In Congress, A Bipartisan Push For Afghan Drawdown

Growing numbers of lawmakers on both sides of the aisle are balking both at the length of the war in Afghanistan and its cost. Late last month, a few weeks after U.S. forces killed al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan, the Republican-run House voted on a bipartisan amendment aimed at hastening an end to [...]

U.S. Prods Europe On NATO Spending

One of the calculations in President Obama’s decision Wednesday on U.S. troops in Afghanistan is the growing concern about the cost of military operations — not only in that country, but in other areas as well. Funding for NATO is coming under the microscope amid growing complaints about the U.S. paying a disproportionate share to [...]

Serious Surgical Mistakes Persist, Despite Safety Rules

Back in 2004, the Joint Commission, a group that certifies health care providers, issued rules to try and prevent wrong-site surgery — terrible blunders involving the wrong limb or the wrong surgery. The rules were supposed to became mandatory in hospitals and accredited outpatient centers. At the time, the president of the group that issued [...]

‘Passione’ Project: A Tribute To Neapolitan Music

“O Sole Mio” and Enrico Caruso aren’t simply Italian. They’re Neapolitan, the product of a city whose music is worldly, carnal and more closely linked to Andalucia than to Rome or Milan. Even devotees who know all that are likely to learn a few things from Passione, John Turturro’s cinematic rhapsody to the music of [...]

U.N. Unanimously Approves Second Term For Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

The U.N. General Assembly voted unanimously to keep Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon for another five-year term. The AP reports: The 192-member assembly gave the 67-year-old South Korean diplomat another five years at the helm of the U.N. by voice vote. They applauded loudly as assembly president Joseph Deiss banged his gavel and proclaimed Ban’s appointment to [...]

Mexico Captures Alleged Leader Of La Familia Cartel

Mexico’s secretary of the Council on National Security said authorities had captured one of the most wanted men in organized crime. The Mexican daily, El Universal reports that Alejandro Poiré said José de Jesús Méndez Vargas, or “The Monkey Méndez,” the alleged leader of La Familia Michoacana cartel had been captured in Aguacalientes without any [...]

New Cigarette Labels Are Gruesome On Purpose

The Food and Drug Administration’s revamp of its dated anti-smoking campaign was long overdue. And, although the new graphic images make us a bit squeamish, that’s kind of the point. But how did they get to be so gruesome? FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg, came by the NPR studios to speak with Michelle Norris of All [...]

Roles Reverse As Obama Seems More Hawkish Than Many In GOP

How much has the nation’s political landscape changed after 10 years, the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, and whatever we define Libya as? So much so that a Democratic president who ran as an anti-war candidate, at least on Iraq, has come to look like a hawk when compared to Republican presidential candidates. On the eve [...]

Gallup Poll: Many Americans Still Cool To A Mormon As President

As former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman declares his candidacy for president, Gallup is out with a new poll that suggests a significant percentage of Americans aren’t ready for a Mormon president. Huntsman is a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, the formal name for the Mormon Church. And he has a [...]

‘Buck’: Helping Horses With People Problems

Buck tells the story of Buck Brannaman, a cowboy who channeled a childhood of abuse into a unique career as what some have dubbed a horse whisperer. The film about his life is part of the American Film Institute’s Silverdocs Festival. Traditionally, horses have been “broken” by trainers — taught to obey their masters’ orders [...]