Now Playing

Loading streams...

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

All ContentRSS
View all podcasts & RSS feeds

Valley Public Radio Staff

Kristina Herrick
Kristina Herrick
Classical Music Host
Juanita Stevenson
Juanita Stevenson
Valley Edition host
George Mason
George Mason
On-air host, Clearly Classical
Rebecca Plevin
Rebecca Plevin
Reporter
Jason Scott
Jason Scott
Host, Clearly Classical and All Things Considered
Vince DiCiccio
Vince DiCiccio
Host, The Oasis; The Intersection
Ezra Romero
Ezra Romero
Reporter and Producer
Marv Allen
Marv Allen
Host, Morning Edition

NPR News

Pages

Commentary
10:55 am
Wed October 3, 2012

When Words Were Worth Fighting Over

Credit Flickr User Greeblie
In 1961, the publication of Merriam-Webster's Third International Dictionary sparked an uproar with its inclusion of the word "ain't."
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Wed October 3, 2012 12:10 pm

I have a quibble with the title of David Skinner's new book, The Story of Ain't. In fact, that pariah contraction plays only a supporting role in the story. The book is really an account of one of the oddest episodes in American cultural history, the brouhaha over the appearance of Merriam-Webster's Third International Dictionary in 1961.

Read more
Shots - Health Blog
9:58 am
Wed October 3, 2012

In The Wake Of High Gold Prices, Lead Poisons Thousands Of Children

Next imagePrevious image
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Women and their children wait for medication and instructions on how to use it at the clinic in Dareta, Nigeria. Treating children with high levels of lead is a painstaking process that works only if their environment at home is free from lead.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Women and their children wait for medication at the clinic in Dareta, Nigeria. Treating children with high levels of lead is a painstaking process that works only if their environment at home is free from lead.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Ivan Gayton directs the mission for Doctors Without Borders in Nigeria. The nonprofit set up clinics to treat children sickened by lead poisoning from illegal mining activities. Gayton says this may be one of the worst cases of environmental lead poisoning in recent history.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Gado Labbo holds her 5-year-old son, Yusuf, at the clinic in Dareta. In 2010, when Yusuf first entered the clinic, he had a blood lead level of 150 micrograms per deciliter — 30 times higher than what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention considers dangerous.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A health worker looks for signs of vision in the eyes of Yusuf Labbo. Severe lead poisoning has left the 5-year-old boy blind. He weighs just 22 pounds, can't speak or walk and spends most of his days clutched in his mother's arms.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Susan Lake, a nurse for Doctors Without Borders, goes over the list of pills for one of her patients at the clinic in Dareta. More than 400 kids have already died from lead poisoning, while thousands of others are stunted physically and mentally.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
A local health official stands in the consultation room of a health clinic and hospital in Bagega, Nigeria. At first, miners in the region were processing lead-laden gold ore inside their homes. Doctors Without Borders persuaded most of them to move the processing to the outskirts of town.
Credit David Gilkey / NPR
Aishsa Yusufa stands against a pillar outside the Doctors Without Borders ward in Anka, Nigeria. The 4-year-old girl is enrolled in a program at the clinic to treat her for high levels of lead.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Fri October 5, 2012 12:26 pm

Across a swath of northern Nigeria, a humanitarian catastrophe is unfolding, as lead from illegal gold mines sickens thousands of children.

More than 400 kids have died, and many more have been mentally stunted for life.

Doctors Without Borders, which has set up clinics to treat the children, is calling it one of the worst cases of environmental lead poisoning in recent history.

Read more
The Two-Way
9:38 am
Wed October 3, 2012

New, House-Cat-Sized Dinosaur With Massive Fangs Is Identified

Credit Tyler Keillor / The University of Chicago
With jaws only 1 inch in length, the plant-eating Pegomastax ("thick jaw") was one of the smallest dinosaurs ever discovered. The photo above is of a close relative of the Pegomastax.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Sun October 7, 2012 2:09 pm

What we learn about dinosaurs keeps surprising us. Today in the journal ZooKeys we get a peek into an odd, new kind of dinosaur that was lighter than a house cat and just as small but had a terrifying set of teeth and a short, birdlike beak.

The fossil used to re-create the creature was actually discovered in southern Africa in the 1960s, but it is described for the first time today by Paul Sereno, paleontologist and professor at the University of Chicago.

Read more
Law
9:22 am
Wed October 3, 2012

Interactive: Richard Aoki's FBI File

Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Wed November 14, 2012 7:31 am

Documents from the FBI file released to author Seth Rosenfeld as part of research for his book, Subversives.

