten: Ohio State, Michigan State and Purdue.
Kansas is shocked in NCAA mens' basketball tournament, losing to Northern Iowa.
The earthquakes in Haiti and Chile have piqued Americans' interest in earthquake insurance — as usually happens after news of big quakes overseas. But there's little sign this interest will do much to increase the number of people who actually buy coverage. Will the government be on the hook when the big one comes?
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Supporters of immigration overhaul are rallying on the National Mall in hopes their cause will be the next Congressional battle. They want a comprehensive rewrite of the immigration laws that would provide a path to citizenship for the roughly 11 million illegal immigrants currently in the country. But the politics of the immigration issue are complicated for both parties.
No. 1-seeded Kansas was knocked out of the NCAA men's basketball tournament by 9th-seed Northern Iowa Saturday, and 11th-seed Washington ousted No. 3 New Mexico State. Host Liane Hansen talks to NPR's Tom Goldman about what has become a tournament filled with upsets.
When Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to warn him that an Israeli housing project in East Jerusalem is harming U.S. interests, a pro-Israel lobby in Washington was quick to accuse Clinton of blowing things out of proportion. AIPAC, or the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, called on the Obama administration to tone down the rhetoric. The Obama administration did get support, though, from a new pro-Israel lobby, J Street, which says Israel has to take steps to improve relations. It is against this backdrop that AIPAC opens its annual policy conference, a meeting where both Clinton and Netanyahu are expected to speak.
It has been 30 years since one of the world's great puzzles came to this country. The multicolored device was called the Magic Cube when it first went on sale in a Budapest toyshop. But by 1980, the puzzle carried the name of its inventor, Hungarian architecture professor Erno Rubik. Host Liane Hansen takes a moment to note the toy's anniversary.
Scientists have calculated that it actually makes sense to start intentional fires to keep down debris and undergrowth. Even though these prescribed fires do put carbon into the atmosphere, the scientists calculate it's less than what would go up in big wildfires.
The Internal Revenue Service has always been a source of consternation for many Americans, but in tough economic times like these, the anger seems more strident. Anti-tax forces have called for the abolition of the agency; one man took out his rage by flying his small plane into an IRS building, killing himself and one employee. Host Liane Hansen speaks with Douglas Shulman, the IRS Commissioner, about what the agency is doing to help people struggling financially, as well as the IRS' efforts to keep employees safe.
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Connie Hedegaard, the European Union's Commissioner for Climate Action, has laid out an ambitious goal — in five years, she says, she wants to see "a Europe that is the most climate-friendly region in the world." Host Liane Hansen speaks to Hedegaard about the EU's attempts to move forward on climate talks. Commissioner Hedegaard tells Liane how Europe has benefited from climate legislation, and what it might mean for the U.S.
Saturday was the vernal equinox, the first moment of spring, and a time when the periods of light and dark are equal. Last year, Donna Henes greeted the spring equinox in a snowstorm at around 4 in the morning. But this year was different.
When the pilot of his plane died after takeoff last year, passenger Doug White took control and landed it with the help of air traffic controllers.
Despite the protests raging in and around the Capitol, at least 216 members of the House of Representatives are predicted to cast votes of "yea" on the health care bill today, finally passing a history-making overhaul package. That is, if all goes according to the Democrats' plan.
That's the number of votes House Democrats need to pass a sweeping overhaul of the nation's health care system. Lawmakers are expected to vote Sunday, and with all 178 House Republicans and at least two dozen Democrats vowing to vote no, the vote will be extremely close. NPR White House Correspondent Scott Horsley joins host Liane Hansen live to talk about Obama's efforts to push the health care overhaul legislation through the House of Representatives.