Search results for

NPR's Larry Abramson reports on NASA's decision to appoint an independent commission to study the cause of the destruction of the space shuttle Columbia, on Saturday. Just hours after the disaster, NASA Administrator Sean O'Keefe announced that Admiral Hal Gehman will head the commission, which is intended to provide a thorough and objective assessment. The precedent is the 1986 Rogers Commission, which investigated the Challenger disaster.

In their weekly political discussion, host Bob Edwards talks to NPR's Cokie Roberts about the shuttle Columbia tragedy and how it might affect other major issues facing the nation, including whether and when the United State might go to war against Iraq and the budget blueprint, which the White House releases today.

As the number of American Indian-run casinos in California grows, some tribes look for ways to bring them closer to major cities. NPR's Andy Bowers reports.

Researchers announce this week that orangutans have culture. The evidence: tree-riding games, leaves used as gloves, and sputtering "raspberry" sounds that may mean "good night." Until now, only two other species on the planet qualified as having socially-transmitted behavior: chimps and humans. NPR's Christopher Joyce reports.

Giuseppe Verdi's opera Il Trovatore, which premiered 150 years ago this weekend in Rome. It remains one of the most romantic and popular operas of all time. NPR's Scott Simon talks to Philadelphia Inquirer music critic David Patrick Stearns.

Two dozen new state governors start their jobs this month. Robert Ehrlich will be Maryland's first Republican governor in 36 years. Like many of his fellow newcomers to state office, the former congressman is contemplating budget shortfalls and tough spending choices. NPR's Steve Inkseep reports.

Fidel Castro, now 76, is the subject of Ann Louise Bardach's new book Cuba Confidential: Love and Vengeance in Miami and Havana. She believes rapprochement is near for Cubans and the stridently anti-Castro Cuban-American community in South Florida. Bardach speaks with NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Tom Gjelten.

William Russo, who composed and arranged music for Stan Kenton, also wrote works performed by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and the New York Philharmonic. He died recently at 74. Tony Sarabia of Chicago Public Radio offers an appreciation.

A 32-year-old Chicago man is in custody, accused of running a child prostitution ring in five Midwestern states. Authorities say he lured girls -- many of them runaways -- with offers of free jewelry, then held them hostage and made them perform sex acts. Shirley Jahad of Chicago Public Radio reports.

NPR's Steve Inskeep has a brief rundown of other stories in the news this weekend.