Search results for

Ford is announcing today that it will increase the average fuel economy of its sports utility vehicles by 25 percent over five years. As NPR's Jack Speer reports, the company said it was responding to environmentally-conscious consumers who want their vehicles to burn less gas. Ford, which pioneered the trend toward big, gas-guzzling SUVs, appears to be shifting course under the direction of chairman William Ford Jr., an avowed environmentalist. But Ford's move may be prompted by economics, too. SUVs are highly profitable and high gas prices could put that lucrative market at risk.

Vice President Al Gore arrived in Los Angeles today, as the Democratic Party prepares to formally nominate him for president. We hear some of the rally. Then, Linda Wertheimer talks with William Daley, Gore's campaign chairman, about the task ahead, and what Gore needs to do to win the election. Daley says the convention has heard about issues from its speakers so-far. Now, he says, it's time for Gore to tell the delegates about himself. He also predicts a tough -- and negative -- campaign ahead.

Accused sniper John Lee Malvo, 17, is ordered held without bail after a hearing Friday in Fairfax County, Va. A preliminary hearing was held earlier in the day in Prince William County, Va., for 41-year-old John Allen Muhammad, the other suspect in a string of killings in the Washington, D.C. area and the Deep South. NPR's Andrea Seabrook talks with NPR's John Ydtsie.

William Webster steps down as head of a new accounting oversight board created to regulate the troubled auditing industry. His appointment was mired in controversy after reports that SEC Chairman Harvey Pitt failed to inform commissioners that Webster once served on the board of a company accused of fraud. Pitt has also resigned. Hear NPR's Jim Zarroli.

From the Library of Congress, Recording Sound Specialist, SAMUEL BRYLAWSKI and Acquisition Specialist COOPER GRAHAM. The two have just compiled a collection of presidential speeches dating back 85 years. The collection is Historic Presidential Speeches (1908-1993) (on Rhino/World Beat label) and begins with William Howard Taft's recorded during the presidential campaign of

Former special assistant for National Security Affairs under Presidents Kennedy and Johnson, MCGEORGE BUNDY. He's co-authored a new book with Admiral William Crowe, "Reducing Nuclear Danger," XXXX. Terry will talk with BUNDY about the threat that still exists of nuclear disaster from such countries as Iraq and North Korea.

Robert talks to George Stephanopoulos about the reshuffling of President Clinton's cabinet for his second term. Defense Secretary William Perry, Secretary of State Warren Christopher, Commerce Secretary Mickey Kantor and Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary are expected to announce their resignations formally soon, and other cabinet members may follow suit. They'll also talk about the President's agenda for the next four years, and the significance of the split between male and female voters in their support for him.

Two students from an inner city school in New Jersey win a $100,000 scholarship in the prestigious Siemens Westinghouse Competition in Math, Science and Technology. NPR's Juan Williams talks with national science fair team winners Juliet Girard and Roshan Prabhu about their research into the genetic mapping of rice to increase yields.

Crime novelist Dennis Lehane. Hes written five novels featuring the working-class Boston private detective team of Patrick Kenzie and Angela Gennaro. They include A Drink Before the War, Darkness Take My Hand, Sacred, Gone, Baby, Gone, and Prayers for Rain. Lehane abandons the duo for his new book about the affect of an abduction on a group of boys. Its a thriller, Mystic River (William Morrow). A critic with The New York Times writes of the book, This one is terrific: soulful, atmospheric, suspenseful and propelled by deep, wrenching emotions.

Host Bob Edwards continues his conversation with singer/songwriter John Prine. Prine's songs have been covered by every one from Bonnie Raitt to Johnny Case. On his new CD, In Spite of Ourselves, Prine chose to sing some classic country tunes written by legends like Tex Ritter and Hank Williams, Sr. He's joined by some of his favorite female singers like Iris Dement and Emmylou Harris in a series of duets. (7:19) John Prine's latest CD In Spite Of Ourselves is available on Oh Boy Records; ASIN: B00000K3LI

The 78-year-old singer is currently performing at Birdland in New York City. Previously, Carroll spent 25 years playing at Bemelmans Bar at the Carlyle Hotel. This year, she received three lifetime achievement awards; one of them was the Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Women in Jazz Lifetime Achievement Award. Carroll has a number of albums to her credit; her latest is the new solo album Morning in May.

Los Angeles Police Department Chief William Bratton is looking to modify a decades-old policy that currently forbids L.A.P.D. officers from asking suspects about their immigration status. Bratton insists that his new plan to allow cops to question suspected criminals about their citizenship will not harm immigrant communities — but some activists are worried about the potential for racial profiling.

The home of Nobel Prize-winning author William Faulkner was rededicated this weekend in Oxford, Miss. Rowan Oak, which underwent a $1.3 million restoration, draws more than 20,000 literary pilgrims each year.

Chief Justice William Rehnquist issues a statement that he is not planning to announce his retirement, and he will stay on the Court as long as his health allows. The 80-year-old chief justice was diagnosed with thyroid cancer last October. He was released Thursday from a Virginia hospital after being treated for fever.

Sgt. William Thompson IV, a soldier currently deployed in Iraq, is a third-generation jazz musician from New Orleans. But during his time in Iraq, he's turned to a different musical form: Using his laptop, he records the sounds of war and incorporates them into compositions that he posts online.

William Bastone, editor of TheSmokingGun.com, discusses an article he wrote that details discrepancies between stories in James Frey's best-selling memoir A Million Little Pieces and public records such as police reports and court records. Through his attorney, Frey has strongly denied the accusations.

His new memoir is called When I was Cool: My Life at the Jack Kerouac School. As a teenager, Kashner left his comfortable suburban life on Long Island, N.Y. and became the first student to attend the Jack Kerouac School of Disembodied Poetics in Boulder, Colo. Kasher's teachers were the great beat writers William Burroughs, Allan Ginsberg, Gregory Corso and Kerouac. Kashner is also the author of a novel, Sinatraland, as well as three non-fiction books. He is a regular contributor to Vanity Fair.

The archived records of Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun are released to the public, five years after his death, as he had instructed. Among the half-million items are Blackmun's personal notes and those of other justices, discussing everything from a case's merits to court gossip. The documents shed light on dramatic legal battles, including Chief Justice William Rehnquist's repeated efforts to weaken Roe v. Wade, the landmark ruling written by Blackmun. Hear NPR's Nina Totenberg, who was the only broadcast journalist given advance access to the files.

The Bush administration defends its credibility, after the Sept. 11 commission finds "no credible evidence" that Iraq helped al Qaeda in the 2001 attacks on the United States. In recent TV appearances, Vice President Cheney has suggested he may have information supporting an al Qaeda-Iraq link not available to the panel. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and NPR's Juan Williams.

The president of the Quebec Esperanto Society joins us from the 7th Esperanto Congress of the Americas in Montreal and evaluates William Shatner's command of the language.