Man Takes Hostages at Clinton Office in N.H.

A man claiming to have a bomb has taken at least two workers hostage at Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign office in Rochester, N.H.

WMUR reports that a witness says a woman rushed with her baby into a neighboring business and told the employees that a man had entered the office and showed what appeared to be a bomb taped to his chest. He then let the woman and her baby leave.

"There are sharp shooters on the roof, and police are negotiating with someone in the building," said another witness. "The police are notifying all the business owners on the street to evacuate. There are fire trucks behind the Hillary Clinton office."

Rochester is about 20 miles north of Portsmouth near the Maine border.

Clinton was scheduled to attend a Democratic National Committee meeting in Virginia today. Boston.com reports that workers for Sen. Barack Obama and former Sen. John Edwards were also evacuated from their offices.

Update: WMUR reports that two hostages have been released from the Clinton campaign office, but it was unclear if there were any more inside. CNN reports that Sen. Clinton has canceled the speech she was to give at the DNC meeting in Virginia because of the situation in Rochester.

2:47 PM ET | 11-30-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Not Your Average Strike

Now that film and TV writers have left their keyboards to join the picket lines, we could be looking at a lot of reruns. (If you're a fan of Jay Leno, Jon Stewart, etc., those reruns start tonight.) So we know that our viewing habits may be out of whack for a few days, weeks, months ... who can say? A 1988 strike lasted five months.

The television disruption is just one of several factors that set this strike apart (in addition to the lack of hard hats).

The New York Times reports that, unlike most unions, the Writers Guild of America could face a problem because of the differences in income among members. Writers who make $5 million a year have different expectations from those who might make $50,000. It could be a challenge to hold them together if the strike lasts a long time.

The strike could also affect shows made specifically for the Web, writes Scott Collins of the Los Angeles Times. The writers' strike is all about the Web in one way — writers want a piece of the pie when their stuff is used online. But it could also benefit Internet-only shows if people hungry for original content start looking on YouTube and similar sites. However, Collins has his doubts, asking if any of it is actually worth watching.

Of course, there are similarities to a typical strike. Day to Day, which is based in Southern California, asked some of its contributors to talk about what the strike will mean for them. Annabelle Gurwitch said so far it's mostly been a problem for her son, who didn't get his homework done because she and her husband let his tutor go.

In addition to the tutor, the strike is expected cut into the income of people who work as drivers, caterers and, yes, dog groomers.

6:19 PM ET | 11- 5-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Did Columnist's Gender Play Role in Coach's Tirade?

Watch Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy's rant.

YouTube

By now, much of America has seen the tirade that Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy unleashed on Oklahoman columnist Jenni Carlson after she wrote a scathing column about OSU quarterback Bobby Reid. (In case you missed it, it's a big hit on YouTube.)

Gundy said he felt that Carlson was too hard on an amateur player and that she wasn't able to understand how upset Reid was over losing his starting position because she didn't have any children.

More than a few sports columnists have taken Gundy to task for his rant. (He has refused to apologize. Carlson has written that she will stand by her original column.) Observers also have pointed out that Division I football players are often treated more like professionals than amateurs.

But Chicago Sun-Times sports columnist Carol Slezak wonders if Gundy would have openly berated a male columnist in the way that he went after a woman.

I can't imagine Gundy screaming during a press conference about a male writer's lack of offspring. I can't imagine him substituting ''daddy'' for ''mommy'' in his rant. I also wonder, as one of the few — or perhaps only — women in that room, if Carlson didn't make for an easy target in Gundy's mind. Watching the video, I sensed a subcurrent that gave me an uneasy feeling. As if what Gundy was really thinking was, ''How dare that bitch criticize one of my players. She shouldn't be writing about football. She should be home making babies."

Do you think Gundy's tirade was influenced by Carlson's gender or would he have treated a male writer the same way? Either way, was his anger at the column itself justified?

5:10 PM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | comments (16) | e-mail post

UAW, General Motors Reach Tentative Deal

The two-day strike is over. The United Auto Workers reached a tentative agreement with General Motors on a four-year contract early this morning.

The two sides released few details of the new contract, but the Chicago Tribune reports that it will shift "a $51 billion liability for retiree health care to a union-run trust fund." The union will take over managing the liability in a voluntary employee beneficiary association. It means the union will assume the risk of future increases in health care costs.

Union leaders said this morning that the contract includes assurances from GM that UAW workers' jobs will be protected and lump-sum bonuses instead of annual wage increases.

The next step is for local UAW presidents review the contract, and then it will be put to the union's 74,000 members at GM for a vote. The contract also needs court and regulatory approval, which means it may take a while to implement.

The agreement is expected to set a pattern for contract talks at Ford and Chrysler.

9:15 AM ET | 09-26-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Microsoft Hopes to Stay Ahead with 'Halo 3'

Microsoft is pinning a lot of hopes on today's release of the game Halo 3, including its ability to continue to claim the Xbox as the most popular video-gaming system.

