KMUW

Legislation To Stop Common Core Standards Dropped

Associated Press — Wed, 22 May 2013 23:01:08 +0000

A question about the legality of putting a policy statement in the Kansas budget stalled some lawmakers' efforts to block the implementation of Common Core reading and math standards in state schools.

U.S. Non-Intervention In Syria Could Mirror Outcome In Congo

editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

This week, we're exploring how lessons learned from U.S. intervention and non-intervention in foreign conflicts can inform policy decisions toward Syria today. Robert Siegel talks with Chester Crocker, formerly assistant secretary of state for African affairs in the Reagan administration, about how the U.S. has dealt with the decades-long conflict in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which has claimed millions of lives. Crocker is now a professor of strategic studies at Georgetown University's Walsh School of Foreign Service.

The First Web Page, Amazingly, Is Lost

Geoff Brumfiel — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:40:00 +0000

Given the World Wide Web's ubiquity, you might be tempted to believe that everything is online. But there's one important piece of the Web's own history that can't be found through a search engine: the very first Web page.

Now a team at the lab where the World Wide Web was invented is seeking to restore that page, and other pieces of memorabilia from the earliest moments of the http:// era.

Holder Acknowledges U.S. Citizens Killed In Drone Strikes

Carrie Johnson — Wed, 22 May 2013 22:00:00 +0000

For the first time, the U.S. government has acknowledged killing four American citizens in lethal drone strikes far outside traditional battlefields, confirming information that had been widely known but has only recently been unclassified under orders of the president.

Attorney General Eric Holder sent a letter to Congress on Wednesday explaining that only one of the four dead U.S. citizens was explicitly targeted.

A Decade In The Making, West Bank Barrier Is Nearly Complete

Emily Harris — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:53:00 +0000

Israeli army Capt. Barak Raz climbs a metal staircase to the top of a high concrete wall that is part of Israel's West Bank barrier. From his perch, he overlooks both the Palestinian village of Bil'in and Modin Illit, the largest Jewish settlement in the West Bank, with some 50,000 residents.

The barrier here used to be a fence. After many confrontations with Israeli soldiers, Palestinian villagers won a court case, and the fence was moved off some of their land.

In Raw Milk Case, Activists See Food Freedom On Trial

editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:47:00 +0000

What is the case against Wisconsin farmer Vernon Hershberger really about? It depends on whom you ask.

To hear the prosecution, it's about licensing, not raw milk: Hershberger, a dairy farmer hailing from the town of Loganville, is on trial this week for operating without three licenses.

Fears Of Killing Immigration Bill Doomed Same-Sex Amendment

David Welna — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:44:00 +0000

After five marathon sessions debating 150 proposed amendments, the Senate Judiciary Committee approved a landmark rewriting of the nation's immigration laws this week — and the bill emerged largely intact.

Three Republicans voted with the panel's 10 Democrats on Tuesday night to forward the bill to the full Senate.

Could African Crops Be Improved With Private Biotech Data?

Eliza Barclay — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:44:00 +0000

"I'm shocked by the optimism here," Howard Yana-Shapiro, the chief agricultural officer for Mars Inc. said Tuesday to the audience of the Chicago Council on Global Affairs' Global Food Security Symposium in Washington, D.C.

Seated there before him were some of the leaders from the wealthiest international organizations and multinational companies of the fight to end hunger.

Think Obama's In Trouble? That Depends On Your Party

editor — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:43:00 +0000

Public opinion about the scandals plaguing the Obama administration is decidedly mixed.

Republicans believe that the trio of controversies — concerning Benghazi, the IRS, and the Justice Department snooping on media phone records — are evidence enough that President Obama is either running a government motivated by partisan politics, or is badly out of touch.

Democrats, however, are proving to be much more forgiving.

"These things are being used for political purposes," says Lois Yatzeck, a retired minister in St. Louis.

Documentary Shows George Plimpton's Best Story Was His Own

Joel Rose — Wed, 22 May 2013 21:20:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

George Plimpton boxed with Archie Moore, played quarterback for the Detroit Lions and played percussion for the New York Philharmonic. He did these jobs and many others as an amateur. Plimpton was a professional writer. A new documentary about his life makes the case that Plimpton's best story was his own story, as NPR's Joel Rose reports.

JOEL ROSE, BYLINE: When you listen to George Plimpton's voice, it's like hearing echoes of a New York that no longer exists.

GEORGE PLIMPTON: I decided finally to pack the football.