Search results for

As NASA officials study data and debris from space shuttle Columbia, the initial focus is on an accident at liftoff that may have caused a chain of problems that led to catastrophe. But experts say little could have been done to rescue the ship, even if launch problems had been considered a threat to the mission. NPR's Larry Abramson reports.

Statehouses across the nation struggle to achieve break-even budgets under the challenge of a weak economy. Many already have tapped "rainy day" funds, dismissed workers, and cut back their spending for education, health care and services to deal with shortfalls in this year's budget. NPR's Kathleen Schalch reports.

NASA is exploring several theories about what could have caused the break-up of the space shuttle Columbia. One likely cause also is one of the most difficult to prove -- that the space shuttle was hit by a piece of debris in orbit. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

NASA's investigation into the Columbia disaster is now wide open. The space agency says there's just not enough evidence to back the theory that damage to the shuttle's protective heat tiles caused the crash. At today's memorial service for the Columbia astronauts at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., NASA chief Sean O'Keefe pledged the agency would find the cause of the accident and continue with space exploration. NPR's Richard Harris reports on the progress of the investigation.

Scientific research has always been one of the main arguments for developing NASA's manned space flight program and the International Space Station. But as the future of the program comes under scrutiny in the wake of the Columbia disaster, critics argue that most of the work doesn't require humans at all. NPR's Joe Palca reports.

Storyteller Kevin Kling remembers being young and in great fear of a young girl with a baseball bat. The story turns to thoughts of war, Vietnam draft-dodging and friendship.

Denis Villeneuve's adaptation of Frank Herbert's novel is undeniably staggering. But his Dune also feels rudimentary, as if he's managed his source material without fully mastering it.

A new study predicts 40 percent of Americans will soon be obese, and scientists conceded that changes in metabolism that come with weight gain make reducing difficult. Researchers in Colorado are focusing on prevention, which takes less sacrifice and effort than many might believe. NPR's Richard Knox reports.

In a story broadcast on Morning Edition on Jan. 22, 2002, National Public Radio said it had called the Traditional Values Coalition to ask if that group had been contacted by the FBI, investigating the mailing of anthrax to Senate offices. This report violated NPR editorial principles. No one had told our reporter that the Traditional Values Coalition was a suspect in the anthrax mailing. No facts were available then or since then to suggest that the group had any role in the anthrax mailing. NPR deeply regrets this mistake and apologizes for any false impression that the coalition was involved in this investigation.

Bishop Richard Lennon, appointed to replace Cardinal Bernard Law in Boston, draws criticism from advocates for victims of priest sexual abuse. They want him to spend more time with the concerns of the laity and less on church finances. Monica Brady-Myerov of member station WBUR reports.