Bloomberg reports that Xbox has been steadily losing ground to the more family-friendly Nintendo Wii system. But Microsoft hopes that Halo 3 — aimed at the gaming world's "sweet spot" of male teens and young adults — will become the year's biggest entertainment event. That title is currently held by the seventh Harry Potter novel, which brought in an opening-day total of $170 million.

Halo will sell for $59 to $129. Hardcore fans can even get a special edition Xbox for $400 in the green and gold colors of Master Chief, the soldier who defends humanity from alien invaders in the game.

Microsoft may have grand expectations, but Halo fan Rich Douek, a 32-year-old graphic designer from New York, tells The Associated Press that he's not expecting to be blown away.

"At end of the day it's just a really good first-person shooter. I don't see it as breaking any molds or being any new revolutionary concept in gaming," he said. "It may turn out to be best first-person shooter ever, but it's not going to, like, change the world in a meaningful way."

4:46 PM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Housing Prices Decline Sharply in July

A decline in U.S. home prices sped up across the nation in July, leading to the sharpest drop in 16 years. The Associated Press reports that the S&P/Case-Shiller home price index of 10 cities out today shows a 4.5 percent drop from last year.

In the index of 20 cities, there was a 3.9 percent decrease. According to the report, prices are still rising in five of those cities: Atlanta; Charlotte, N.C.; Dallas; Portland; and Seattle — but Atlanta and Dallas are close to moving into negative territory.

The results of a Reuters/University of Michigan survey last week shows that today's news will come as no surprise to many homeowners. In the survey, 26 percent of homeowners said the value of their homes has fallen in the past year, while 21 percent said they expect their homes' value to fall in the year ahead.

But Diana Olick writes at CNBC that, as big as that 26 percent figure is, it only shows that the other 74 percent of homeowners are not facing the reality of the situation.

Sellers are stubborn; they just don't get it. Prices during the boom were unsustainable, affordability is now ridiculous, and continued price appreciation makes no economic sense in the current atmosphere. The boom-time price inflation in homes was thanks to a faulty mortgage system, which is now in the process of righting itself, and home prices rightfully have to fall in line. Do I like writing those words? Hell no! I own a home. I like money. I also like logic. Sue me.

11:24 AM ET | 09-25-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

UAW Members Start Picketing General Motors

United Auto Workers members wait at UAW Local 22 for news and their strike assignments Monday in Detroit.

Bill Pugliano/Getty Images

The Detroit Free Press reports that United Auto Workers members started picketing General Motors plants in suburban Detroit and Lansing, Mich., after an 11 a.m. deadline passed for the two sides to reach a new labor agreement. The walkout coincided with the lunch break at several plants.

A General Motors spokesman confirmed to The Associated Press that the UAW has called a strike against the company. Spokesman Dan Flores said GM was disappointed that a strike was called.

"The bargaining involves complex, difficult issues that affect the job security of our U.S. work force and the long-term viability of the company. We remain fully committed to working with the UAW to develop solutions together to address the competitive challenges facing GM," Flores said.

The strike, the first against General Motors since 1998, was unexpected. The Chicago Tribune reports it comes "as Asian automakers are grabbing bigger shares of the U.S. market and could be damaging to both sides." GM has cut more than 150,000 UAW jobs since 2005. A prolonged strike would likely lead to plant shutdowns and more layoffs.

12:57 PM ET | 09-24-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Experts: Fed Rate Cut May Not Help Borrowers Much

You know, I hate to be a pessimist, but the more I read about the Federal Reserve's decision to cut the Fed Funds rate by half a point, the less sure I am that it's going to make much of a difference.

Although Tuesday's rate reduction will help "banks, lenders and Wall Street," says Christopher Cagan, research director for First American Real Estate Solutions, it probably won't have much effect on homeowners struggling to pay their mortgages or trying to refinance to make their loans more affordable.

"But I don't think we'll see credit card rates dropping, or that all of a sudden the spigot will open and everyone will be making all those mortgages loans again," Cagan told the San Jose Mercury News.

Although the Fed cut the rate by more than expected, Richard Hastings, an analyst at Bernard Sands LLC, told MarketWatch that the Fed can't help the subprime-mortgage borrowers. "It will help those who need it the least," he said. "But for those who need the most help, this does nothing for them."

Some experts say the cut sends a signal to reassure lenders, Jim Zarroli reported on Morning Edition, although a change in the housing market may take time.

Edward Leamer of the UCLA Anderson Forecast says even if mortgage rates decrease, that alone won't be enough to stop the housing recession. "There's not going to be a lot of joy out there in those neighborhoods where the foreclosures and delinquencies are already high," he said.

One group who may benefit? Folks who have home-equity lines of credit, whose rates are tied directly to the prime rate. Lenders generally match the Fed rate changes on these loans.

To be honest, I lose and win on this one. It won't help my house in Massachusetts sell faster, but it means the monthly payment on my home equity loan goes down. How about you?

9:38 AM ET | 09-19-2007 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

The Voices of Those Who Couldn't Save New Orleans

Before Katrina, New Orleans was my favorite American city to visit. And when the storm hit two years ago today, I remember thinking that things would be fine, based on the reactions of the cable news outlets. (I distinctly recall one national TV reporter sounding almost disappointed that nothing catastrophic seemed to be happening.)

