VFW Chief Envisions a Changing Post September 30, 2006 • Imagine a family-friendly VFW post, with child care, a fitness center... and a ban on smoking. That's what Gary Kurpias has in mind. He's the new commander-in-chief of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States.
On Eve of War, Truman Turned to Comfort Food September 30, 2006 • As the Korean War loomed, President Truman summoned his war Cabinet to the White House for a strategy dinner that included a key ingredient to solving any crisis: comfort food.
Culture Celebrated Military Nurse, Poet Revealed as a Fraud September 30, 2006 • Dana Shuster was a celebrated Vietnam war-era military nurse who wrote poetry about her experiences. One of her poems was read by Vice President Al Gore when the Vietnam Women's Memorial was dedicated in 1993. But it turns out she was never a nurse, never in the military and never in Vietnam.
Radio Expeditions Remembering Conservationist Mingma Norbu Sherpa September 30, 2006 • Mingma Norbu Sherpa was one of 24 conservationists killed in Nepal this week in a recent helicopter crash near Kathmandu. A child of the Himalayas, Sherpa, 50, was an official with the World Wildlife Fund who helped change conservation practices around the world.
Politics Congress Approves 700-Mile Border Fence September 30, 2006 • The Senate on Friday night approved the construction of a 700-mile-long barrier along the U.S.-Mexico border, before recessing for the midterm-election campaign break. Congress also passed guidelines for trying and treating detainees, but it left several other key bills unfinished.
Opinion Simon Says Iva Toguri D'Aquino, a True American Rose September 30, 2006 • Iva Toguri D'Aquino, who died this week at age 90, was convicted and later pardoned of being "Tokyo Rose," a World War II propagandist. NPR's Scott Simon, who met D'Aquino, reflects on a woman who was long, and wrongly, maligned.
California's 'Day Fire' Keeps Burning -- and Costing September 29, 2006 • One of the largest wildfires in Southern California's history is still claiming huge areas of forest land north of Los Angeles. The Day Fire, which started by accident on Labor Day, already has consumed nearly 200,000 acres. More than 4,200 firefighters are on the front lines of the blaze.
Movies Bad Movies Lead Owner to Shutter Illinois Theater September 29, 2006 • Melissa Block talks with Greg Boardman, owner of the Lorraine Theater in Hoopeston, Ill. Boardman closed the theater for a few weeks, because he didn't think there were any movies worth showing. But the community strongly disagreed.
Technology E-Mail Takes a Holiday, at Least for One Day September 29, 2006 • Feeling his employees should work face-to-face as often as possible, one CEO has banned in-house e-mails on Fridays. PBD Worldwide Fulfillment Services chief Scott A. Dockter says that while there's been some grumbling, the practice is improving office culture -- and cutting down the amount of emails employees send.
Obituaries Sister Terrell: A Crooner on the Amen Corner September 29, 2006 • Commentator and musicologist Bruce Nemerov introduces us to Sister Ola Mae Terrell. She died earlier this year at the age of 95. For 75 years, she sang her own gospel compositions on street corners in the South, using her music to spread her Holiness faith. Bruce Nemerov, the editor of the book Lost Delta Found, lives in Murfreesboro, Tenn.
Sports High School Team Tests 50-Point Run-Up Rule September 29, 2006 • Connecticut's high school football teams started off the fall season with a new rule designed to protect tender feelings. A coach found to be running up the score when his team is already 50 points ahead could face sanctions. One case is testing the new rule. John Dankosky reports.
A Summer Ritual: All Along the Fire Tower September 29, 2006 • Jeanne Duhem, a fire lookout in the El Dorado National Forest in northern California, has been watching for fires every summer for 27 years. After World War II, the U.S. Forest Service operated 600 lookout towers in California. Now, only 55 are staffed. Melissa Block talks with Duhem.
News Allen's Miscues Make for Close Race in Virginia September 29, 2006 • Sen. George Allen, who could once count on winning re-election -- and possibly running for the White House in 2008 -- is now in a tight race. A series of gaffes by Allen has turned his race with Democrat Jim Webb from a sure thing into a nail-biter. Virginia voters try to make sense of what has happened to the Allen campaign.
The Impact of War High School Honors Graduates Who Fell in Iraq September 29, 2006 • Bishop Hendrickson High School in Warwick, R.I., has lost two students in combat in Iraq, and seen others severely wounded. Nancy Cook reports on how the school is coping with the losses.
Opinion Analysis Polls Find Voters Are Restless with Incumbents September 29, 2006 • Recent polls depict American voters having anti-incumbent sentiments similar to the levels of 1994, when the House shifted from the incumbent Democratic majority, to a newly elected Republican majority. Michele Norris talks with Andrew Kohut, director of the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press.