Search results for

Some schools have closed early for summer. More than a billion people are in danger of heatstroke. Summer's early arrival in South Asia also threatens global grain supplies.

Host Scott Simon reflects on Godzilla's midlife crisis. The mega-monster turns 50 this year, and the last Godzilla movie is in the works.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger enjoys schmoozing with politicians and smoking good cigars. His cigar habit has gotten him into some trouble at the capital, however, and the governor has had to design his own special cigar smoking enclosure. John Myers from member station KQED reports.

As the transfer of sovereignty in Iraq inches closer, U.S. soldiers starting to pull out are leaving behind subtle cultural influences. In Iraqi shops, shelves are dominated by heavy metal and rap music, Playboy magazines and U.S. Army Meals-Ready-to-Eat. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

More than 200,000 Iraqi men have signed up for the nation's new security force despite the deaths of at least 300 police in the wake of the U.S.-led effort to oust Saddam Hussein. And for the first time, Iraqi women are seeking police jobs. NPR's Deborah Amos reports.

Commentator Frank Deford talks about the scandal in Major League Baseball concerning allegations of steroid use by players. Deford says the players union ought to be more interested in cleaning up the game than protecting drug users.

Minnesota's fastest-growing population consists of people 65 and older -- a reflection of a national trend. Many of the state's elderly are staying active and healthy longer, ditching retirement to head back to work in large numbers -- and exploding myths about what it means to grow old. Annie Baxter of Minnesota Public Radio reports.

Analysis of the war chests accumulated by President George Bush and likely Democratic challenger Sen. John Kerry shows that Kerry trails Bush by a wide margin, with an estimated $40 million to Bush's $150 million. Kerry is expected to narrow the gap as he gains funds from donors who supported his rivals. Hear NPR's Melissa Block and Steve Weisman of the Campaign Finance Institute.

In 1806, over a camp fire and food, Nez Perce Indian chiefs made a map for William Clark showing a short and safe journey through the Rockies. The rare Indian map, one of only a hundred surviving, went overlooked for decades. Harriet Baskas tells the story as part of All Things Considered's Hidden Treasures Radio Project.

Spaniards vote to remove Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar's government from power in favor of the Socialist Party. Analysts say the result reflects anger over last week's deadly terrorist attacks in Madrid, which many blame on Aznar's support for the U.S.-led war in Iraq. Socialist leader Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero vows to remove Spanish troops from Iraq by the end of June. Hear NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.