Britain’s Cameron Defends Ex-Aide In Tabloid Scandal

British Prime Minister David Cameron defended a former aide embroiled in a major phone hacking and bribery scandal but told Parliament on Wednesday that in “20/20 hindsight” he would not have hired the tabloid editor as his communications chief. In a special session before the House of Commons, Cameron rebuffed catcalls from the opposition to [...]

‘Triangle Of Death’ In Horn Of Africa; Famine Grips Southern Somalia

As the United Nations escalates its dire warnings about what’s happening in the Horn of Africa, declaring today that drought and famine in southern Somalia threaten millions of people, NPR’s Ofeibea Quist-Arcton reports from a refugee camp in Kenya that an area straddling Somalia, Ethiopia and northern Kenya has been dubbed “the triangle of death.” [...]

American Airlines Places ‘Largest Aircraft Order In Aviation History’

Saying it’s the “largest aircraft order in aviation history,” American Airlines just announced that it plans to buy at least 460 fuel-efficient “narrowbody” passenger jets between 2013 and 2022. The purchases are to be split between Boeing and Europe’s Airbus, the company says: – “American has firm orders or letters of intent for a total [...]

Tina Brown’s Must Reads: Reckoning With Rupert

Tina Brown, editor of The Daily Beast and Newsweek, tells us what she’s been reading in a feature that Morning Edition likes to call Word of Mouth. This month, as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp reels from the News of the World hacking scandal, Brown, whose husband Harold Evans resigned from the Murdoch-owned London Sunday Times [...]

Tina Brown’s Must Reads: Reckoning With Rupert

Tina Brown, editor of The Daily Beast and Newsweek, tells us what she’s been reading in a feature that Morning Edition likes to call Word of Mouth. This month, as Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp reels from the News of the World hacking scandal, Brown, whose husband Harold Evans resigned from the Murdoch-owned London Sunday Times [...]

So You Want To Be An Astronaut

The space shuttle Atlantis is scheduled to land Thursday, bringing the 30-year space shuttle program to its conclusion. A request on NPR’s Facebook page asking people to share their dreams of being an astronaut brought more than 1,000 responses. In 1970, Trish Dardine was eight and growing up in Long Island, N.Y. She volunteered herself [...]

Does British Scandal Risk Murdoch’s Hold On Empire?

As News Corp. executives Rupert and James Murdoch gave testimony to members of a parliamentary panel in London on Tuesday, they were also speaking to a different audience: The people who own their company’s shares and sit on its board. From the opening moments, Rupert Murdoch made clear even in crisis that News Corp., while [...]

In Iraq’s Tahrir Square, A Plea For Missing Relatives

Nearly every Friday, there’s a small Arab uprising in Baghdad. The location is Tahrir Square, a plaza marked by a renowned modernist sculpture that depicts Iraqis in a lifelong struggle for freedom. Alongside young protesters calling for an end to corruption and better services is a distinctive and resolute group: women in black robes holding [...]

Questions Hang Over NASA’s Post-Shuttle Future

The final space shuttle mission means that the 30-year-old shuttle program is about to enter the history books alongside the famous Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo programs. And as the end of the shuttle era looms, NASA leaders say they’re about to build a new vehicle, one that will let astronauts go exploring deep into space. [...]