Four years ago, on the cusp of what would become a national economic meltdown, Kansas City made a bet. And the Missouri river town bet big, plunking down $300 million for a brand-new sports arena with no full-time tenant.
Today, that bet is paying off. Pollstar magazine ranks Kansas City's Sprint Center as America's fifth busiest arena and No. 13 among worldwide venues.
Workers at the Hong Kong Apple Store hand over Apple iPhone 4s to customers on Nov. 11. Some goods made in China cost more in China than they do abroad.
South Africa's Parliament has passed a highly controversial state information bill that gives a limited number of government officials the authority to classify information and imposes harsh penalties on those who possess or distribute state secrets. Critics say it will allow officials to cover up corruption and greatly restrict the flow of information.
The most involved sports fans cannot let a little thing like death get in their way for their devotion to a team.
For several years now it's been possible to buy caskets that feature the logo of your favorite, so that you can lie forever with, say, the emblem of the Chicago Cubs resting right before your sightless eyes. Not perfect, but the best available option.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel is one of those small corners of the government with an important mission: It's supposed to help protect federal whistle-blowers and shield civil service workers from politics.
But during the Bush years, the office was engulfed in scandal. It was raided by FBI agents, and its chief was indicted for obstructing justice.
It's into that unsettled environment that the new leader, Carolyn Lerner, arrived five months ago. And good government groups say she's already taking the office in new directions.
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission wants AT&T to prove that its merger with T-Mobile would be "in the public interest." Julius Genachowski sent the request for a hearing to the other three commissioners.
The move throws another roadblock in the proposed $39 billion merger. As we reported back in August, the Justice Department is already suing AT&T over the merger.
Lindsey, Natalie and Paul Santana (seen via webcam), the day after Natalie's birth. "The hospital staff was so incredible to arrange for the Internet connection to make that possible," Lindsey says. She calls their Skype chat that day "such a great memory for us."
For Lindsey Santana and her young family, video Web chats via Skype are an integral part of their lives. Her husband, Capt. Paul Santana, is a helicopter pilot serving in Iraq. And their video phone calls have helped them make the best of things during his deployment, which continues past this Thanksgiving.
The couple was also linked via video during the birth of their first child, Natalie, in West Virginia this past summer. And since then, Paul has been able to see his daughter "at least a few times a week," Lindsey tells NPR's Linda Wertheimer.
Sen. John McCain says a new report from the Government Accountability Office backs some of the controversial comments the Republican from Arizona made over the summer.
Originally published on Wed November 23, 2011 10:00 am
Chef José Andrés grew up in Spain, but he has embraced Thanksgiving as a window into American history. That's why the guests at his Thanksgiving dinner might be starting off with oyster ice cream.
The soup aisle at a grocery store in Washington, D.C.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
A Harvard study found dramatically higher BPA exposure in people who ate canned soup. The researchers used different varieties of Progresso-brand vegetable soups, but BPA is found in the epoxy resins used to coat the inside of many food and beverage cans.
If you read the ingredient list on a can of soup, you're likely to see items like carrots, wild rice, perhaps some noodles. What you won't see listed: BPA.
The study confirms that canned food is a source of BPA exposure. But it does nothing to clear up the question of whether this sort of exposure to BPA has health consequences.