Then the levees broke.

In the past week or so, there have been lots of stories highlighting the efforts to rebuild New Orleans. But the voices that have remained with me are those of the people who tried and failed. Residents who really wanted to stay and rebuild or people born there who returned to put New Orleans back together again — and just couldn't do it.

On Tuesday, Morning Edition featured a commentary by Matt Roberts, who had moved to the city to teach high school English because he wanted to make a difference. But he has decided to quit — it was just too much for him. His description of feeling like a quitter is bracing.

And All Things Considered aired a commentary by freelance reporter Eve Troeh, who says she was the poster girl for New Orleans last year. But she felt her blinders start to come off after a friend was murdered in her home and other friends were mugged. Then she was attacked one night this summer. Now, she's left.

The stories of the great progress some people have made in just two years are amazing. But when you listen to Roberts and Troeh, you realize that two years, after all, is really not all that much time — and that things don't seem all that much better.

3:29 PM ET | 08-29-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Internet Jumps on Story of Craig's Restroom Arrest

This is the kind of story that must give GOP leaders nightmares. It's getting a lot of play on the Internet, for sure.

Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho pleaded guilty this month to disorderly conduct after he was arrested in early June by an undercover police officer in the Minneapolis airport. Roll Call, a newspaper that covers Capitol Hill, reported that the plainclothes officer was investigating reports of sexual activity in a men's restroom.

According to the arrest report, "Craig entered a bathroom stall next to the police investigator, placed his bag against the front of the door and tapped his foot in a gesture commonly used to try to pick up men in public toilets," Reuters writes. The arresting officer, quoted by Roll Call, said he recognized this as a signal "used by persons wishing to engage in lewd conduct."

NPR's Brian Naylor reports that Craig, who was fined and put on probation, issued a statement Monday saying that he had complained to the police at the time that they had misconstrued his actions, that he made a mistake when he pleaded guilty to the charges and that he should have talked to a lawyer first. No kidding.

This is not the first time that Craig has had to deal with allegations of this sort. In 1982, he denied rumors that he was under federal investigation as part of a probe into allegations that lawmakers on Capitol Hill were having sex with pages. He was not implicated or charged in that investigation.

And in 2006, Craig called allegations from a gay rights advocate that he had engaged in homosexual behavior "completely ridiculous."

9:44 AM ET | 08-28-2007 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

22 Tips for Surviving a Hurricane

Hurricane Dean is all over the news today as it moves over the Cayman Islands. The Category 4 storm is forcing the Space Shuttle Endeavour to land a day early.

As Dean rumbles its way toward Mexico (it still might swing toward Texas -- who can tell with a hurricane), I found this video on 5min.com from the Long Island Power Authority that gives 22 tips to help survive a hurricane. Now before any of you scoff, "Long Island? Why in heaven's name would they be worried about a hurricane there?" remember that hurricanes have also been known to sweep up the Atlantic coastline.

Four years ago, Hurricane Juan hit hard in my hometown of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Two people died. Huge trees all over town were tossed around like matchsticks. My brother didn't have electricity for almost a week, and phone service was out for even longer.

I also remember another hurricane in the early '70s and watching a house float down the main street in Dartmouth, just across the harbor. So if you live near the ocean, don't buy the idea that "It'll never happen here."

3:37 PM ET | 08-20-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Will We Get Our White House Wedding After All?

Oh, I love a wedding. I'm thinking maybe next summer.

News that President Bush's daughter Jenna is engaged to Henry Hager (a guy who Laura Bush once dismissed as "not a serious boyfriend") has Washington atwitter. Hager has impeccable conservative credentials: His dad is a former lieutenant governor of Virginia and now heads the state's Republican Party; Hager himself once worked for Karl Rove. It's a marriage made in GOP heaven.

The cable TV networks, looking for something to balance the terrible news out of the Utah mine today, played it up big time. If the couple goes for a White House wedding, that would make Jenna the first presidential daughter to be married there since Tricia Nixon in 1971. No date has been set yet, but my money is on next summer for a couple of reasons.

First, the weather -- everybody wants good weather, and it's not too often you get a chance at a Rose Garden wedding. Second, and perhaps I'm being too "Roveish" here, but it could give the party a good-feelings bump just before the election and serve to underline a big issue for the GOP -- traditional marriage.

Whatever the date and place, mazel tov!

The White House wedding of Tricia Nixon and Edward Cox on June 12, 1971.

National Archives

 

1:18 PM ET | 08-17-2007 | permalink | comments (5) | e-mail post

Who's Been Messin' with My Wikipedia Entry?

When I started here at NPR several months ago, my orientation included a session with our incredibly knowledgeable librarian Kee Malesky. She gave me lots of great tips and only one real warning: Don't trust what you read on Wikipedia because you just don't know where that information came from.

I thought of Kee's warning as I read this piece on Wired about a new data mining service, called WikiScanner (that you can see at http://wikiscanner.virgil.gr/), that lets you see who has gone into Wikipedia to make edits -- including in entries about them. And some of the names might surprise you.

