Search results for

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Jerusalem that Ariel Sharon took office as Israel's prime minister today. Security forces were deployed around the country to guard against bomb attacks during the annual Jewish holiday of Purim. The holiday is normally the most festive on Israel's calender, but the mood this year is somber.

Secretary of State Colin Powell voiced concern today about North Korea's "huge army" and told Senators the United States might try to negotiate a reduction in the size of that army. Powell's testimony came as some senators began to question whether the newly installed Bush administration is being as tough as it promised to be on North Korea and Iraq.

Robert Siegel and Linda Wertheimer read selections from this week's letters from listeners.

NPR's Don Gonyea reports on President Bush's visit to Fargo, North Dakota. Mr. Bush is on the road this week, selling his tax-cut plan to citizens.

In the second part of a conversation, host Bob Edwards talks to actors Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee. The couple discuss the price they've paid for their political activism and how they've been able to reconcile their personal and professional lives during 52 years of marriage. They also talk about the 1959 Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun, and their appearances in Spike Lee's movies Do the Right Thing and Jungle Fever. Davis and Dee say they'll be honored Sunday night to receive the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.

Robert Siegel talks with Arthur Peacocke, an Englishman who won this year's Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion. Peacocke is a theologian and a scientist.

NPR's Richard Knox reports on Merck's decision to offer discounted AIDS drugs to developing countries. While the drug company has improved its image by dropping profit margins in these poorer markets, the move will have minimal effect on the high cost of comprehensive AIDS treatment.

NPR's Mara Liasson reports that despite vows to quell bipartisan rancor, President Bush's brand of compassionate conservatism is still drawing lines of division between Democrats and Republicans.

NPR's Brenda Wilson reports on efforts to treat AIDS in Senegal. The West African nation was one of the first to strike a deal with drug companies to reduce the cost of AIDS drugs and its healthcare system is one of the continent's best. But the AIDS epidemic is proving too extensive and too deadly for even the most accomplished doctors to control.

The Bush administration has made missile defense a priority. During the Clinton years, the program was working to develop the means to destroy warheads in mid-course. Some analysts believe the Pentagon may consider an alternative; intercepting enemy missiles within the first few minutes of launch. NPR's David Kestenbaum has the story.