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Founder Of Men's Wearhouse Fired By Company's Board

David Schaper — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:34:00 +0000

George Zimmer was the founder and executive chairman of the clothing retailer. For three decades, Zimmer starred in the company's commercials. His catch saying: "You're going to like the way you look. I guarantee it."

What Does It Mean That Iran's President-Elect Is A Moderate?

editor — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:34:00 +0000

The man elected to be Iran's new president has been consistently described as moderate. In the days since the election, many have come to question what that means — especially when it comes to the country's nuclear program and its relations with the U.S. Steve Inskeep talks to one of the president-elect's long-time deputies, Hossein Mousavian.

Fed Warns Stimulus Package Will Be Ratcheted Down

John Ydstie — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 08:34:00 +0000

Investors have been nervous about the Federal Reserve's intentions after hints that it might reduce its massive bond buying program. Amid volatile markets, traders and investors complained they wanted more clarity. Chairman Ben Bernanke obliged on Wednesday after a regular two-day meeting of Fed policymakers.

A Surprising Barrier To Clean Water: Human Nature

David Kestenbaum — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:03:00 +0000

In many parts of the developing world, drinking a glass of water can be deadly — especially for young children, who can die of diarrheal diseases contracted from dirty water.

So getting clean water to people in the developing world has been a top priority for aid groups for a long time. But it's been a surprisingly hard problem to solve.

For a while, aid workers largely treated clean water as an engineering problem: If there's no clean water in a village, dig a well.

If Supplies Of Oil Are Up, Why Is Gas Still Pricey?

Marilyn Geewax and Andrew Schneider — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:02:00 +0000

Supplies of oil have been surging this year, and U.S.

How Ted Cruz's Father Shaped His Views On Immigration

David Welna — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 07:01:00 +0000

As the Senate debates a massive overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, one of its newest members has emerged as a leading opponent of the bill's most controversial feature: a path to citizenship for millions living in the country unlawfully.

The views of that freshman senator — Texas Republican Ted Cruz — have been significantly colored by the saga of his own father, an immigrant from Cuba.

"In my opinion, if we allow those who are here illegally to be put on a path to citizenship, that is incredibly unfair to those who follow the rules," Cruz has said.

And the example he frequently

Just Washed Your Car? Try Speeding To Dry It

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:09:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. A Canadian man was a bit wilder than his country's reputation. Police say he was driving 112 miles per hour on a highway south of Black Diamond, Alberta. When they got a look at the man, they found he was 67 - possibly old enough to know better. But by the time the suspect got to court, he had his story straight.

The man explained that he had just washed his car; he was simply speeding in order to dry it off. Of course. He was fined anyway. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Banner Misspells College World Series

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 11:04:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene with news from the College World Series. No, I didn't get stuck there. It's just this huge banner over the third-base dugout spelled the name of the tournament incorrectly. College had three Ls. Organizers of the tournament were embarrassed, especially because they had to hold off on fixing the problem until there was a break in play. Some had an idea about what that extra L stood for, because both teams who used that third-base dugout lost.

You're listening to MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Disney World Raises Entrance Price For Magic Kingdom

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:27:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Some of the magic at Disney was always that you could pick a theme park - any theme park - and the price for a day pass would be the same. Well, no more.

U.S. To Test The Waters With Iran's New President Rohani

Michele Kelemen — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:14:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

When Barack Obama became president and offered his hand to Iran, that country's elites reacted skeptically. Many said he was a new face, but still represented Iran's great enemy. Now, Iran will have a new face, winner of last week's presidential election, Hassan Rohani. He says he wants better relations with the outside world, so it's America's turn to wonder just how much Rohani could really change in Iran's confrontation with the U.S.

Secret Surveillance Credited With Preventing Terror Acts

Ailsa Chang — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:14:00 +0000

The National Security Agency director made the rounds again on Capitol Hill to defend two surveillance programs leaked to the press. Gen. Keith Alexander appeared before the House Intelligence Committee Tuesday, along with other members of the intelligence community and FBI. The government says its Internet monitoring program and the collection of phone logs have stopped more than 50 terrorist attacks.