Fox News is there. So are The New York Times, Al Jazeera and WorldNetDaily. Corporations like Diebold, Raytheon, Pfizer, Exxon Mobil and Wal-Mart. Not to mention the Democratic Party, the Republican Party, members of Congress, the CIA, the Church of Scientology and the Catholic Church. They all made changes of some kind to entries that included references or information about them.

Cal Tech computation and neural-systems graduate student Virgil Griffith, who wrote the data mining program, used IP addresses from millions of Wikipedia entries to trace their sources. "Everything's better if you do it on a huge scale, and automate it," Griffin told Wired.

Another reason why I love the Internet -- it just gets harder and harder to hide the fingerprints on the virtual cookie jars.

1:10 PM ET | 08-15-2007 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

To Goo or Not to Goo: Will NASA Fix the Shuttle's Hole?

This handout photo provided by NASA gives a close-up view of the damaged tile on the underside of the Space Shuttle Endeavour.

NASA via Getty Images

The news of a hole about 3 1/2 inches by two inches in the bottom of Space Shuttle Endeavour is not so good. And the memory of what happened to the last teacher to try to go into space makes it even more unsettling.

At least NASA found it in time and has options, which include: do nothing and hope for the best (not the one I would personally choose), using something called "goo" to plug the hole, putting a protective plate over it or just keeping everyone on the International Space Station until a rescue mission could be mounted -- by October.

October is a long way from now, and nine people (seven shuttle folks and two Russians already on the space station) living for two months in a space designed for three or maybe four sounds like some new reality TV show.

These days it seems every shuttle launch has a problem like this, caused by falling ice or foam on liftoff. A friend and I were musing this morning on how often this happened before Columbia was destroyed. It's my guess that it's like the dangerous intersection that needs a light or stop sign but doesn't get fixed until someone gets killed. There must have been times in the years before Columbia when there were holes in the protective shield, but no one got killed, so nothing was done.

12:58 PM ET | 08-13-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

When the Economists Say Don't Panic, I Usually Do

I have a handy guide for whether or not the economy is in crisis. If I actually start to listen to the business news updates at the end of the newscast, it's already too late. We're doomed. Time to climb into the bomb shelter with gold Krugerrands.

This morning it dawned on me that this "liquidity crisis" that everyone has been screaming about all week was not, in fact, about rising beer prices. And I freaked.

So let's look around for something to get me off the ledge.

Will this affect my mortgage? If you have an adjustable loan, especially if it's pegged to an overseas rate, it's time to sell the baseball card collection. If you have a fixed mortgage, please don't point and giggle at the rest of us. If you are looking for a mortgage, listen to this guy. His word is gospel.

Will this hurt my investments? Oops. I guess it already did. What can I say? I only look at my retirement funds when I've had a stiff drink. Liquidity, indeed.

What should I do with my investments? Oh, you know what they always tell us. Think long-term. Don't panic. Blah, blah, blah. Oh, here's some good advice. Focus on shares of high-quality, larger companies. I guess they already have gobs of money and don't need loans as much as high-growth companies. Or something like that. I'm going to stay in denial.

What can I say at a cocktail party this weekend to make me sound smart? Well, you could try my liquidity joke about beer. I thought it was hilarious. Or if you are cool like NPR's Economics Correspondent Adam Davidson, you will bust out with, "I think the countries that learned the lessons of the Asian financial crisis of the late '90s are going to weather this just fine. It's the folks that ignored the warning that are in trouble." Take a sip. Make a liquidity joke.

- Robert Smith

10:57 AM ET | 08-10-2007 | permalink | comments (84) | e-mail post

Another News Wall Comes Tumbling Down

Everyone in journalism knows that it's a little bit of a rigged game. We reporters always get the last say. Sure, you can complain all you want on blogs. Send in those letters to the editor. But we decide which ones to air and publish.

Well, Google may soon change all that. It's starting a service on its news site that allows people quoted in news stories to e-mail their responses to news-comments@google.com. Once Google verifies a person's identity, his or her comments will be attached to the story. The Google site explains that this "will allow Google News users to find out the story behind a story and to know exactly what the people in the news think about the news." GULP!

Steve Rubel from the blog Micro Persuasion is already worried that Google is taking on a whole new role here:

The Google News team now makes decisions about what responses go up and what gets left behind. Think about that. What if Google somehow gets scammed with an email spoofer and posts a comment they shouldn't, for example.

And what about the poor journalists? Will we get to respond to comments? You have to admit, those Google kids are canny. If this works, it will draw the debate over news stories away from news outlets and blogs and to the Google site. Another reminder to us reporters that these days our stories are not the end of a process, but just the beginning of a discussion.

- Robert Smith

2:37 PM ET | 08- 8-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

'Tornado-Like' Storm Hits Brooklyn; Hipsters Freaked

If your favorite blogs (including this one) are a little slow to update this morning, blame the wrath of God. New York's blogging epicenter, Brooklyn, was tossed around by a freak storm early this morning. Trees are down. Subways are flooded. And I had my daughter cowering in my bed at 6 a.m. as the thunder shook the walls.

