NPR News

Pages

Business
4:39 am
Fri September 7, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 10:15 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business comes from China, and the word is: Wahaha. That's the name of China's third-largest beverage company. It sells soda, juice and other bottled drinks.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The name means laughing children. It turned out the man who runs it is the one with the most to laugh about.

INSKEEP: Zong Qing Hou is now the richest man in China, according to Bloomberg billionaire's index, which calculated his net worth to be $21.6 billion.

Read more
Politics
4:39 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Close Read: Examining Obama's Acceptance Speech

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 10:15 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP. HOST: And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning. Let's take a close read now of some of the lines from President Obama's convention speech last night.

MONTAGNE: We're checking meanings behind some of those phrases, as we did with Mitt Romney's speech one week ago. Three NPR correspondents will help us out.

Read more
Sports
4:39 am
Fri September 7, 2012

2012 Paralympics Best-Attended Since Games Began

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 10:15 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This year's Paralympics have been the best-attended games since the movement began back in 1960. Over 4,200 athletes from 164 countries are taking part in games that end this weekend. Disabled athletes began competing after World War II when a doctor in Britain organized the international wheelchair games to coincide with the 1948 London Olympics. Tanni Grey Thompson is one of Britain's most successful paralympians.

Read more
The Salt
3:24 am
Fri September 7, 2012

When It Comes To Buying Organic, Science And Beliefs Don't Always Mesh

Credit AP
A shopper surveys the produce at Pacifica Farmers Market in Pacifica, Calif., in 2011.

Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 4:10 pm

We heard from a lot of you — and we mean a lot of you — about our recent report on the Stanford School of Medicine analysis of several studies on the health effects of organic foods.

Read more
Planet Money
3:23 am
Fri September 7, 2012

This Man Makes Beautiful Suits, But He Can't Afford To Buy One

Credit Marvin Orellana / The New York Times
See photos of Peter Frew and other tailors in this slide show from The New York Times Magazine.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 10:15 am

Peter Frew is one of a tiny number of people left in the United States who can — entirely on his own, using almost no machinery — make a classic bespoke suit. He can measure you, draw a pattern, cut the fabric and then hand-stitch a suit designed to fit your body perfectly.

Frew spent more than a decade as an apprentice for a remarkable tailor in his native Jamaica. He now sells his suits for about $4,000. Since New York is filled with very rich people who see their suits as an essential uniform, Frew has all the orders he can handle.

Read more
The Salt
3:22 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Panera Sandwich Chain Explores 'Pay What You Want' Concept

Credit Niala Boodhoo for NPR
This Panera Cares store in Chicago switched from for-profit to nonprofit this summer, and it started asking customers to pay whatever they want.

Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 4:11 pm

The concept of "pay what you want" for goods and services is a nostalgic throwback to the days when people trusted one another just a little bit more, and it's something you expect to see at the occasional farm stand or at a hip, independent coffee shop.

Read more
Education
3:21 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Recess In Chicago? Strike Threat Draws National Eyes

Credit Sitthixay Ditthavong / AP
Members of the Chicago Teachers Union hold an informational picket outside Willa Cather Elementary School on Aug. 20 in Chicago. Teachers could go on strike Monday.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 10:15 am

The Chicago Public Schools system is teetering on the edge of a strike, just a week into the school year. Teachers say they'll walk out Monday morning if tense weekend negotiations don't bring a contract. It would be the first Chicago teachers strike in 25 years.

At Parker Elementary School on Chicago's South Side, students are jumping double Dutch and hula-hooping. This is the first time many of the kids on this playground have ever had recess. The playtime is part of an extended school day pushed for by Mayor Rahm Emanuel.

Read more
It's All Politics
12:38 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Obama: 'Times Have Changed ... So Have I'

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images
President Obama speaks Thursday at the Democratic National Convention.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 12:44 am

Framing the coming election as a choice between fundamentally different visions, President Obama offered himself to the country Thursday as a fire-tested leader ready to finish the job he started.

"Our problems can be solved," Obama said. "Our challenges can be met."

It was an older, battle-scarred nominee who faced his party in Charlotte, N.C. This message of hope was tempered and longer-view — a good distance if not a full turn from the vision he offered four years ago when he accepted the nomination in a thundering Denver stadium.

Read more
It's All Politics
12:19 am
Fri September 7, 2012

Five Takeaways From The Last Night Of The Democratic Convention

Credit Streeter Lecka / Getty Images
President Obama accepts the Democratic nomination for president at Time Warner Cable Arena on Thursday.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 11:25 am

If you missed the last night of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., we live blogged it here.

But if you want a quick review, we've compiled five things that struck us about the night:

Read more
The Two-Way
7:07 pm
Thu September 6, 2012

Pistorius Falls To Britain's Peacock In 200 Meters; American Browne Is Second

Credit Jamie McDonald / Getty Images
Bronze medalist Arnu Fourie of South Africa (from left), gold medalist Jonnie Peacock of Great Britain, silver medalist Richard Browne of the United States and Oscar Pistorius of South Africa cross the line in the Men's 100m - T44 Final at London's Olympic Stadium.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 6:25 am

In one of the most closely watched events at the London Paralympics, South African Oscar Pistorius failed in his attempt to win the 100-meter sprint and regain his title as the world's fastest amputee today.

Great Britain's Jonnie Peacock took the lead early and kept it, winning in 10.90 seconds, a Paralympic record. American Richard Browne, 21, of Jackson, Miss., won the silver medal.

Pistorius, the double amputee who ran in the Olympics this year, came in fourth. He finished in 11.17 seconds.

Read more

Pages