Search results for

NPR's Jack Speer reports President Bush is naming former Goldman Sachs investment banker Stephen Friedman as his top economics adviser. Friedman is being appointed to the White House job despite an aggressive campaign to torpedo his candidacy by some conservative Republicans.

A 12-day-old general strike in Venezuela turns violent again as supporters and critics of President Hugo Chavez battle in Caracas. Detractors say Chavez has impoverished the country. The leftist leader fired four dissident oil executives Thursday, increasing tensions. NPR's Gerry Hadden reports.

NPR Religion Correspondent Duncan Moon reports on the dilemma the Roman Catholic Church faces over whether to give the Boston Archdiocese the go ahead to declare bankruptcy. Cardinal Bernard Law, archbishop of Boston, resigned this week after meeting with Vatican officials in Rome. Moon reports that bankruptcy may not remove the tremendous financial problems the Boston Archdiocese faces because of lawsuits, filed by victims of alleged sexual abuse by Catholic priests.

Starting Dec. 16, Morning Edition premieres its first original radio play, "I'd Rather Eat Pants." The five-act play, starring Edward Asner and Anne Meara, is a comic tale of an elderly couple's cross-country trek on a young slacker's motorcycle. They're in search of fame, fortune and a whole lot more. NPR's Bob Edwards and Susan Stamberg have cameo roles.

NPR's Nancy Marshall reports a price war between two bus services recently cut the price of a trip from Washington to New York to $10. That particular fare didn't last long. Both bus services that offered it have raised their prices a bit, but budget travelers are still filling the buses, even though most of them leave in the middle of the night. The buses go from Chinatown D.C. to Chinatown in New York and are a good enough bargain to lure passengers away from Greyhound. NPR's Nancy Marshall reports.

Michele Norris talks with David Hampton, editorial director for the Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., about how the Trent Lott controversy is playing out in his home state. Hampton says the Clarion-Ledger has been deluged with mail, both condemning and supporting Lott.

Adding to a tense standoff centered on its nuclear ambitions, North Korea tells the United Nations it wants surveillance cameras removed from a nuclear plant it intends to reopen. China may be asked to play a diplomatic role in the evolving crisis. NPR's Vicky O'Hara reports.

As part of NPR's year-long Housing First project, Morning Edition this week airs three reports on the economics of housing for some of the neediest Americans. In the third report, NPR's Cheryl Corley reports from Boston on a controversial program that's had some success turning around crumbling neighborhoods, but can also be used to clear desirable land for high-rent construction.

It's holiday film season and that usually means big budgets and special effects. But the film Drumline puts the emphasis on storytelling. Los Angeles Times film critic Kenneth Turan offers a review.

Cardinal Bernard Law resigns as Archbishop of Boston as controversy persists over his handling of sex-abuse allegations against the Roman Catholic clergy. The move comes after 58 priests called for Law to step down.