Bloggers like me are taking cover in wi-fi cafes, sipping each latte like it could be our last. I'm stockpiling biscotti, just in case. Pray for us.

- Robert Smith

11:42 AM ET | 08- 8-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Sending Terrorists Running for the Bathroom

If the war on terror makes you sick, well, soon you won't be the only one. The Department of Homeland Security is developing a new weapon to fight the bad guys: a flashlight that makes a person throw up. It looks like an old-fashioned, if somewhat bulky, light. But don't look too closely. The bright light pulses, which vary in color and duration, induce disorientation, vertigo and nausea.

The DHS says the flashlight could be in use by 2010. Of course, terrorists could just close their eyes or wear dark glasses or run away. But if they look, watch out: barf-o-rama.

Technology Review reports that researchers are now analyzing combinations of wavelengths and light intensities to see which ones make you sickest. And this fall, they will test the device on subjects who have some experience driving the porcelain bus, Penn State University students.

- Robert Smith

6:25 PM ET | 08- 7-2007 | permalink | comments (7) | e-mail post

Shining a Light on a Dangerous Method of Mining

Imagine it. You are working underground. The only thing holding up the rock above your head is a pillar of coal. Then, to squeeze out a little extra profit, your bosses tell you to take out that pillar as you leave, collapsing the earth behind you.

That's the method known as retreat mining. And it could be the culprit in a collapse that trapped six miners underground on Monday in Huntington, Utah. As we wait to see if they can be rescued, there are renewed questions about the safety of the technique.

The Associated Press quotes a former mine safety official who calls it "the most dangerous type of mining there is." Each pillar has to be removed in a precise sequence to control the collapse. But it's almost impossible to catch rule violations because any evidence is buried under tons of rocks.

Still, mine officials say that it's been done for 70 years and has an acceptable safety record. In Kentucky, after four miners were killed while retreat mining, the state commissioned an independent study of the practice. The study concluded that it could be done properly with better planning and communication.

For a diagram and pictures of retreat mining, check out the United Mine Workers site on the practice. The Department of Labor lists all the safety rules for the technique and notes that most collapses happen during August.

- Robert Smith

10:54 AM ET | 08- 7-2007 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post

Utah's Coal Towns Know the Human Cost of Mining

I used to be a reporter for a public radio station in Utah and would often drive through the small town of Huntington, the scene of the mine collapse this morning. Six men are reported to be trapped underground after a nearby earthquake.

It's an area that's familiar with the dangers of coal mining. Not too far from the town is a cemetery that used to hold dozens of rotting wooden markers, honoring the dead from one of the worst mine disasters in U.S. history. On the morning of May 1, 1900, coal dust ignited in mine No. 4 outside of Scofield, Utah. More than 200 men were killed, some by the explosion itself, but many more from the toxic fumes that seeped into adjoining shafts. The disaster left 107 widows and 270 fatherless children.

I would occasionally take a detour and drive through Scofield, which is a ghost town today. The blast left deep scars on the region. Many families still talk about grandfathers and great-grandfathers who never came home from work that day.

- Robert Smith

3:02 PM ET | 08- 6-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

Minneapolis Bridge Scored 50 Out of 120 in Inspection

White House spokesman Tony Snow said the Interstate 35 bridge that collapsed in Minneapolis on Wednesday had scored 50 on a scale of 120 in a 2005 inspection, which means it was rated as "structurally deficient." But The Swamp notes that Snow added that this did not mean there was a risk of failure -- or that "the national system of inspecting bridges will be reevaluated."

Transportation Secretary Mary Peters agreed, saying that the ratings didn't mean there was any danger.

"What that rating of 50 means is that the bridge should be repaired, should perhaps be considered for replacement at some point in the future," Peters said. "It was by no means determined that this bridge was not safe. Had that been the case ... Gov. Pawlenty would have shut this bridge down immediately.

OK, let me get this straight. Scoring 50 out of 120 does not mean there was a risk of failure? In almost everything else I can think of, scoring 50 out of 100 (let alone 120) doesn't mean there is a risk of failure -- it means failure. In fact, Thomas Rooney, a civil engineer interviewed on Day to Day, said he wasn't exactly sure what the problems were, but he believed the score meant the bridge should not have been in use. As he said, 50 out of 120 would not mean a pass even in a fifth-grade elementary class.

Even if bridges have an evaluation system that's different from school test scores, it would seem to me that the inspection would raise a flag somewhere in some state or federal department. Officials say that as many as 80,000 bridges in the U.S. share a similar score -- no doubt in an effort to show that getting such a score is not such a big deal.

I'm not so sure people who now have to drive over these bridges feel the same way.

4:14 PM ET | 08- 2-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Bridge Collapse Sends Dozens of Cars into Mississippi River

It's the kind of scenario you see in a movie: A much-used bridge, jammed with cars during rush hour -- including a busload of children and teachers -- suddenly collapses. But, unlike the movies, no superhero appears to save the day.

I gasped when I saw the photos of the 40-year-old, 1,907-foot Interstate 35 West bridge that collapsed Wednesday between Minneapolis and St. Paul in Minnesota. It looked like a child's toy that had been twisted and destroyed during rough play.

