Search results for

Companies are recalling foods containing genetically modified corn that has not been approved for human consumption. But as NPR's John Nielsen reports, government officials are still struggling to determine whether the corn presents a health hazard.

Commentator Edward Wheatley says 600 years after Chaucer's death, the father of English poetry is still having an effect on the lives of people who don't even know his name. Words that he was the first to use are still part of the language.

NPR's Robert Siegel reports from Madison, Wisconsin on efforts by Al Gore and Ralph Nader to woo the same left-wing voters. Wisconsin has been solidly Democratic in the last three presidential races. But there, as in a handful of other states, the three-to-five-percent of the vote that polls show Nader may win could be enough to give George Bush a victory. Siegel talks to people in both the Gore and Nader camps, as well as Democratic voters who turned out to hear Al Gore yesterday and Nader supporters who turned out to protest Gore's appearance.

NPR's Richard Knox looks at how doctors in Maine have turned against their long-time allies, the pharmaceutical companies. At issue are high drug prices that the companies now charge. Doctors say prices have reached a level where many patients can't afford to take the drugs they need, severely affecting not only the patients, but also their ability to practice good medicine. Three major pharmaceutical companies stopped shipping their drugs to Maine in reaction to the state's drug price-control law, which most doctors support. The pullout has only escalated tensions between the once-friendly groups.

Linda talks to Dennis Boroczk, who is overseeing a project to retrofit a Boeing 747 airplane with an infrared telescope and doors that can open to allow the telescope to be used during flight at an altitude of 41-thousand feet. Boroczk is Program Manager at the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy at Raytheon Labs. The high-flying telescope will allow scientists to make infrared measurements of a variety of heavenly objects, such as stars, galaxies, and quasars. The effort is a joint project of between NASA and the German Aerospace Center, with Raytheon making the modifications.

Commentator Lenore Skenazy says Halloween has taken on the commercial importance of Christmas, much to her chagrin. It used to be a relatively unadorned festival. Now it's full of lawn ornaments, lights and plastic tchotchke.

With a little more than a week before Election day, things are heating up between the presidential campaigns. An ad supporting Governor Bush is causing some controversy. We have two reports, first from NPR's Anthony Brooks with the the Gore campaign, then NPR's Peter Kenyon with Governor Bush.

NPR's Larry Abramson reports on a cyber-break-in at Microsoft's headquarters this week. Microsoft says hackers accessed blueprints for software -- but didn't see codes for the most popular products such as Windows ME, Windows 2000 or Microsoft Office. The company said the programs that were involved were still under development and had not been corrupted or tampered with.

Scott speaks with NPR's Brian Naylor about how Republican leaders and the President are odds over a tax and spending bill right before the election.

Andrea Bernstein, of member station WNYC, reports on the New York Republicans' efforts to find a candidate to fill Rick Lazio's congressional seat.