News: U.S. and World News Headlines : NPR

Appeals Court Gives Texas OK To Enforce Abortion Law

October 31, 2013 • A panel of the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals says the state can go ahead with implementing the new restrictions, which require abortion doctors to have admitting privileges at a hospital within 30 miles of their practice.

Israeli Warplanes Reportedly Strike Russian Missiles In Syria

October 31, 2013 • Officials in Tel Aviv have refused to comment on the reported attack at a Syrian airbase near the port city of Latakia.

Polio Has Not Returned To South Sudan, After All

October 31, 2013 • Health officials said that they were mistaken about a polio outbreak in Somalia spreading to South Sudan. Despite previous reports, South Sudan has not recorded any polio cases this year. The new information means that the spread of the virus around the Horn of Africa is more limited than previously thought.

For The Young And Healthy, Health Insurance Is A Hard Sell

Students Amanda McComas, Rose Marie Chute and Sari Schwartz are approached in October at Santa Monica City College in California about signing up for insurance with the Affordable Care Act. Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images

Shots - Health News

For The Young And Healthy, Health Insurance Is A Hard Sell

October 31, 2013 • The success of the Affordable Care Act rests in part on getting young, healthy people to purchase coverage. But despite marketing attempts to reach them, some young people feel they're too healthy or cash-strapped to buy something they say they're unlikely to need.

For The Young And Healthy, Health Insurance Is A Hard Sell

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More Foreign Firms Look To Make It In The USA

Acura MDX sport utility vehicles roll off the assembly line at a Honda plant in Lincoln, Ala., in May. Overseas investors have U.S. assets totaling nearly $4 trillion, including auto plants, banks and mines. Joe Songer/AL.com/Landov hide caption

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Joe Songer/AL.com/Landov

Business

More Foreign Firms Look To Make It In The USA

October 31, 2013 • Despite the Great Recession, slow recovery and political dysfunction in Washington, the United States remains a top destination for the world's wealth. The Obama administration is urging foreign business leaders to build more plants and offices in this country.

Booker Brings Dash Of Diversity To Still Old, White Senate

Vice President Joe Biden swears in Sen. Cory Booker (D-NJ) as his mother, Carolyn, holds a Bible on Thursday. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Booker Brings Dash Of Diversity To Still Old, White Senate

October 31, 2013 • Former Newark Mayor Cory Booker, 44, was sworn in Thursday, becoming the second African-American in the U.S. Senate and only the fourth ever elected to the upper chamber. He also brings youth to the Senate, where the average age is 62.

A Clash Of Styles As GOP Factions Fight For Alabama District

Republican candidates Bradley Byrne and Dean Young are running in a special runoff election Tuesday to fill Alabama's 1st congressional district seat. Phillip Rawls and Campaign of Dean Young/AP hide caption

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Phillip Rawls and Campaign of Dean Young/AP

Politics

A Clash Of Styles As GOP Factions Fight For Alabama District

October 31, 2013 • In a special election to replace retired GOP Congressman Jo Bonner, one candidate believes in "dying on the hill" to repeal Obamacare. His opponent wants to go to Washington to "get something done."

A Clash Of Styles As GOP Factions Fight For Alabama District

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Heat, Drought Draw Farmers Back To Sorghum, The 'Camel Of Crops'

A test field of sorghum outside Manhattan, Kan., planted by Kansas State University. Dan Charles/NPR hide caption

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Dan Charles/NPR

The Salt

Heat, Drought Draw Farmers Back To Sorghum, The 'Camel Of Crops'

October 31, 2013 • Consumers in search of novelty are turning to once-obscure grains like quinoa, spelt and sorghum. But sorghum's great virtue for farmers is the fact that it can thrive with so little water.

Heat, Drought Draw Farmers Back To Sorghum, The 'Camel Of Crops'

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Protesters Call For Justice In Brutal Gang Rape In Kenya

Hundreds take to the streets in Nairobi on Thursday, calling for justice for a 16-year-old girl dubbed "Liz," who was gang raped in rural Kenya. The men were caught by the police and let go after their punishment — cutting the grass at the police station. Daniel Irungu/EPA/Landov hide caption

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Daniel Irungu/EPA/Landov

Africa

Protesters Call For Justice In Brutal Gang Rape In Kenya

October 31, 2013 • The gang rape of a 16-year-old schoolgirl has sparked outrage in the country and beyond. The attack was so violent it left the girl in a wheelchair. She identified several of her attackers, whom police captured but then released after their punishment: mowing the police station lawn.

Protesters Call For Justice In Brutal Gang Rape In Kenya

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Federal Court To Weigh Ohio's Execution Drug Cocktail

Ronald Phillips, convicted of the rape and murder of a 3-year-old girl, is scheduled to be executed Nov. 14. A court hearing may decide whether the new drug cocktail can be used. Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections hide caption

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Ohio Department of Rehabilitations and Corrections

Law

Federal Court To Weigh Ohio's Execution Drug Cocktail

WCBE

October 31, 2013 • Ohio could be the first state in the nation to use a combination of two drugs that have never been used before to put an inmate to death. This execution cocktail is the latest chapter in what's become a troubled history of capital punishment in the state.

Federal Court To Weigh Ohio's Execution Drug Cocktail

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Economic, Political Volatility Cloud Housing Recovery

Despite a strong housing market this year, experts say the recent economic drama has contributed to less stability in real estate. Steven Senne/AP hide caption

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Steven Senne/AP

Economy

Economic, Political Volatility Cloud Housing Recovery

October 31, 2013 • The housing market is working through the remnants of the financial crisis, and until recently the sector's recovery seemed to be on track. But recent drama in the national economy has left consumers reluctant to buy, experts say.

Economic, Political Volatility Cloud Housing Recovery

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Turning The Page On Illiteracy, Adults Go Back To Class

Marilyn Block tutors Jason White at a local library during a one-on-one session that is part of the Literacy Council of Montgomery County, in Maryland. Kavitha Cardoza/WAMU hide caption

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Kavitha Cardoza/WAMU

Education

Turning The Page On Illiteracy, Adults Go Back To Class

WAMU

October 31, 2013 • Millions of adults struggle every day with basic tasks, like reading a bill or a bus schedule. Those with limited literacy find all kinds of ways to hide their rudimentary schooling. Many are unemployed. And those who have jobs are usually stuck at the lowest rungs of the economic ladder.

Turning The Page On Illiteracy, Adults Go Back To Class

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The Two-Way

Wrongful Death Verdict Reversed In Virginia Tech Case

October 31, 2013 • Virginia Tech officials could not have foreseen that 32 people would die in a 2007 attack on campus, the Virginia Supreme Court said. The ruling overturns an award to two victims' families. Officials believed the gunman had fled and posed no further danger in the area, the justices said.

The Billionaire Who Personified Brazil's Boom Goes Bust

Batista appears with Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff during a ceremony in celebration of the start of oil production by OGX, Batista's oil and gas company, in 2012. The company filed for bankruptcy Wednesday. Ricardo Moraes/Reuters /Landov hide caption

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Ricardo Moraes/Reuters /Landov

Parallels

The Billionaire Who Personified Brazil's Boom Goes Bust

October 31, 2013 • Once among the richest men on the planet, Eike Batista's wealth has evaporated. From a net worth of $34.5 billion last year, the Brazilian businessman is now worth less than 1 percent of that. Many observers see Batista's fall as a parable for the nation's economic woes.

The Billionaire Who Personified Brazil's Boom Goes Bust

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