Miami Heat Force Game 7 In NBA Finals

Mike Pesca — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 09:14:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It sure looked like the NBA season was coming to an end last night. World champions San Antonio Spurs - no, not so fast. The Miami Heat were not ready to give in. After a thrilling improbable comeback, the Heat are still alive, pushing their NBA final series with the Spurs to the brink; a decisive Game 7 tomorrow. Last night, the Heat were down by five points with just over 20 seconds remaining. They came back, forced overtime, and won.

Tick Tock: Make The Serve, Pitch, Putt Or Shot

Frank Deford — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:23:00 +0000

In Milwaukee, cartoon characters dressed up like various sausages race at each Brewers' game; in Washington, five of our beloved presidents do their own bratwurst ramble. But the character I want to appear at every baseball game –– and at a couple of other sports, too, is ...

tick-tock,tick-tock

... the crocodile from Peter Pan who swallowed a clock and shadows a terrified Capt. Hook.

Somebody has to scare athletes into playing faster. In baseball, golf and tennis in particular, we are being slowwwwwwly lulled to sleep before every pitch, every shot.

U.S. Automakers Are On A Roll, But Hiring Is Slow And Steady

Sonari Glinton — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:21:00 +0000

There is one basic question that keeps being asked about the U.S. auto industry: Is it on the rebound?

"People ask a lot, is the auto industry back?" says Kristin Dziczek, a director at the Center for Automotive Research. "And it depends on what scale you want to look at."

So if we're looking at scales, let's start with productivity. In this case, how many work hours it takes to build a car. Productivity in U.S. plants is 39 percent higher than it was in 2000.

Fashion's Victims: An Artist's Focus On Garment Workers

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U4aR23-1MPo

Animal CSI: Inside The Smithsonian's Feather Forensics Lab

editor — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 07:16:00 +0000

Carla Dove smiles as she tears open a small, flat cardboard box. She is sitting at a lab bench in her office at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.

"It's kind of like Christmas for me because I never know what's going to be in the packages," she says.

Inside the box are a bunch of sealed sandwich-size bags. Dove counts the bags.

"Eight samples today," she notes. Each sample consists of grayish pieces of feathers, and sometimes bones, all from inside the stomachs and intestines of Burmese pythons.

Dove is an ornithologist and a forensic expert of sorts.

Is That Gas I Smell, Or Cinnamon?

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:52:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. A special odor is added to natural gas. You know that smell meant to warn you of possible trouble? Last weekend New York officials added an odor to mask the odor. They were fixing a pipeline in Harlem and didn't want a flood of 911 calls over gas leaks that weren't considered dangerous because they were in the open. So they masked the smell by adding cinnamon to the gas. We have no word if area coffee shops sold out of rolls. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Bakery Apparently Mishears Cake Order

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 11:44:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene with congratulations to Laura Gramble. She graduated from Indiana University. To celebrate, mom ordered a cake - Indiana red and white with a photo of Laura's face. And one more request, a graduation cap made of icing. The baker evidently misheard and drew a cat, instead, on Laura's head; pink nose, white whiskers. The Gramble laughed it off and kept the cake from the bakery. Laura says they must have thought she was going to become a veterinarian.

You're listening to MORNING EDITION.

Remembering Astronaut Sally Ride's Historic Journey

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:12:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NASA introduced eight new astronauts yesterday. The space agency says they will lay the groundwork for missions to an asteroid and eventually Mars.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

For the first time, half the new astronauts are women whose paths can be traced back to an event that happened 30 years ago today.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED AUDIO)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: T-minus-10, nine, eight, seven, six, we go for main start - we have main engine start - and ignition and liftoff. Liftoff of SES 7 and America's first woman astronaut.

European Aviation Firms Spotlighted At Paris Air Show

Eleanor Beardsley — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:04:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The Paris Air Show is celebrating its golden anniversary this year. Even after 50 years, it remains the leading showcase for the global aerospace industry.

