Steve Inskeep : NPR

Economy

Plan Expands Government Role in Financial Markets

March 31, 2008 • Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson on Monday unveils plans to expand the federal government's power over U.S. financial markets. It's being called one of the biggest overhauls of the regulatory system since the Great Depression. The plan comes in the middle of a credit crunch that may already have pushed the economy into a recession.

Steve Inskeep and Jim Zarroli on the Plan

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89231803/89231765" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Diversions

Woman, Coffee Escape Watery Car Crash

March 28, 2008 • She may have lost control of the car, but a woman kept control of what was really important. Authorities say the driver was reaching for her cell phone when she crashed. She left not only the road, but also the land. The car splashed into the waters off Oakland, Calif., and came to rest between the stilts of a home. But witnesses say the 22-year-old woman made it out. And she waded ashore still holding her morning coffee.

Woman, Coffee Escape Watery Car Crash

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89176818/89176893" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Diversions

For Sale: Depression-Era Castle in W.Va. For $2.8M

March 28, 2008 • A castle in West Virginia, built by an Italian stonemason during the Great Depression, is for sale for $2.8 million. It comes with turrets and parapets, and a Romanesque chapel. It has 25,000 square feet of space — so you might want to ask about the heating bill.

For Sale: Depression-Era Castle in W.Va. For $2.8M

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89176786/89176749" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Election 2008

McCain Suggests Collaborative Approach with Allies

March 27, 2008 • Sen. John McCain on Wednesday outlined his foreign policy goals in a speech in Los Angeles. The presumptive GOP presidential nominee called for the United States to work more collegially with allies and to live up to its duties as a world leader. He also raised questions about Bush policies — while remaining firmly in support of the Iraq war.

McCain Suggests Collaborative Approach with Allies

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89140768/89140721" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Business

Finance Firms Sue Banks over Clear Channel Deal

March 27, 2008 • Two giant finance firms are suing some of the biggest banks on Wall Street, including Citigroup and Morgan Stanley, for breach of contract. Private equity funds Bain Capital and Thomas H. Lee Partners, are trying to buy the nation's No. 1 radio station operator, Clear Channel, in a deal worth nearly $20 billion.

Finance Firms Sue Banks over Clear Channel Deal

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89140752/89140716" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Analysis

'Zero Down' Loans Fed Real Estate Boom, Bust

March 27, 2008 • Earlier this week, presumptive GOP presidential nominee John McCain made remarks on the mortgage crisis. McCain pointed out that "zero down" loans were big contributors to the subprime mortgage crisis. A boom in those kinds of loans got many Americans into homes — and now those loans are causing many Americans trouble.

'Zero Down' Loans Fed Real Estate Boom, Bust

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89140726/89140709" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Diversions

A 'Caddyshack' Moment in Alberta

March 26, 2008 • Life imitated art outside Calgary in Alberta, Canada. The art was the movie Caddyshack. Bill Murray's character all but destroys a golf course to save it from a gopher. Outside Calgary, two men attacked gopher holes using a Rodenator. It fills a hole with propane and oxygen, which explode. The resulting grass fire caused $200,000 in damage.

A 'Caddyshack' Moment in Alberta

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89100065/89100259" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

National

Alaska Fishing Boat Toll: 42 Saved, 4 Dead, 1 Lost

March 26, 2008 • In the waters of the Bering Sea, Coast Guard crews have stopped looking for crewmen from a ship that sank this week. The Alaska Ranger was moving through waves 20 feet high, with dozens of crewmen aboard, when it lost its rudder. The crew had time to send a mayday call to the Coast Guard before abandoning ship.

Alaska Fishing Boat Toll: 42 Saved, 4 Dead, 1 Lost

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89100056/89100004" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Business

Delta Taps Fair Lady to Spice Up Safety Video

March 26, 2008 • Getting passengers to pay attention to those safety videos they play before takeoff is a challenge for airlines. Now, Delta thinks it may have the answer: "Delta-lina," the nickname of a red-headed, high-cheekboned flight attendant in Delta's new safety video.

Delta Taps Fair Lady to Spice Up Safety Video

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89100038/89099998" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

World

Warring Militants Threaten Iraq's Fragile Security

March 26, 2008 • Iraq may be facing the gravest challenge to its fragile security in more than a year. Shiite militiamen loyal to anti-American cleric Muqtada al-Sadr are fighting Iraqi government forces for control of Basra, and the violence has spread to Baghdad. Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki says the militamen have 72 hours to lay down arms.

Warring Militants Threaten Iraq's Fragile Security

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/89100007/89099988" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

World

Report: American Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000

March 24, 2008 • The Iraq war has claimed at least 4,000 American lives, according to the Associated Press. One of those Americans — Maj. Alan Greg Rogers — was killed in January. Rogers' cousin, Cathy Long, and best friend, Shay Hill, gathered with other extended family earlier this month to bury him at Arlington National Cemetery.

Report: American Death Toll in Iraq War Hits 4,000

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88939595/88939584" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Election 2008

Obama Speaks in Philadelphia as Race Debate Flares

March 18, 2008 • The issue of race has been present throughout the contest for the Democratic nomination, and it's bubbling to the surface as the comments of Barack Obama's pastor, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, have come under scrutiny. Today in Philadelphia, Obama will give a key speech in which he's expected to address the comments.

Obama Speaks in Philadelphia as Race Debate Flares

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88460822/88460806" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

The Fed and Bear Stearns

Federal Reserve Bolsters Wall Street Banks

March 17, 2008 • The Federal Reserve has taken a bold step to infuse Wall Street investment banks with cash, cutting its emergency lending rate to banks by a quarter-point. It also approved the sale of investment bank Bear Stearns to rival JP Morgan Chase for what can only be described as a rock-bottom price.

Federal Reserve Bolsters Wall Street Banks

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88379863/88382446" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Analysis

Clinton-Obama Battle Rages; GOP Immigration Gap

March 17, 2008 • It will be weeks before the Democratic presidential nominee is decided, and that time lag is hurting the party. The battle between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama seems to get nastier every day. Meantime, the immigration debate haunts McCain and the GOP.

Clinton-Obama Battle Rages; GOP Immigration Gap

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88382492/88384010" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript

Election 2008

McCain Faces Hurdle in Uniting Party on Immigration

March 17, 2008 • Steve Inskeep examines tension within the Republican Party between presidential hopeful John McCain's stance on immigration and the position of House candidates running for election in November. Clinching his party's nomination early is an advantage, but he may need the time to address issues dividing conservatives.

McCain Faces Hurdle in Uniting Party on Immigration

Listen

Download
Embed <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/88382489/88384007" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
Transcript