Accessibility links

Howard Berkes Howard Berkes is a correspondent for the NPR Investigations Unit.
Howard Berkes
Stories By

Howard Berkes

Taking a Tough Look 'Inside the Olympics'

Former Olympic athlete Dick Pound spent 25 years as a member of the International Olympic Committee. His book Inside the Olympics explores the money, politics and intrigue that drive the Games. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Taking a Tough Look 'Inside the Olympics'

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3611729/3611730" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Iraq

Missing Marine Safe in Beirut

Both the Pentagon and State Department confirm that Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun is back in U.S. custody after more than two weeks in apparent captivity in Iraq. Hassoun was picked up in Lebanon by U.S. embassy personnel at a pre-arranged location. The Navy has begun an investigation, including the possibility that Wassoun's disappearance was a hoax. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and NPR's Howard Berkes.

Missing Marine Now at U.S. Beirut Embassy

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3226037/3226038" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

News

Missing Marine Said Safe; Navy Probes Case

Marine Corp. Wassef Ali Hassoun is reported safe in Lebanon after more than two weeks in apparent captivity in Iraq. But Hassoun's precise whereabouts are still unclear. The Navy says it is investigating Hassoun's disappearance, including the possibility that it was staged. Hear NPR's Renee Montagne and NPR's Howard Berkes.

Missing Marine Said Safe; Navy Probes Case

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3205007/3205008" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

National

On the Beat with Sheriff Scott Busching

In rural North Dakota, crime is becoming increasingly violent and related to alcohol and drugs -- especially methamphetamine. We follow Williams County's Sheriff Scott Busching for an in-depth look at the challenges of policing America's outback. Hear NPR's Howard Berkes.

On the Beat with Sheriff Scott Busching

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3200011/3200012" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Iraq

Report: Marine is Safe in Iraq

U.S. Marine Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun is still alive -- despite claims by a militant group that he had been beheaded -- according to a report by the Arabic news network Al Jazeera. The TV channel, quoting a statement purportedly from Hassoun's captors, said he has been moved to an unspecified safe place after allegedly promising not to return to military duty. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Report: Marine is Safe, Won't Return to Duty

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3147017/3147018" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

National

Utah Unveils Untouched Ancient Indian Ruins

The state of Utah reveals what had been a secret for 50 years: Hundreds of ancient Indian granaries, pit houses and rock art panels in a remote canyon. Archaeologists are ecstatic because the sites have not been looted or vandalized, a common fate for such sites. The area had been protected by rancher Waldo Wilcox, who once owned the land containing the ancient Indian villages. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Utah Unveils Untouched Ancient Indian Ruins

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/3076014/3081117" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Poll: Bush Rural Support Fades in Key States

A new poll shows President Bush losing support in 17 so-called "battleground" states among a key constituency: rural voters. Those states, which Mr. Bush carried in 2000 thanks to overwhelming support in rural counties, are considered too close to call in the November presidential election. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Poll: Bush Rural Support Fades in Key States

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1979011/3021197" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

World

Sudan Violence Continues

The western Sudanese region of Darfur has been the scene of what many are calling an ethnic cleansing campaign by government-backed Arab militias against the local tribes. The Bush administration is now ratcheting up the rhetoric against the same government that the United States has praised for signing peace protocols to end a separate decades-old conflict. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

U.S. Calls for End to Sudanese Ethnic Violence

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1960403/1960404" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Business

Ueberroth To Head Troubled Olympic Board

Peter Ueberroth, who is credited with turning the Olympics into a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, is named to chair the United States Olympic Committee. Twenty years after his work on the 1984 Los Angeles Olympics, Ueberroth returns to the Olympic fold to help the committee respond to a series of scandals. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Ueberroth To Head Troubled Olympic Board

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1957701/1957702" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

National

Cell Numbers Become Portable Nationwide

Beginning Monday, cell phone portability goes national, extending the option of keeping the same phone number after changing wireless carriers. The rules, which went into effect last November, initially benefited only customers in the nation's 100 largest urban areas. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Cell Numbers Become Portable Nationwide

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1908335/1908336" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

World

U.S. Olympic Team Braces for Backlash

U.S. Olympic officials are instructing athletes to tone down their victory celebrations and refrain from taunting during this summer's games in Athens. The warnings are part of the organization's attempts to prepare for possible incidents of anti-Americanism. Athletes have also been told to keep a low profile when they're not in heavily guarded Olympic venues. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

U.S. Olympic Team Braces for Backlash

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1904243/1904244" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

National

Fire-Fighting Planes Grounded over Safety

The federal government's grounding of 33 air tankers used for fighting wildfires leaves forestry officials scrambling for craft to use in combating the fire season, which has just begun. A National Transportation Safety Board report questioned the planes' airworthiness in late April. The Forest Service says replacing the planes will cost at least $26 million. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Fire-Fighting Planes Grounded over Safety

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1892907/1892908" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">

Illinois Apologizes for 1844 Murder of Mormon Leader

The state of Illinois has expressed its "official regret" for the murder of Mormon leader Joseph Smith in 1844. But some say the violence that drove Mormons out of the state was precipitated in large measure by Smith himself. NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

Illinois Apologizes for 1844 Murder of Mormon Leader

Listen
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/1830274/1830275" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">