But as NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, with U.S. Defense cuts, this year it's the Europeans who are taking the spotlight.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: Welcome to the Paris Air Show...

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: A thick crowd pushes through the gates on opening day of the Paris Air Show.

The Last Word In Business

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 10:04:00 +0000

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business is home detention.

The story comes to us from New Zealand, where authorities have been locking up some criminals in their homes rather than jail. House arrest is a lot cheaper, but it turns out that serving time at home is not as comfortable as you might think.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A local newspaper reports that one young man, after serving 10 months of his 11 month sentence, called the police to say he's sick of playing Xbox games.

Obama To Attend 2nd Day Of G-8 Summit

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:27:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning.

President Obama and other leaders of the Group of Eight industrial nations wrap up their two-day summit meeting today in Northern Ireland. They reached some agreement on shoring up the global economy, not so much when it comes to the civil war in Syria.

High Court Strikes Down Voting Law In Arizona

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 09:27:00 +0000

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

On a Tuesday, it's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene.

When the Supreme Court nears the end of a session, you can feel the drama on a day like yesterday. Some big decisions loomed - cases dealing with affirmative action and gay marriage.

INSKEEP: But on any given day, you do not know which decisions will come down. Yesterday, the court ended the anticipation in Arizona.

3-D Printer Brings Dexterity To Children With No Fingers

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 08:14:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kB53-D_N8Uc

Spy Reporter Works Her 'Sources' To Write A Thriller

editor — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:08:00 +0000

Mary Louise Kelly used to cover the national security beat for NPR, but lately she's turned her attention to teaching and writing fiction. Her new novel, Anonymous Sources, follows rookie journalist Alexandra James as she investigates a shady banana shipment and a clandestine nuclear plot.

Why The FISA Court Is Not What It Used To Be

Nina Totenberg — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:07:00 +0000

The furor over recently exposed government surveillance programs has posed an abundance of political challenges for both President Obama and Congress. Relatively unmentioned in all of this, however, is the role of the courts — specifically, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, known as the FISA court, and how its role has changed since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Obama has said that there are tradeoffs between privacy and security in an age of international terrorism.

Libyan Radio Station Promotes Democracy, One Rap At A Time

Leila Fadel — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 07:07:00 +0000

Many of the militia fighters who rose up and ousted former dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 have refused to lay down their arms and are still challenging the post-revolutionary government.

Yet the militias are facing a challenge of their own. They now come under verbal attack on one of Libya's newest radio stations, Radio Zone.

Bassem Arady, a presenter at the station, says pretty much whatever's on his mind.

Supreme Court Rejects Arizona's Proof Of Citizenship Law

editor — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:03:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

On a Monday, this is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene. We're reporting this morning on a decision just out from the U.S. Supreme Court. The court tossed out an Arizona law that required proof of citizenship for its voters. In a 7-2 decision the justices said the state's voter-approved Proposition 200 interfered with federal law.

For more on this morning's decision on this Arizona law, we're joined in studio by NPR justice correspondent Carrie Johnson and NPR's senior Washington editor Ron Elving.

Mayoral Races Across Mexico Are Turning Into A Zoo

editor — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:37:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene. Mayoral races across Mexico are turning into a zoo. In Xalapa, a cat named Morris is running with the campaign slogan: Tired of voting for rats? Vote for a cat. Candidates in other cities include Chon the Donkey and Tina the Chicken. Now, Morris the cat is in the lead - at least on social media.

He has 115,000 likes on Facebook, more than any of the five human candidates. And to think if he loses, that cat has eight more chances. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Iran Elects Moderate Cleric Hasan Rouhani President

editor — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 11:25:00 +0000

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And let's stay in this part of the world. Over the weekend, Iran overwhelmingly elected a new president, a man seen by many as a reformer. More than half the voters in that country opted for this change.

The relatively moderate cleric, Hassan Rouhani, replaces Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who's been in power since 2005.