At least four people are confirmed dead, The Associated Press reports -- although initial death tolls were higher -- and dozens injured. Several of the about 60 children on the school bus were also injured, but the bus landed on all four tires as it fell and did not go into the Mississippi River. The Minneapolis Star Tribune reports that authorities estimate at least 20 people are still missing.

But police are now saying that what began as a rescue operation has turned into a recovery operation -- meaning they are looking for bodies now, not survivors. Authorities estimated 50 vehicles fell to the water and land below when the bridge collapsed. As one survivor said in a video on the Star Tribune site, you never know when your time has come.

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep talked Jim Foti, the Star Tribune's transportation reporter, about reports of the bridge's condition. While the governor said the bridge had passed inspections in the last two years, Foti says there were reports of problems with the bridge.

You can watch live local coverage on KSTP.com, the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis, but you'll need to use an Internet Explorer web browser (FireFox won't work) and the latest Windows Media Player. WCCO.com, the CBS affiliate will allow you to use Firefox for viewing live updates.

9:35 AM ET | 08- 2-2007 | permalink | comments (2) | e-mail post

What Should the Future Hold for Harry Potter?

(Spoiler alert: Don't read any further if you haven't had a chance to read Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows yet.)

It didn't take very long for this idea to surface.

In her glowing review of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for Forbes, writer Lisa LaMotta argues that Harry must keep going and that the series should not end. But who should take over from J.K. Rowling now that Harry is grown up? Apparently, book chain Borders polled 1,500 people in Britain, and "their favorite, by far, is Irvine Welsh, author of the drug- and sex-filled novels Trainspotting and Porno."

Oh my. That would make for, er, interesting reading, indeed. But what do you think? Is Harry done? Or should he have some grown-up (although not necessary "adult") adventures as well?

11:38 AM ET | 07-30-2007 | permalink | comments (15) | e-mail post

NASA Probing Reports of Astronauts Flying Intoxicated

Looks like NASA might be searching for a new motto -- something like "99 bottles of beer on the wall, 99 bottles of beer."

This morning, The Washington Post details NASA's latest headache -- reports that astronauts were allowed to fly while intoxicated, even after getting warnings that they posed "a potential flight-safety risk." A NASA spokesman said that "one of two reviews of the medical and psychological health of astronauts scheduled to be made public today will include secondhand accounts of astronauts drinking before flights."

Aviation Week reports that the panel that conducted the review also said that there was lots of heavy drinking within the 12-hour "bottle-to-throttle" rule applied to flight crew members. The reviews came about as the result of another NASA scandal -- the bizarre Lisa Nowak love-triangle allegations.

NASA said the reports of drinking did not necessarily refer to flights on the space shuttle but could have happened on test flights on other vehicles.

Um, pardon me for saying so, but does it really matter? The idea of plastered pilots flying off into the wild blue yonder is disconcerting regardless of their particular vehicle. There are no cops to pull you over for a Breathalyzer test at 30,000 feet.

Add to that the Nowak case, and it seems to me that NASA has some pretty serious 'splaining to do.

9:45 AM ET | 07-27-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Nursing Home Cat Seems to Know When Death Is Near

This is kind of weird and scary but ultimately fascinating. Morning Edition reported today that a cat living in a Providence, R.I., nursing home seems to know when people are about to die. The cat, Oscar, has held vigil at the deaths of 25 patients on the third-floor dementia unit of the Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center.

"He's a cat with an uncanny instinct for death," Dr. David M. Dosa, assistant professor at the Brown University School of Medicine and a geriatric specialist, told The Boston Globe. "He attends deaths. He's pretty insistent on it."

I've always noticed that my cats are more likely to snuggle with me or the kids when we're sick. But man, if I saw Oscar coming, you wouldn't catch me alive in that room ... so to speak.

12:49 PM ET | 07-26-2007 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post

No More Harry Potter Books Is a Daunting Thought

Stacks of the seventh and last installment of J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, at a bookstore in Washington.

Nicholas Kamm/AFP/Getty Images

I just finished it. The seventh book.

Yes, yes, I know I was reading at work. But it was just the last five pages. And a journalist has to research the important stories of the day, right? Since I picked up a copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on Saturday around 4 p.m., I've been reading the more-than-700-page book non-stop.

And here is what you've all wanted to know: It is FABULOUS. By far the best of the series. I could not put it down. I read until 3 a.m. Sunday. I read at the swimming pool. I read during meals. I read at the dentist's office this morning while waiting for my cleaning. I read it on the subway to work. And I just finished reading it at my desk.

I'm not going to discuss the ending. I can confirm that some really important characters die; some of them totally unexpected. And you do learn things about deceased headmaster Albus Dumbledore and the villains Professor Snape and Draco Malfoy that will surprise you.

Here's JJ Sutherland's take on the book from Morning Edition. (I lent him several of the earlier movies so he could have a Harry Potter film festival before reviewing Deathly Hallows.)

So now I've read all the books and seen all the films made so far. And the best things about these books are what they teach children -- and, it must be said, adults -- about what's important in life: family, loyalty, friendship and love. (This is why I think it's a mistake to ban Potter books for their "magic.") But most of all, it may be about the choices that we make, and how they determine who we really are, despite what we say or think.

