Search results for

Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott (R-MS), has been hearing stern criticism for his remarks last week in support of retiring Sen. Strom Thurmond's 1948 presidential campaign and its racist legacy. NPR senior news analyst Daniel Schorr says the remarks may have done damage not only to Sen. Lott's popularity but also to the Republican Party's efforts to woo blacks away from the Democrats.

U.S. Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-SC) celebrates his 100th birthday. He's the longest-serving senator ever -- though he is about to retire -- and his life experiences run the gamut of recent American history. Along the way he's courted controversy. NPR's Bob Edwards has Thurmond's story.

The drumbeat to remove Trent Lott as Senate Republican leader continues as Republicans publicly criticize Lott's recent remarks regarding segregation. Secretary of State Colin Powell says he "deplored the sentiments" of Lott's statements, and Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) says "It's time for a change." Hear NPR's Juan Williams.

Jazz trumpeter Lester Bowie. Bowie was considered one of the most original trumpeters in jazz, and a master of horn effects. He died in November of 1999. Bowie started out playing with Saint Louis R&B bands. In 1969, he helped found the Art Ensemble of Chicago as an outlet for more eclectic and avant-garde jazz. Bowie also headed his own band, Lester Bowie's Jazz Fantasy. (originally broadcast 11

NPR's Robert Siegel and NPR's Lynn Neary read a selection of listener comments from the past week. Listeners objected to a satire of Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN) and his efforts to aid the victims of a cara accident he came across. They also reacted to a story about a freshman congressman being sworn in this week, our obituary for Mamie Till-Mobley, and news that Pontiac is reviving the GTO.

This week many members of Congress are holding town meetings in their home districts where the primary topic is President Bush's plan to overhaul Social Security. Rep. Chris Chocola (R-IN) is holding seven town meetings in his sprawling northern Indiana district, and faced some skepticism from attendees.

Sen. Lincoln Chafee (R-RI) is crucial to the Senate Foreign Relations committee's vote, scheduled for Tuesday, on John Bolton's nomination to be ambassador to the United Nations. The liberal Republican from Rhode Island faces a tough re-election bid next year, and voting against Bolton -- and his party -- could prove politically risky.

The Senate Intelligence Committee confirms the nomination of retiring U.S. Rep. Porter Goss (R-FL) to head the CIA. Several Democrats vote against Goss, citing his past partisanship and saying he lacks independence in intelligence matters. The full Senate must still confirm Goss. Hear NPR's David Welna.

An unofficial agreement has kept Democrats and Republicans in the House from filing ethics complaints against the leadership of either party. But that truce was broken today when freshman Democrat Rep. Chris Bell (D-TX) filed a three-part complaint against House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-TX). NPR's David Welna reports.

NPR's Melissa Block talks with U.S. senators Pat Roberts (R-KS), chair of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, and John D. Rockefeller, IV (D-WVA), the panel's vice-chair, about their report criticizing pre-war intelligence of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. The report was approved unanimously by the bi-partisan committee.

R&B icon Chaka Khan has just stepped into a starring role in the Broadway hit The Color Purple and recently released Funk This, her first studio album in 10 years. The soul diva explains what she's learned from her decades in the music business.

Southern singer Lizz Wright crafts a distinct mixture of jazz, folk, gospel, and R&B, but she's been most widely celebrated as a rising star in the jazz world. Hear Wright give a performance and interview from WXPN.

On this lush R&B track, DEBBY FRIDAY creates an atmosphere for easy vulnerability.

After cracking a joke about Gov. Sarah Palin's (R-AK) daughter, Late Show host David Letterman has apologized. Also, former congressman William Jefferson's trial has begun. He was charged with corruption after federal agents found $90,000 in cash in his freezer.

At a news conference Wednesday, Gov. Mark Sanford (R-SC) admitted to a year-long affair with a friend from Argentina. Observers debate whether the scandal will derail his political career, and whether public officials should be judged on their private transgressions.

Planet Money went to the annual meeting of the American Economics Association, and we saw some fascinating papers presented there.

NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro and Weekend Edition Puzzlemaster Will Shortz play a word game with WDET listener Elliott Shevin of Oak Park, Mich.

A devoted fanbase of those who remember the day Aaliyah died, and those who discovered her decades later, are pushing to keep her legacy alive.

Even if you've never sought out the music of Donny Hathaway, you've probably felt his presence: His low-key, insistent way of interpreting a song has been emulated by virtually every contemporary soul and R&B singer. But still his records remain under-appreciated.

The rising R&B star came out with guns blazing and performed fleshed out versions of her new songs.