A Chinese Village Sacrifices For The Greater Good[ Sep 04, 2010 00:21 ]

More than 300,000 are being relocated for what's being called the largest engineering project in China's history. Water from the massive Danjiangkou Dam is going to be transported to the north. In the village of Guangmenyan, 353 people are leaving their homes forever.

Mental Stimulation Postpones, Then Speeds Dementia[ Sep 04, 2010 00:01 ]

Keeping an active mind helps stave off the development of dementia. But being mentally active might speed up Alzheimer's once it hits, according to new research from Chicago's Rush University Medical Center.

On Jobs, U.S. Now Ranks Worse Than Similar Nations[ Sep 04, 2010 00:01 ]

The U.S. unemployment rate surged far higher and has remained higher than in other major industrial countries. It's now at 9.6 percent. The big shift came when American companies cut workers more aggressively than foreign firms in the face of the financial crisis.

Weakened Earl Hits Mass. With Wind, Rain, Surf[ Sep 04, 2010 00:06 ]

The storm swooped into New England waters as a tropical storm with winds of 70 mph after sideswiping North Carolina's Outer Banks, where it caused flooding but no injuries and little damage.

Report: Blackwater Created Shell Companies[ Sep 03, 2010 23:04 ]

The report Friday night on the newspaper's website says Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, has asked the Justice Department to see whether Blackwater misled the government when using the subsidiaries to gain government contracts.

Texas Opens Inquiry Into Google Search Rankings[ Sep 03, 2010 22:50 ]

The antitrust inquiry disclosed by Google late Friday is just the latest sign of the intensifying scrutiny facing the company as it enters its adolescence. The review appears to be focused on whether Google is manipulating its search results to stifle competition.

Fire at Tennessee Mosque Site Ruled As Arson[ Sep 03, 2010 17:36 ]

U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agent Steven Gerido said Friday that lab tests confirmed an accelerant was used in the fire early Saturday in Murfreesboro. The site is the location for a new Islamic center, which has drawn vehement opposition.

'Where Is Her Head?' A Classic Campaign Trail Moment[ Sep 03, 2010 17:18 ]

Some of the things politicians and reporters hear and see when they're out and about deserve a second or third listen. Check out what NPR's Don Gonyea picked up when he visited a county fair in Ohio.

A Friendship Tested By Deep Gaza-Israel Divide[ Sep 03, 2010 15:22 ]

Mohammed Saqar from Gaza and Dana Levy from Israel met when they were teenagers at a peace camp in the U.S. They once both believed in peace in the Middle East. Now, 14 years later, they are still friends -- but both have lost hope for Israel and Gaza.

Economic Recovery Still A Long Way Off[ Sep 03, 2010 15:00 ]

The unemployment rate grew in August from 9.5 percent to 9.6 percent. But that's mostly because 114,000 temporary Census jobs ended. The job decline is less than most economists expected as the private sector added 67,000 new jobs last month.

Castro Appearance Adds To Speculation About Role[ Sep 03, 2010 15:00 ]

In his first public speech in four years, a military-clad Fidel Castro stood on the steps of the University of Havana and addressed thousands of students. He warned them U.S. and Israeli tensions with Iran are pushing the world toward nuclear war.

Rwanda Condemns U.N. Report On Congo 'Genocide'[ Sep 03, 2010 15:00 ]

The United Nations has delayed the release of a report detailing a decade of gruesome attacks against civilians in the Congo after Rwanda protested the findings. Drafts of the report leaked to the media last week and accused Rwandan troops of slaughtering Hutus in Congo in the 1990s.

Obama To Offer Plan To Spur Job Growth[ Sep 03, 2010 15:00 ]

As summer comes to an end this weekend, "Recovery Summer" too sputters to an end. The Obama administration's hopes that the spring's jobs growth would continue were not realized. On Friday, the president said he'd be proposing new plans to give the economy a bit more juice.

North Korea Signals Succession Plans Under Way[ Sep 03, 2010 14:27 ]

For the first time in decades, North Korea is set to hold a Workers' Party Conference -- as early as this weekend. Observers say North Korea's ailing ruler, Kim Jong Il, could be set to pass the reins of the world's only communist dynasty to a third generation, his third son, Kim Jong Un.

Now We Are Alone: Living On Without Our Sons[ Sep 03, 2010 11:30 ]

A year ago, the author and his wife were part of a happy family with a bright future. Then their two sons were killed in a car crash. Now they feel a certain bond with other parents who understand that children die a second time "when no one speaks their name."