Search results for

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Jerusalem reports Prime Minister-elect Ariel Sharon is mulling over options for dealing with the escalating violence in the West Bank and Gaza. Israel's Labor Party today chose the man who is to be defense minister in Sharon's unity government -- 65-year-old Binyamin Ben-Eliezer. Ben-Eliezer said he would try to persuade Palestinians to return to the negotiating table. At the same time, he said Israel would not "sit quiet" in the face of continued Palestinian attacks. Sharon has vowed to improve security for Israelis, though has not detailed how.

Robert Siegel speaks with Imam Kamad Ahmad Chebly. Chebly is an American Muslim cleric who is now in Mecca, Saudi Arabia, preparing for the Islamic pilgrimage, the Hajj. The Hajj officially begins tomorrow.

Robert Siegel talks with NPR's Chris Arnold, who's in the courtroom in San Francisco where a judge is hearing arguments on whether the online music service Napster should be shut down. A lawyer for Napster said today that the company will voluntarily introduce a screening system this weekend, which could block Napster users from trading nearly a million titles of pirated music. The company says instead of being forced to shut down, it should be allowed to police its system -- and it offered the screening method today as a way in which it will do that.

NPR's Guy Raz in Ankara reports on the financial crisis that has gripped Turkey ever since a public spat between the president and the prime minister sparked fears of a government collapse. Underlying the crisis is Turkey's endemic corruption.

NPR's John Ydstie reports that Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan told lawmakers today that inflation is still well-contained and that recent increases in wholesale and consumer prices are mere blips on the screen. Greenspan was asked whether the Fed had waited too long before moving to cut interest rates in late January. Greenspan defended the central bank's actions and said the answer to the question is "No."

The Immigration and Naturalization Service has granted asylum to a severely disabled boy from Pakistan on grounds he would face persecution because of his autism if he returned home. NPR's Mary Ann Akers reports that some say this Chicago case will not ease asylum claims for other disabled people.

The Marine's V22 Osprey has come under increasing scrutiny after a series of deadly crashes and a highly critical GAO report. The aircraft may face a funding cutoff after a review of Defense Department programs ordered by President Bush. Russell Lewis reports from member station KPBS.

President Bush's announced a proposed budget and budget cuts in his State of the Union speech. NPR's senior news analyst Senior News Analyst Daniel Schorr spoke about the administration's spending plan with Mitch Daniels, Director of the White House Office of Management and Budget; and Bob Greenstein, Executive Director of the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities.

NPR's Eric Weiner reports that women in Japan gradually are taking jobs as sushi chefs, something that used to be exclusively the province of men. But most of Japan's more than 30,000 sushi restaurants still refuse to hire women, and many men refuse to eat sushi that a woman has prepared. Men often believe that women have a higher body temperature and other physiological differences that make them unsuitable to prepare something as delicate as sushi.

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Australian comedian Christian Hull about his popular TikTok videos in which he watches paint get tinted and guesses what color it will become.