NPR National News

Pages

Asia
5:17 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Strong Earthquake Strikes Off Indonesia's Coast

A huge earthquake shook the ocean floor off the coast of Indonesia Wednesday. Early measurements by the U.S. Geological Survey give it a strength of 8.7. Surrounding nations have issued tsunami warnings.

Remembrances
3:27 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Tulsa Shooting Victim Had Turned Her Life Around

Credit Courtesy Of News On 6
Dannaer Fields, who went by Donna, is shown in this undated photo. She was one of three people killed in Friday's shootings in Tulsa, Okla.

In Tulsa, Okla., the families of the three victims killed during a shooting rampage Friday are planning funerals. Police say William Allen, 31, Bobby Clark, 54, and Donna Fields, 49, were shot in a predominantly black neighborhood on the north side of Tulsa by two white men.

Fields was walking home after playing a game of dominoes with friends. She was called Donna, but her given name was Dannaer. Her brother Kenneth says she was named after an aunt.

Read more
NPR Story
3:00 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Competition Heats Up To Head World Bank

The World Bank is expected to announce its new president in the next several days. For the past six decades, the bank has been led by an American. President Obama has already nominated Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim for the job. But for the first time in its more than 60-year history, there is serious international competition for the job.

NPR Story
3:00 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Business News

After years of flagging sales, the embattled consumer electronics chain finds itself leaderless. Best Buy CEO Brian Dunn abruptly resigned Tuesday after the company launched an investigation into his "personal conduct." No word from the chain on the specifics of their probe.

Election 2012
3:00 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Santorum Ends Campaign But 'Isn't Done Fighting'

Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum suspended his presidential campaign Tuesday. It had lasted longer than anyone expected, but Santorum was well behind front-runner Mitt Romney in the race for delegates.

Sports
1:56 am
Wed April 11, 2012

New Season, New Owners For Los Angeles Dodgers

Credit Harry How / Getty Images
The L.A. Dodgers stand on the third baseline during the national anthem on opening day at Dodger Stadium. They beat the Pittsburgh Pirates, 2-1, on Tuesday in Los Angeles.

It was a sold out game on a pure Southern California day.

"Isn't this beautiful? Blue sky, not a cloud in the air, nice little breeze," said Maury Wills, who was the Dodgers shortstop in 1962. "It's warm Southern California."

Wills joined a bunch of his old teammates Tuesday to celebrate Dodger Stadium's 50th anniversary. It's also the 50th anniversary of the Beach Boys. So they sang the national anthem after "Surfer Girl."

Read more
Religion
1:55 am
Wed April 11, 2012

To Some Hindus, Modern Yoga Has Lost Its Way

Credit Mario Tama / Getty Images
Bernice Acosta and other yoga enthusiasts practice in New York's Times Square at an event marking the 2011 summer solstice. Some Hindus say such events have little to do with yoga's spiritual roots.

About 20 million people in the United States practice some form of yoga, from the formal Iyengar and Ashtanga schools to the more irreverent "Yoga Butt."

But some Hindus say yoga is about far more than exercise and breathing techniques. They want recognition that it comes from a deeper philosophy — one, in their view, with Hindu roots.

Many forms of yoga go back centuries. Even in the U.S., the transcendentalists were doing yoga in the 1800s.

Read more
The Salt
1:54 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Time For A 'Bug Mac'? The Dutch Aim To Make Insects More Palatable

Diners who merely flit over the menu at the Specktakel restaurant in the Netherlands are sometimes shocked when their plate arrives.

"They just read the first two things in the sentence, and then they think they've got the bobotie pie with pumpkin mash, raisins and watercress," says owner Mark Cashoek. "And the last word is actually the insect crumble."

Insect crumble? Who would want to see crumbled insects on their plate next to the antelope quiche?

Read more
Crisis In The Housing Market
1:53 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Fannie, Freddie Weigh Mortgage Write-Downs

Hundreds of thousands of homeowners facing foreclosure might get help by having the amount they owe reduced by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.

This is a hot topic in Washington, D.C., with many Democrats pushing for these so-called "principal reductions" to try to help the housing market. On Tuesday, a top federal regulator came a step closer to allowing the move.

Read more
Around the Nation
1:53 am
Wed April 11, 2012

Unknown No More: Identifying A Civil War Soldier

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 9:53 am

A Washington, D.C.-area collector and his family have donated more than 1,000 Civil War photographs to the Library of Congress. But you won't find the men in these photos in history books — they're enlisted soldiers, and most of them are unidentified.

In one striking photo, the man depicted has crazy sideburns, a steady expression, and very clear eyes — maybe gray, or perhaps blue. He holds a rifled musket at his side. He is a Union soldier in the Civil War. And the only things we know about him are what we can learn from a single photo.

Read more

Pages