Search results for

President Obama might have had the top tweet this year, but a lot of other notable things were said and discussed on Twitter in 2012. Host Michel Martin gets a breakdown of the year's top tweets from Keli Goff of The Root and blogger Viviana Hurtado of The Wise Latina Club.

A federal mediator says the International Longshoremen's Association and port operators have agreed in principle on key issues and will extend their negotiations by 30 days.

The tortuous negotiations involved in the "fiscal cliff" talks are like a chess game. To shed some light on the kinds of negotiation techniques that members of Congress might be using, we asked two negotiation experts to walk us through examples from their everyday lives.

At our first live show, we run down favorite moments and performances, look forward to next year, offer a quiz, and talk about what's making us happy this week.

Slate and a citizen journalist are trying to report every gun-related death in the nation on a daily basis. There is no central clearinghouse for such information. The goal of the project, Slate says, is to provide key data for the post-Newtown debate over gun laws.

Seeking to avert automatic spending cuts and tax increases that are set to take effect on Jan. 1, President Obama and the four senior leaders of Congress huddled at the White House today.

This New Year's Eve, victims of Superstorm Sandy will likely be in Times Square to watch the ball drop. But they may not be there by choice. Their homes were ruined by the storm in October, and the Federal Emergency Management Agency has placed thousands in hotels in the area.

R&B singer Fontella Bass has died at a hospice in St. Louis. She was 72. Bass is best known for the soul classic "Rescue Me."

A threatened strike by the International Longshoremen's Association at 14 ports along the East and Gulf Coasts has been called off. Federal negotiators say the union has reached an agreement with the United States Maritime Alliance and will extend contract talks.

Marvel Comics has killed off the iconic web-headed superhero — or to be more precise, they've killed off Peter Parker. Spider-Man will continue web-slinging, albeit with a twist that has earned writer Dan Slott the ire of many fans.

We sifted through so you don't have to and found some of the best (and worst?) of the best and worst lists: Craziest stories; biggest scandals; happiest countries; worst gaffes; and more.

It's that time of year when best-of lists abound, and Fresh Air's critics get in on the game: David Bianculli chooses his top television shows, David Edelstein names his favorite films, Maureen Corrigan weighs in with notable books and Ken Tucker tunes into to some of the best albums of 2012.

As thousands of candles glow at a somber scene in a central Delhi park on Saturday, there is quiet, sober reflection in India about the tragic end of a young woman who has come to symbolize violence against all women in India.

The deadline for the so-called "fiscal cliff" is fast-approaching. The combination of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes go into effect in just three days. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with host Jacki Lyden about where congressional leaders are on a deal.

The gong business is still a hit for Andrew Borakove, a comedy television writer turned gong salesmen. Despite the rocky economy, his doors have been open for eight years. "We've watched the world go up and down," he says, "but when you're selling gongs, there's no up or down, it's just round."

Mikhail Sebastian came to the South Pacific island for what should have been a short vacation; he has now been there for a year. U.S. immigration officials say he self-deported.

After the 1917 Russian Revolution, there was a debate over what to do with the spectacular jewels that had symbolized the power and wealth of the czars. Most have remained in the Kremlin, but some can't be traced.

When Rep.-elect Joseph Kennedy III is sworn in this week, he'll end a short gap in his family's service in the nation's capital. Last year had marked the first time in more than six decades that there was no Kennedy serving in elected office in Washington.

NPR's Elizabeth Blair has the story of Abel Meeropol, a man with two extraordinary life stories. He wrote the song "Strange Fruit" about lynching that became one of the most important songs of the 20th century AND he and his wife adopted the two boys who were orphaned when their parents, Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, were executed in 1953. (This story initially aired on Sept. 5, 2012, on Morning Edition.

As the year comes to an end, NPR librarian Kee Malesky shares closing lines from some great novels — those last few moments spent with a story that you love.