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‘President Romney’s’ First Day In Office: All About Reversing Obama

Challenging an incumbent president means finding ways to narrow the stature gap between the Oval Office occupant and would-be president. Mitt Romney’s image makers attempt to do just that in what his campaign calls the first ad of the general campaign called “Day One.” The ad’s ostensible purpose is to show how busy the all-but-official [...]

JPMorgan’s Troubles And The Price Of Eggs

Journalists have spent many days and millions of words hashing over the news that banking giant JPMorgan Chase lost billions of dollars trading “synthetic” derivatives. I am one of those journalists who, more or less, can understand what the bank says it was trying to do, i.e., hedge against loan losses. But here’s what I [...]

Like It Or Not, It’s Facebook’s Day On Wall Street

We’ve told you it’s coming. We’ve told you the initial price will be $38 a share. And we’ve said it’s not going to be easy for regular folks to get the stock at that price. Now, all everyone can do is wait for social media giant Facebook’s first public offering of stock to hit the [...]

5 Takeaways From Trove Of Evidence Related To Trayvon Martin’s Death

Among the key things to know about what’s in the hundreds of pages of evidence and other materials related to the Feb. 26 shooting death of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, which were released Thursday: – Sanford, Fla., police investigator Christopher Serino concluded that Martin’s death was “ultimately avoidable.” If neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman had [...]

Bike To Work Day: Your Photos, And Riding Advice From Grant Petersen

For many people, Bike to Work Day (which is today) is a reason to put air in their bike’s tires and see if their chain’s too rusty to get them to work on time. And as a growing list of photographs shows, many people who follow NPR online also ride to work. You can submit [...]

Son Fulfills Dream Racism Denied To His Mother

When Terry Walls of Springfield, Mo., decided to go back to college at age 52, he wanted to put to rest a family rumor. He had heard his mother was denied admission to Missouri State University, and he was pointed toward Meyer Library on the MSU campus for answers. There, he discovered an eloquent letter [...]

U.S. Serves Up New Food Security Effort In Africa

The Obama administration is announcing a major new initiative to boost investments in rural Africa in hopes of lifting millions out of poverty. Several African leaders are in Washington, D.C., for the announcement, which comes as President Obama hosts leaders of the Group of Eight in Maryland. Food security is a key agenda item. Ertharin [...]

Clemens’ Former Trainer Admits Changing Testimony

The prosecution’s star witness underwent a withering cross-examination on Thursday at Roger Clemens’ perjury trial. Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, is charged with lying to Congress when he testified that he never used performance-enhancing drugs. Brian McNamee, his one-time trainer, is the only witness who has firsthand evidence that contradicts the baseball-pitching ace. [...]

Love At First Punch: Still Going Strong After 75 Years

Van Harris and his wife, Shirley, grew up in the same Brooklyn neighborhood. They lived about a block away from each other. At StoryCorps, they talked of how they first met — 75 years ago. Van, 87, recalls the day that he first noticed Shirley, 85. “I met her when she was about 10 years [...]

Same-Sex Parents Lobby Congress For Equal Rights

On the edge of the National Mall on Thursday, dozens of moms, dads and kids pose for a group photo framed by the U.S. Capitol. They’re just some of the approximately 700,000 same-sex families across the country, despite laws in some states that make that difficult. Now, they’ve come to Washington to ask lawmakers to [...]