Accessibility links
Linda Wertheimer As NPR's senior national correspondent, Linda Wertheimer travels the country and the globe for NPR News, bringing her unique insights and wealth of experience to bear on the day's top news stories.
Linda Wertheimer
Stories By

Linda Wertheimer

Opinion

Politics

Democrats Hope for 'Abramoff Effect' in Montana

Montana is one state Democrats hope to turn from red to blue this fall. Republican Sen. Conrad Burns, the incumbent, received the most money from convicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff, and his challenger, state Senate President Jon Tester, is pounding away at the issue. Note: This story contains language that some may find inappropriate.

Democrats Hope for 'Abramoff Effect' in Montana

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6154800/6154801" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Opinion

Schools Welcome a New Baby Boom

American school enrollment will be higher this year than at the peak of the fabled baby boom. If history holds true, these bright-faced new boomers can expect to hold a lot of power down the road.

Schools Welcome a New Baby Boom

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6043697/6043698" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Analysis

Week in Review: Bin Laden; CIA Prisons; Torture Manual

Highlights in the week's news include President Bush's repeated references to Osama bin Laden in speeches leading to the Sept. 11 anniversary; acknowledgement of secret CIA prisons; a manual forbidding torture techniques used at Abu Ghraib prison.

Week in Review: Bin Laden; CIA Prisons; Torture Manual

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6043694/6043695" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Politics

White House, Pentagon Split on Interrogation Tactics

Even as the Pentagon issues new interrogation techniques prohibiting certain tactics used in the past, the White House is asking Congress to legalize some of the same tactics.

White House, Pentagon Split on Interrogation Tactics

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/6043670/6043671" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Opinion

Analysis

Allen's 'Macaca' Gaffe, and Politicians' Errors

All politicians say things they regret, but some say things they really regret: ill-advised remarks that change the trajectory of their careers in an instant. The most recent example is Virginia Sen. George Allen, who has dropped off most short lists for president in 2008 after calling a dark-skinned man in his audience "macaca."

Allen's 'Macaca' Gaffe, and Politicians' Errors

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5751603/5751604" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

National

Views of Iraq from Indiana

What do voters deep in the heartland of the United States think of the war in Iraq? Many U.S. military recruits come from rural areas -- but is popular sentiment behind the conflict they're signing up to fight in? NPR's Linda Wertheimer reports from Indiana.

Views of Iraq from Indiana

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5685232/5685233" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Politics

Indiana Democrat Thinks He'll Return to Capitol Hill

In 2004, three-term Indiana congressman Baron Hill lost his seat to Republican Mike Sodrel by half a percentage point. Now, President Bush's numbers have fallen in that district -- as well as statewide -- and Hill is optimistic about reclaiming his place on Capitol Hill.

Indiana Democrat Thinks He'll Return to Capitol Hill

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5658953/5658954" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

In Red Indiana, GOP Incumbent's Seat in Danger

Indiana Rep. John Hostettler was first elected to the House with the GOP class of 1994; since then, he's been among its most orthodox conservatives. But Hostettler has never won with more than 53.4 percent of the vote, and this year, he appears more vulnerable than ever.

In Red Indiana, GOP Incumbent's Seat in Danger

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5653569/5653756" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Restless Voters in the Heart of America

One place that Republicans are sweating over is southern Indiana. Linda Wertheimer and Reena Advani, one of our most gracious producers, have been driving through corn and soybean country to plumb the minds of voters who sent Republicans to the House in 2004. Why do so many people who've never traveled in the Midwest think the landscape must be dull? Here's how Linda reacted: "Southern Indiana as I saw it yesterday must be one of the most beautiful places around. We drove north from Evansville very early in the morning, just after sunrise. When we crossed I-64 and drove up into the country we were looking at mist rising from the fields, all tinted pink by the sunrise, and barns, silos and fields and fields of corn. It looked like beautiful and prosperous country, as, in fact, it is." But Linda and Reena have also found that members of a book club in a tiny town are furious about the war in Iraq. And President Bush's supporters are on the defensive...

Religion

Evangelical: Religious Right Has Distorted the Faith

Blind allegiance to the Republican Party has led politically active evangelicals to adopt misguided positions on issues such as abortion and homosexuality, says Randall Balmer. In Thy Kingdom Come, the prominent evangelical argues the religious right could ruin the faith.

Evangelical: Religious Right Has Distorted the Faith

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5502785/5504463" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Gonzales: 'Homegrown Terrorists' Plotted Attacks

In a Washington news conference, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales outlines an alleged plot to bomb the Sears Tower in Chicago and a federal building in Miami. Seven men are being held in connection with the allegations. Gonzales calls the men "homegrown terrorists."

Gonzales: 'Homegrown Terrorists' Plotted Attacks

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5506305/5506306" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Group Promotes Eating Locally Overseas

American businesspeople overseas are being encouraged to eat more ethnic foods at local restaurants. The initiative was started by the group Diplomatic Action Incorporated. It wants Americans to live, eat and play local. The group hopes it will counter the image of the "Ugly American."

Group Promotes Eating Locally Overseas

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5503170/5503171" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

World

Bush Visits Hungary to Commemorate 1956 Uprising

President Bush is marking the 50th anniversary of Hungary's 1956 uprising against Soviet rule with a visit to the former Soviet satellite. He met with European Union leaders in Vienna on Wednesday, where he addressed the issues of North Korea, Iran and Iraq.

Bush Visits Hungary to Commemorate 1956 Uprising

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5503158/5503159" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Politics

A Final Word with President's Faithful Speechwriter

President Bush's outgoing speechwriter says religious references play a key role in the president's dialogue. In that regard, Michael Gerson says, Bush is no different from Presidents Kennedy and Franklin Roosevelt.

A Final Word with President's Faithful Speechwriter

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5499701/5499734" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Media

CBS Expected to Announce Departure of Rather

Dan Rather is leaving CBS, the network where he has worked for more than 40 years. As a reporter and as anchor of the CBS Evening News, he covered some of the biggest stories of his time. The formal announcement of his departure is expected as early as this morning.

CBS Expected to Announce Departure of Rather

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/5497555/5497556" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript