Search results for

A confidential report commissioned by NASA concludes the agency's plan to use a robot to save the Hubble telescope is highly risky. The report suggests NASA should send up new instruments on a second, bare-bones telescope.

Two of the nation's oldest and best-known retailers -- Sears, Roebuck and Co. and Kmart -- agree to merge in a deal worth an estimated $11 billion. The proposed merger would create a new entity called Sears Holdings, but will be mainly controlled by Kmart executives. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

The Taliban in Afghanistan have instructed that women cover up in public from head to toe, including their faces. NPR correspondent Diaa Hadid has been talking to women affected by the change.

The fourth installment of our series on the state of music education in America's schools focuses on youth orchestras. NPR's Korva Coleman speaks with renowned National Symphony Orchestra music director Leonard Slatkin about the University of Maryland's National Orchestra Institute.

Kate Walbert, author of the book Our Kind, discusses the kind of women she grew-up with and how their lives inspired her. The story is one of five finalists for the National Book Award. Hear Walbert and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

Clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch is known for ads featuring mostly young, white models. But as part of a $40-million settlement in a race and discrimination class-action lawsuit, the company will add more color to its staff and its catalogs. NPR's Tavis Smiley talks with Bill Lann Lee, lead attorney for the plaintiffs, and from 21-year-old college student Carla Grubb, one of the plaintiffs.

Since anthrax spores sent through the mail killed five people in late 2001, the federal government has boosted spending on biodefense research and pending by billions of dollars. But some experts wonder if this isn't overkill, and whether some new efforts are doing more harm than good. NPR's David Kestenbaum reports.

Iraq's interim leader works to persuade Iraqi expatriates to participate in January's parliamentary elections. Prime Minister Ayad Allawi also met with some Iraqi tribal leaders in the Jordanian capital, hoping to win their support for efforts to end the insurgency. NPR's Peter Kenyon reports.

Twenty years ago, tons of toxic gas escaped from a Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India. It was one of the worst industrial accidents in history, with a death toll of more than 15,000. Many survivors say they have yet to receive compensation. Hear Miranda Kennedy.

The hot job market has opened up opportunities for formerly incarcerated people who may have had a harder time finding work in the past. Some employers are even actively recruiting at jails.