The Salt
9:03 am
Wed October 3, 2012

Freshwater Shrimp: Still Not A Midwestern Cash Crop

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Maureen Langlois / NPR
A patron enjoys the offerings at this year's Ohio Fish and Shrimp Festival.
Credit Jeff Burghauser / Maureen Langlois
A plump specimen is plucked out of a bin holding this year's local harvest at the Ohio Shrimp and Fish Festival.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Wed October 3, 2012 3:07 pm

It's harvest time in the heartland, but not just for apples and squash. In small, back-lot ponds on farms across the Midwest, a different crop has been growing all summer. They're substantial, slightly sweet and a revelation to the land-locked palate, not to mention worth top dollar. Yep, it's shrimp season in Ohio.

But don't ask for any Midwestern shrimp at your local fishmonger. There aren't enough yet to make it to the store.

Read more
Television
9:02 am
Wed October 3, 2012

Holmes Carves African-American Spot In Late Night

Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

T.J. Holmes has spent more than a decade in journalism, but now he's turning his sights to late night with a new show called Don't Sleep! The show began broadcasting on BET this week. Holmes sits down with host Michel Martin to discuss his career and hope to bring a fresh perspective to late night talk.

Election 2012
8:46 am
Wed October 3, 2012

Battle Continues On Who Can Vote, And How

Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

A Pennsylvania judge Tuesday blocked the state from moving forward with changes to its voter ID law until after the presidential election. This news comes just days after some suspicious voter registration activity in states like Florida, North Carolina and Nevada. Host Michel Martin discusses voter issues across the country with two reporters.

The Two-Way
8:45 am
Wed October 3, 2012

Syria's Battered City Of Aleppo Rocked By Suicide Bombings

Next imagePrevious image
Credit SANA / Xinhua /Landov
Three suicide car bombings rocked the center of Aleppo in northern Syria on Wednesday, killing dozens and causing extensive damage.
Credit Anadolu Agency / Reuters /Landov
Smoke rises after artillery fire from nearby Syria hits the Turkish border town of Akcakale. Turkey said five of its citizens were killed and that it responded by firing on targets in northern Syria. The episode raised tensions on the already volatile border region.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Wed October 3, 2012 5:16 pm

Update at 3:15 p.m. Turkey Fires Back After Rocket From Syria

Turkey's military has fired on targets in northern Syria in response to a rocket that hit a Turkish village and killed several people Wednesday, the BBC and other news organizations are reporting.

The cross-border shooting could potentially mark a major escalation along the tense frontier.

In a statement, the Turkish government said that the border town of Akcakale came under fire on Wednesday afternoon, resulting in deaths and injuries.

Read more
Krulwich Wonders...
8:20 am
Wed October 3, 2012

Are Those Spidery Black Things On Mars Dangerous? (Maybe)

Next imagePrevious image
Credit Michael Benson / NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Kinetikon Pictures
Credit Michael Benson / NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Kinetikon Pictures
Credit Michael Benson / NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Kinetikon Pictures
Credit Michael Benson / NASA/JPL/University of Arizona/Kinetikon Pictures
Credit Artist rendering by Ron Miller / JPL/Arizona State University
Share
E-mail
Comments
By

Originally published on Thu October 4, 2012 1:43 pm

You are 200 miles directly above the Martian surface — looking down. This image was taken by the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter on Jan. 27, 2010. (The color was added later.) What do we see? Well, sand, mostly. As you scroll down, there's a ridge crossing through the image, then a plain, then dunes, but keep looking. You will notice, when you get to the dunes, there are little black flecks dotting the ridges, mostly on the sunny side, like sunbathing spiders sitting in rows. Can you see them?

Read more
The Two-Way
8:10 am
Wed October 3, 2012

'Explosive' Or 'Yawn': Obama Video Touted By Fox Sparks Race Debate

Credit Daily Caller
A screenshot of a video published by the Daily Caller.
Share
E-mail
Comments
By editor

Originally published on Wed October 3, 2012 9:42 am

Last night, Drudge Report trotted out its siren. Fox News, it reported, would be airing "Obama's other race speech."

Sean Hannity, who aired the video on his show, said it was a "bombshell... that could dramatically impact the race for the White House."

At one point in the video, Obama says he's going off script. He goes on to imply that the government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina was partly due to the fact that many in the city were black.

Read more

Pages