I'm sorry there won't be an eighth Harry Potter. But then again, seven seems a very good number for J.K. Rowling.

2:23 PM ET | 07-23-2007 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post

Report: Chinese Food and Drug Critics Silenced

When I was talking to my son Wednesday about not buying products from China, I told him that one of reasons some people try to avoid them is because of concerns about safety -- especially in food and drugs.

The Washington Post offers a scary addition to the saga this morning. The paper documents several cases in which Chinese citizens tried to bring illegal activities involving food or drug companies to the public's attention and were silenced by Chinese government authorities. Several of these whistleblowers were jailed.

Factors like local protectionism play a role in this -- friends protecting friends -- but it seems the main reason is the Chinese government's fear of anything that makes the country look bad.

[Zhang Zhijian, who helped spread online an essay about the corrupt practices of former Food and Drug Administrator Zheng Xiaoyu and lost his job and spent time in jail because of it] said he has received no apology from the state or from the local government. The last communication he had with officials was the day Zheng was executed. He got a phone call from the prosecutors who helped convict Zheng, he said, and they told him not to talk about his case anymore, saying: "It's over. You understand? It's not certain people's fault."

9:27 AM ET | 07-19-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

NTSB Places Blame on Big Dig Officials for Accident

The National Transportation Safety Board says the ceiling collapse in Boston's Big Dig tunnel that killed a motorist a year ago might have been prevented if the designers and inspectors had considered that the epoxy used to secure tons of ceiling panels could slowly pull away.

The NTSB's report said the likely cause of the accident was the "use of an epoxy anchor adhesive with poor creep resistance," which couldn't handle long-term loads, according to The Associated Press. Tons of concrete fell from the roof of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel on July 10 of last year, killing 39-year-old Milena Del Valle as she and her husband drove toward Boston's Logan Airport.

The Boston Globe reports that the NTSB's criticisms spared few parties involved in the tunnel's construction. But many of those contractors said they shouldn't be blamed for the tunnel's problems.

The Globe also reports that scores of Del Valle's friends and family attended a service Tuesday in her memory. Her husband's lawyer says the NTSB report should make reaching a settlement with the parties named in it easier.

Morning Edition reported today that many Boston drivers say they still feel nervous about going through the Big Dig, even a year later.

As resident of Boston until recently, I can vouch for that. Between the leaks in the walls and ceiling and then the collapse, using the tunnel in the last year always left me feeling on edge, especially when my kids were in the car. The Big Dig absolutely cuts a lot of time off your drive, but it's my guess that Bostonians will always be a bit nervous about using it.

10:55 AM ET | 07-11-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Pope Brings Back the Latin Mass

Pope Benedict made headlines this weekend when he eased restrictions on the use of the Latin Mass, which was common in the church until the 1960s. The pope announced that parish priests can now say the Mass in Latin without permission from their bishops. The move was aimed at reconciliation with archconservatives in the Catholic Church, but it also made many people unhappy.

Liberals in the church are upset at what they see as a slap at the reforms of Vatican II intended to make the Mass more accessible. Jews are upset because on Good Friday, the Latin Mass includes a prayer that calls on God to "take the veil from the hearts" of the Jews and to end the "blindness of that people so that they may acknowledge the light of your truth, which is Christ, and be delivered from their darkness."

I remember the Latin Mass, but not fondly. Once upon a time, I was an altar boy at the Church of Blessed Sacrament in Ottawa, Ontario. The reforms of Vatican II were just beginning to touch my community, but when I signed up, we were still doing the whole mass in Latin.

I never got it; I never understood it. I recall the older altar boys racing through the Confiteor ("I confess") like they were pitch men telling you all the fine print at the end of a 30-second commercial. I would just pretend I could say it, mumbling as fast as I could. I distinctly remember one of the priests looking over once as I mumbled at high speed and kicking me.

9:51 AM ET | 07- 9-2007 | permalink | comments (9) | e-mail post

Has Murdoch Completed Negotiations for Dow Jones?

The British news magazine The Business is reporting that sources acting for Dow Jones board members say media mogul Rupert Murdoch has completed negotiations for a $5 billion takeover of the company that owns The Wall Street Journal. In a story co-written by former News Corp. editor Andrew Neil, the magazine reports that Murdoch is just waiting for the approval of the majority share-holding Bancroft family, with the sources saying the board is confident he will get it.

According to sources acting for Dow Jones in the negotiations, the deal was delayed until agreement was reached on a legally-binding undertaking by Murdoch to preserve the Wall Street Journal's editorial independence. Under the terms of this agreement, News Corporation will have the ability to hire and fire the top editors and publishers (a matter on which Murdoch would not budge); but a nominally independent five-person committee will have the right of veto on these decisions.

MarketWatch reports that a spokesman for Dow Jones (its parent company) says the report is incorrect, and there has been no change in the status of talks.

The Guardian reports that the Bancroft family also denied a deal had been reached. But a News Corp. source tells the newspaper that a deal with the family is "much more likely" because of the editorial agreement with the Journal.

