NPR Top Stories

Syndicate content News
NPR news, audio, and podcasts. Coverage of breaking stories, national and world news, politics, business, science, technology, and extended coverage of major national and world events.
Updated: 2 hours 24 min ago

Hail St. Mary's: Gaels Pull Off Another NCAA Upset

4 hours 56 min ago

St. Mary's surprised Villanova, 75-68, as second-round action got under way in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Butler staved off an upset bid by Murray State in another second-round game and underdog Ohio University trailed Tennessee late in their contest. Five more games are on tap Saturday afternoon and evening.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

House Opts For Straight Vote On Health Bill

5 hours 17 min ago

Democratic House leaders say they've got the votes to pass a landmark health-care overhaul Sunday. And they're confident enough of getting an overhaul done that they've agreed to set aside the controversial "deem and pass" strategy. Host Guy Raz checks in with NPR's Julie Rovner on the latest maneuvering on Capitol Hill.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

How Americans Feel About Health Care Maneuvers

5 hours 17 min ago

As the health care issue reaches a crescendo in Washington, Sarah Varney of member station KQED looks at how the debate is playing out across the rest of the nation.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Fallows On The News: Health Overhaul, Immigration

5 hours 17 min ago

News analyst James Fallows of The Atlantic magazine talks with host Guy Raz about the big stories of the week, including the final push for a health care overhaul and what's likely to be the next big issue for Congress: immigration.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Democrats Drop Disputed Health Bill Strategy

6 hours 41 min ago

House leaders abandon the "deem and pass" parliamentary maneuver that would have enabled Democrats to approve the Senate version of the bill without a straight up-or-down vote. The move comes as the House Rules Committee was meeting to set terms for floor debate and a final vote Sunday.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Huge Sandstorm Burns The Sky Over Beijing

7 hours 30 min ago

The strongest sandstorm so far this year hit the country's north, delaying some flights at Beijing's airport and prompting a dust warning for South Korea's capital. China's expanding deserts now cover one-third of the country because of deforestation, urban sprawl and drought.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Mom-And-Pop Site Busts The Web's Biggest Myths

7 hours 34 min ago

You'd think it would take an army to truth-squad the rapid-fire rumors of the World Wide Web. But at Snopes.com, that task falls to husband-and-wife myth debunkers David and Barbara Mikkelson.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Lunar Rover Is Spotted For First Time In 37 Years

9 hours 39 min ago

Video game developer Richard Garriott bought the broken Soviet lunar rover at an auction in 1993 — this week, thanks to new photos released by NASA, he's been able to see it on the moon for the first time.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Letter: Lehman's Accounting Tricks Possibly Illegal

11 hours 40 min ago

A Lehman Brothers whistleblower warned his bosses that accounting gimmicks the bank used before its collapse may have been illegal, his lawyer said Friday.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Pope Blasts Irish Bishops, Orders Investigation

11 hours 42 min ago

Pope Benedict XVI rebuked Irish bishops Saturday for "grave errors of judgment" in handling clerical sex abuse and ordered a Vatican investigation into the Irish church to wipe out the scourge.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Hoyer: 'We're Going To Have The Votes'

11 hours 52 min ago

House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says there are representatives who have not publicly indicated that they will support this legislation, but will step forward to give it the 216 necessary votes for passage.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Jail Hosts Exclusive SXSW Concert

12 hours 17 min ago

At the South by Southwest Music Festival this week in Austin, Texas, one of the most exclusive events was an unofficial, invitation-only concert at the Travis County Correctional Complex. Member station KUT's David Brown reports on an initiative called 'Jail Guitar Doors.'

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Week In Review With Juan Williams

12 hours 17 min ago

Washington was swept up in drama this week as the health care debate finally came to a vote. Obama also signed his jobs bill, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Russia. Host Scott Simon reviews the week's news with NPR News Analyst Juan Williams.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Catholics Torn On Health Care Abortion Language

12 hours 17 min ago

The Catholic bishops have lobbied hard to get Catholic members of Congress to oppose the current health care bill because of language it says could allow some federal funding of abortion. The Catholic hospital group differs on the interpretation of the abortion language and the relative importance of the rest of the bill.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Oops, Taliban Arrests Derail Secret U.N. Talks

12 hours 17 min ago

The arrest of senior Afghan Taliban figures in Pakistan ended secret talks between the Taliban and the United Nations, according the former head of the U.N. mission in Kabul. U.N. representative Kai Eide, who stepped down this month, says the capture of more than a dozen Taliban members, some through joint U.S. Pakistan operations, effectively derailed the possibility of continuing dialogue about settling the war in Afghanistan. But Pakistan says there was no intention to sabotage anything.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Obama Rallies: 'We Have Waited Long Enough'

12 hours 17 min ago

President Barack Obama packed the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Friday for one more health care rally. Speaking to students in a swing state, Obama hoped to put a bit of his campaign magic on the legislative drive to overhaul the nation's health care system.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Immigration Calls To Beleaguered Democrats

12 hours 17 min ago

A big rally demanding comprehensive immigration reform is expected Sunday, but don't expect much action from Congress on the issue. Comprehensive reform is not a winner in an election year for Democrats; they'll have to give it a nod, but they are unlikely to take it on along with health care, financial regulations and jobs.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

House Majority Leader Says Dems Have The Votes

12 hours 17 min ago

President Obama has a sure vote in Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House Majority Leader, who is trying to rally and convince any wavering Democrats. Host Scott Simon talks to Hoyer about the revised health care bill.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Flooded S.D. Town Tries Life As An Island

12 hours 17 min ago

As parts of South Dakota struggle with flooding due mostly to extremely heavy snowmelt, some residents are struggling to stay in their towns. Roads leading into the town of Claremont, population 500, are under water and residents are using tractors and ATVs to access their town. Jenifer Jones of South Dakota Public Broadcasting reports.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News

Victors In Iraqi Elections Include Suspected Murderers

12 hours 17 min ago

For all the talk of unity and reconciliation, many Iraqi citizens are in for a shock when the new parliament swears in. Several of the winners, including top vote-getters, are believed to have committed mass murder during Iraq's sectarian civil war. One of the names bandied about as a compromise candidate for prime minister allegedly managed a secret prison where Sunnis died by electric drill. Another is a famous death squad leader. With the results finally crystallizing, it's not at all clear that this election will heal any of Iraq's wounds.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Categories: NPR News