Search results for

Mechanical engineer Don Gilmore has the key to a persistent musical problem: how to keep a piano perpetually in tune. The top-selling line of Story-Clark grand pianos will soon be outfitted with Gilmore's self-tuning device. Hear from Gilmore and NPR's John Ydstie.

Linda talks with Paul Burka, Executive Editor of the Texas Monthly, about people from President-elect Bush's inner circle in Austin who will be joining him in Washington. Burka talks about Bush's top White House adviser, Karen Hughes; senior White House adviser Karl Rove; and Bush's choice for Federal Emergency Management Agency director, Joe Allbaugh.

The nation's top intelligence chiefs warn a Senate panel that another al Qaeda attack in the United States remains a serious threat. Meanwhile, the American Red Cross reacts to safety recommendations issued Monday by the Department of Homeland Security. Hear from NPR's David Welna, NPR's Lynn Neary and Carol Hall of the American Red Cross.

NPR's Ted Clark reports the State Department has recommended disciplinary action against six employees because of a missing laptop that contained highly classified information. In a related development, one of the nation's top diplomats, Ambassador Stapleton Roy, has decided to retire early. His deputy, Donald Keyser, is among the six employees targeted for disciplinary action designed to address concerns about security procedures at the State Department.

The Bush administration says it will not reward North Korea's threatening behavior, yet a top U.S. envoy holds out hope that some form of U.S. assistance for North Korea might be forthcoming if the North drops its nuclear weapons development. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

A top U.S. envoy today held out the prospect of energy and other forms of assistance for North Korea if Pyongyang abandons nuclear weapons development. The Bush Administration says it will not reward North Korea's threatening behavior. But analysts say Washington could help Pyongyang in indirect ways to resolve the current stand-off. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

People in the northeastern U.S. are digging out from the second Nor'easter in less than two weeks. The storm dumped up to two feet of snow on top of the three feet already left by a Christmas Day snowfall. North Country Public Radio's Brian Mann reports.

As Robert Iger prepares to take over the top position at Walt Disney Co., he must step out of the shadow cast by current chief Michael Eisner. Eisner is scheduled to step down in the fall after a period of transition.

Boeing's former chief financial officer pleads guilty in the growing scandal over the firm's defense contracts with the federal government. A top Air Force officer has also pled guilty in the investigation into favoritism in military acquisitions. NPR's David Schaper reports.

Official Washington had barely caught its breath yesterday over the resignation of Attorney General John Ashcroft, when President Bush announced his new choice for the top law enforcement job: White House counsel and longtime Bush confidant Alberto Gonzales. NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports.

The top U.S. commander in northern Iraq says that this week's deadly attack on a U.S. base near the city of Mosul may have been the work of a suicide bomber wearing an Iraqi military uniform. Brig. Gen. Carter Ham says he is concerned the attack's success may encourage similar attempts. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

The 62nd annual Golden Globe Awards were held in Beverly Hills last night. Acting winners included Leonardo DiCaprio, Hilary Swank, Jamie Foxx and Annette Bening. Sideways and The Aviator won the top film awards. Clint Eastwood was named best director for Million Dollar Baby.

Two new reports extend blame for abuses at Abu Ghraib to the Pentagon's top leaders. But neither calls for the punishment of anyone more senior than brigade commanders at the prison -- infuriating critics who say Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld should resign.

For most universities, a top ranking from The Princeton Review is good news -- unless that score is for partying. From hitting the bars to hitting the books, we look at how some schools are trying to shed the image of the party school.

Amy Winehouse is a 23-year-old British singer-songwriter who takes much of her inspiration from American soul and R&B. Her American debut album, Back To Black, topped the British charts and hit the American charts at number seven.

R&B singer Luther Vandross is continuing to recover from the stroke he suffered earlier this year. His latest CD, Dance With My Father, debuted at number one earlier this summer, and remains in the top 10. Writer Sara Bardeen has a review of the CD.

A new study ranks 64 of America's largest cities by their commitment to literacy. Minneapolis, Seattle and Denver top the list, which was compiled based on the availability and number of booksellers, quality of libraries, educational level of the population, number of periodicals published and newspaper circulation. Hear the study's author, John Miller.

Italy's top officials attend a funeral in Rome for a security agent killed in Iraq Friday. He died trying to shield a freed Italian hostage, when U.S. forces fired on their vehicle. The United States says its troops gave warning signals, but the hostage contests the U.S. version of events. An investigation is under way.

Gas prices are soaring across the country, but particularly in California. Fuel in the San Francisco Bay Area has topped $3, though the hike has not caused an attendant spike in public transportation ridership.

A civilian panel's report pins much of the direct blame for abuses at Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison on a few rogue soldiers on the night shift. But it also faults the Pentagon's top leaders, and is especially critical of Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, the former senior military commander in Iraq.