1:49 PM ET | 07- 6-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Book Asks: Is Prince Charles Harry's Real Dad?

This August will mark the 10th anniversary of the death of Diana, Princess of Wales, and we can expect to see lots of books, magazines and TV shows about her. But few may ask so controversial a question as the one posed by American writer Christopher Andersen in After Diana: William, Harry, Charles and the Royal House of Windsor.

Along with the bombshell question about Harry's parentage (Andersen speculates Harry's father could be Diana's lover James Hewitt, who Andersen alleges was her lover far sooner than others have written), Andersen also tells USA Today that Harry will be sent to Afghanistan instead of Iraq and suggests that Prince William and Kate Middleton will get back together -- their breakup only a ruse to get the media off her back.

In 2002, Hewitt publicly denied that he is Harry's dad. But in this excerpt from the book, carried in the New York Daily News, Andersen claims that Harry has had his doubts about his parentage.

Meanwhile, William and Harry went public Monday with their opposition to a plan by Britain's Channel Four to air photos taken the night their mother was killed in a car accident in Paris. Some of the photos, used in a documentary, show her being treated in the car at the scene of the crash. Channel Four has said it will use the photos Wednesday night as planned.

5:12 PM ET | 06- 5-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

Federal Grand Jury Indicts La. Congressman

Democratic Rep. William Jefferson will finally get his day in court ... even if he didn't want to have one.

A federal grand jury has indicted the Louisiana congressman on 16 charges, including soliciting bribes, money laundering, wire fraud and obstruction of justice. He also is charged with bribing a Nigerian government official.

CBS News reports that the indictments are the latest development in a 16-month investigation into allegations that Jefferson accepted $100,000 from a telecommunications businessman. Federal investigators found $90,000 in his freezer almost two years ago.

Jefferson has denied any wrongdoing and was re-elected last November, despite the bribery allegation hanging over him.

Jefferson's case is an odd one because of the events leading up to the indictment. When Jefferson's Capitol Hill office was raided by the FBI, he was defended by none other than then-GOP Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert. Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters says Hastert's "inane attempt" to defend Jefferson might have even hurt Republicans in the 2006 elections and delayed the indictment against Jefferson.

Current Democratic Speaker Nancy Pelosi did remove Jefferson from the Ways and Means Committee, but, under pressure from the Congressional Black Caucus, she tried to appoint him to the Homeland Security Committee. The Democrats backed down when Republicans threatened a floor vote on his appointment.

Jeff Crouere, who hosts a PBS show in Louisiana called "Ringside Politics," wrote recently at the PoliticsLA.com blog that Jefferson's case will not improve the state's "well-earned reputation" for corruption: "... Jefferson's continued presence in Congress will be a reminder to everyone that Louisiana political corruption is alive and well. Our state's corrupt past and present is one of the reasons Louisiana always finds itself in such a precarious position."

3:22 PM ET | 06- 4-2007 | permalink | comments (1) | e-mail post

You Call that a Monster?

Just when you thought it was safe to go back in the water ... another sighting of the Loch Ness Monster is reported.

Gordon Holmes of Yorkshire took this video of some kind of creature swimming in Loch Ness. "I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this jet black thing, about 45 feet long, moving fairly fast in the water," Holmes told The Associated Press. His video made Nessie supporters more excited than New York Yankees broadcaster Suzyn Waldman when Roger Clemens returned.

AP reports that Nessie watcher and marine biologist Adrian Shine of the Loch Ness 2000 center has seen the tape and plans to study it over the next few months. I guess he has time on his hands.

After viewing the video, I have to say I'm a bit disappointed. I would expect Nessie to be a bit more, well, fearsome looking. The creature in Holmes' tape looks like a big snake or eel. More yucky than scary.

11:23 AM ET | 06- 1-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

Astronaut in Love Triangle Sent Back to the Navy

At one point in "The Right Stuff," then-budding astronaut John Glenn lectures his fellow Mercury 7 teammates about keeping their "wicks dry." It's advice that shuttle pilot Cmdr. William Oefelein might have been wise to follow.

Oefelein is, of course, the love interest in the now infamous Lisa Nowak astronaut triangle. Well, Gannett News Service reports that NASA apparently has had enough of the Top Gun flyboy and is shipping him back to the Navy. "The Navy and NASA have mutually agreed to end his detail to NASA," said Kylie Clem, a spokeswoman at NASA's Johnson Space Center in Houston. (Yeah, right. And my children and I mutually agreed that they'll stop watching so much TV.) Nowak was sent back to the Navy a few months ago.

Both Nowak and Oefelein also could face courts-martial for cheating on their spouses, conduct that the military considers unbecoming of an officer, officials said. Oefelein is divorced and Nowak is separated. They are the first NASA astronauts to be sent back to their military branch after a public scandal. Nowak is the first astronaut ever arrested on felony charges.

1:26 PM ET | 05-29-2007 | permalink | comments (3) | e-mail post

The World Unloads On Wolfowitz

As panelist Adam Felber commented this weekend on "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me," World Bank President Paul Wolfow