NPR
I-95 A 'Trap' For Migrant Fruit Pickers
When the growing season ends in the North, migrant farm workers along the East Coast will head south, often on Interstate 95, in search of work. For the undocumented workers who make up the majority of that labor pool, the journey can be harrowing.
Weakened Earl Hits Mass. With Wind, Rain, Surf
The storm swooped into New England waters as a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph after sideswiping North Carolina's Outer Banks, where it caused flooding but no injuries and little damage.
A Chinese Village Sacrifices For The Greater Good
More than 300,000 are being relocated for what's being called the largest engineering project in China's history. Water from the massive Danjiangkou Dam is going to be transported to the north. In the village of Guangmenyan, 353 people are leaving their homes forever.
Mental Stimulation Postpones, Then Speeds Dementia
Keeping an active mind helps stave off the development of dementia. But being mentally active might speed up Alzheimer's once it hits, according to new research from Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
On Jobs, U.S. Now Ranks Worse Than Similar Nations
The U.S. unemployment rate surged far higher and has remained higher than in other major industrial countries. It's now at 9.6 percent. The big shift came when American companies cut workers more aggressively than foreign firms in the face of the financial crisis.
Report: Blackwater Created Shell Companies
The report Friday night on the newspaper's website says Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has asked the Justice Department to see whether Blackwater misled the government when using the subsidiaries to gain government contracts.
Texas Opens Inquiry Into Google Search Rankings
The antitrust inquiry disclosed by Google late Friday is just the latest sign of the intensifying scrutiny facing the company as it enters its adolescence. The review appears to be focused on whether Google is manipulating its search results to stifle competition.
Fire at Tennessee Mosque Site Ruled As Arson
U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Steven Gerido said Friday that lab tests confirmed an accelerant was used in the fire early Saturday in Murfreesboro. The site is the location for a new Islamic center, which has drawn vehement opposition.
'Where Is Her Head?' A Classic Campaign Trail Moment
Some of the things politicians and reporters hear and see when they're out and about deserve a second or third listen. Check out what NPR's Don Gonyea picked up when he visited a county fair in Ohio.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
A Friendship Tested By Deep Gaza-Israel Divide
Mohammed Saqar from Gaza and Dana Levy from Israel met when they were teenagers at a peace camp in the U.S. They once both believed in peace in the Middle East. Now, 14 years later, they are still friends -- but both have lost hope for Israel and Gaza.
Economic Recovery Still A Long Way Off
The unemployment rate grew in August from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent. But that's mostly because 114,000 temporary Census jobs ended. The job decline is less than most economists expected as the private sector added 67,000 new jobs last month.
Castro Appearance Adds To Speculation About Role
In his first public speech in four years, a military-clad Fidel Castro stood on the steps of the University of Havana and addressed thousands of students. He warned them U.S. and Israeli tensions with Iran are pushing the world toward nuclear war.
Rwanda Condemns U.N. Report On Congo 'Genocide'
The United Nations has delayed the release of a report detailing a decade of gruesome attacks against civilians in the Congo after Rwanda protested the findings. Drafts of the report leaked to the media last week and accused Rwandan troops of slaughtering Hutus in Congo in the 1990s.
Obama To Offer Plan To Spur Job Growth
As summer comes to an end this weekend, "Recovery Summer" too sputters to an end. The Obama administration's hopes that the spring's jobs growth would continue were not realized. On Friday, the president said he'd be proposing new plans to give the economy a bit more juice.
Union Or Not, Government Workers Squeezed
Unions representing state and local government employees have long been able to protect benefits that are the envy of private-sector workers. With the economy in trouble, though, public employee unions are suddenly losing a lot of battles.
North Korea Signals Succession Plans Under Way
For the first time in decades, North Korea is set to hold a Workers' Party Conference -- as early as this weekend. Observers say North Korea's ailing ruler, Kim Jong Il, could be set to pass the reins of the world's only communist dynasty to a third generation, his third son, Kim Jong Un.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Powerful Earthquake Strikes New Zealand
The magnitude 7.4 temblor hit 19 miles west of the southern city of Christchurch on South Island and shook a wide area in the middle of the night. The extent of the damage was still unclear.
Roethlisberger Suspension Cut To Four Games By NFL
The Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback was suspended in April for violating the league's personal conduct policy, after being accused of sexually assaulting a Georgia college student.
Now We Are Alone: Living On Without Our Sons
A year ago, the author and his wife were part of a happy family with a bright future. Then their two sons were killed in a car crash. Now they feel a certain bond with other parents who understand that children die a second time "when no one speaks their name."
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us
Earl Weakens But Still Packs Punch As It Heads North
Powerful gusts and driving rains churned over North Carolina's Outer Banks as the storm moved up the coast. The storm has been downgraded to a Category 1 but remains a threat as it swirls toward New England.
» E-Mail This » Add to Del.icio.us

