Search results for

For decades, bandleader Skitch Henderson set the mood for Tonight Show audiences. Liane Hansen talks with the man who has just been honored with the James Smithson Bicentennial Medal from the Smithsonian Institution for his contributions to American culture.

Margaret Spellings is chosen to replace Rod Paige as secretary of education. She has been a key adviser to President Bush on education policy since his time as governor of Texas. NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

Despite a fierce firefight early Sunday, no major violence occurred in the Sunni Triangle. In northern Iraq, Kurdish voters cast two ballots: one for the National Assembly and one for the creation of an independent region Kurdistan. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Peter Feaver of Duke University talks about why overall support for the war in Iraq hasn't dwindled, despite much higher casualties than either politicians or the public expected. Feaver says Americans can accept a high human cost for a war if they think the United States will ultimately win. Hear Feaver and NPR's Steve Inskeep.

The Federal Reserve raises a key short-term interest rate another quarter of a point, in an attempt to keep inflation under control as the economy continues to show signs of improvement. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Day to Day producer Christopher Johnson has an appreciation of rap star Russell Jones -- AKA Ol' Dirty Bastard, one of the founders of the Wu-Tang Clan rap collective. Jones died on Saturday of unknown causes in a New York recording studio.

U.S. forces continue to encounter sporadic resistance from insurgents holed up in several parts of the city, and efforts to administer supplies to civilians have been hampered by the appearance of suspected insurgents at aid sites. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

More than 22,000 objects from the rich cultural history of Afghanistan have been found safe in vaults in downtown Kabul, surviving a generation of war and looting.

Allegations of guards beating and terrorizing detainees have emerged from jails Homeland Security uses to hold immigrants awaiting deportation. But legal redress for the alleged victims is unlikely. NPR's Daniel Zwerdling has the second of two reports.

For more than a decade Manhattan bird lovers have watched red-tailed hawks nest, lay eggs and teach fledglings to fly and hunt. But residents of an upscale Fifth Avenue building tore down the nest, angering fans of the birds.