Search results for

In Syria, a top rebel leader says preparations for the "battle of Damascus" have begun. Speaking from his headquarters in northern Syria, the colonel, who defected seven months ago, says the rebels have had a number of battlefield successes over the past month from capturing key military bases in several parts of Syria. He says the rebels now have enough weapons that they've seized from government bases. Military analysts say the balance is tipping in the rebel's favor. Robert Siegel talks to Deborah Amos.

While attention has been focused on Egyptian protests and hostilities between Gaza and Israel, the land between those two stories has been largely ignored. The Sinai Peninsula, while a part of Egypt, exists in a world of its own. Robert Siegel speaks with reporter Nicolas Pelham about his new article in the New York Review of Books about the Sinai and the Bedouin tribes that control it.

Jon Meacham's Thomas Jefferson paints a rich portrait of the third president. It debuts at No. 1.

Comedians Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have become well-known for their humorous take on race relations. Their video series featuring a cool President Obama and his Vesuvian "anger translator" Luther has become a viral sensation. The duo talks about using comedy to explore touchy racial issues in the 2012 campaign.

The odd shapes were found two years apart and scientists have a theory to explain the video-game invasion. The shape, scientists theorize, is probably more common than first thought.

In fiction, Paula McLain explores Hemingway's first marriage, while Anita Desai re-examines modern India. In nonfiction, Joseph Epstein defends gossip, Rosamond Bernier remembers midcentury Paris, and Stuart Isacoff lauds the piano.

Marvin Miller, the first executive director of the Major League Baseball Players Association, died Tuesday at the age of 95. Miller headed the players union from 1966 to 1982, transforming the organization into one of the most powerful unions in the country.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show topics, including first-person shooter video games and the StoryCorps' National Day of Listening.

Egypt's president Mohamed Morsi issued a decree giving himself near absolute power. Protests followed, and Morsi walked back slightly on his claim to absolute authority. NPR's Cairo bureau chief Leila Fadel explains the evolving political challenges of Egypt's post-Mubarak era.

The chances of winning are sky high. But so is the jackpot. Is that getting you to think about putting some dollars down? Judging from the way sales are soaring, lots of folks are dreaming about a big windfall.

The pace of destruction of the Brazilian Amazon is at its lowest rate in more than two decades, says a new government report. According to data, 4,656 square kilometers of the rainforest were deforested in the 12 months through July 2012 — a 27 percent decrease from the previous year.

The Palestinian Authority (PA) dug up the body of its late President Yasser Arafat on Tuesday as part of an international investigation into whether he was poisoned. The investigation was launched this summer, eight years after Arafat's death, when a Swiss lab found traces of the radioactive element polonium on Arafat's personal effects. The exhumation comes at a sensitive time, as the PA is suffering from a legitimacy crisis and is being upstaged by its rival Hamas. The exhumation also distracts attention from the the group's bid to upgrade its status at the U.N.

Some consumers of the bitter citrus fruit may need to rethink their morning routine. Chemicals in grapefruit can interfere with the body's ability to to clear certain drugs. The number of affected medicines has jumped in recent years. Pharmacists are calling for greater grapefruit awareness among physicians and patients alike.

Mexico has a very high rate of school bullying. Many teachers, parents, and psychologists say it's connected to increased violence of the drug war. And it's not just that kids pick on each other more — the way they do it has changed, too, with children's games and bullying increasingly mimicking and glorifying organized crime.

The number of new HIV infections in the U.S. is relatively stable at about 50,000 people a year. But HIV is on the rise in people under 25, federal data show. The upswing is driven largely by infections among young black men.

She is a wildly popular singer, AIDS activist and major general in the Chinese army. Now, Peng Liyuan is slated to add another title: first lady of China. Peng's husband, Xi Jinping, is expected to become the country's president next year. Military garb has replaced her fabulous costumes as China's image-makers ensure she doesn't overshadow Xi.

Russia's Young Guard has demonstrated outside Mormon meeting halls in Moscow. Members claim the Mormon church is a totalitarian cult that believes in multiple gods and has ties to the CIA and FBI.

Hewlett Packard says it is doing an "intense internal investigation" into its disastrous acquisition of the British software company Autonomy. HP claims it was deceived by Autonomy about the health of the firm's finances. The deal is causing HP to take an $8.8 billion charge against earnings. Autonomy's former CEO has challenged HP to spell out any improprieties it's found.

Lithium battery sales have fallen dramatically in recent years, as people adopt more and more rechargeable devices. The decreasing need for the batteries has prompted Energizer to close three U.S. plants, including one in northern Vermont.

Civilians who remain in Syria's war-torn financial capital rely on private TV channel Aleppo Today and its 24-hour news tickers, which provide street-by-street details on where the tanks are, the latest airstrikes and rebel offensives — and even alerts when the Internet is working.