Search results for

James Murray reports on the death of former Canadian Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau. He was first elected Prime Minister in 1968 as leader of the Liberal Party. In Trudeau's 16 years in office he made French an official language along with English, led the fight against Quebec separatists. He died yesterday at the age of 80 from prostate cancer.

NPR's Peter Kenyon reports that presidential candidate George W. Bush attacked his rival's economic plan during a campaign stop in Michigan yesterday. Bush cast Vice-President Al Gore as an excessive spender who wants to use the federal surplus to expand government. Bush touted his own tax-cut proposal, saying it would help stem future economic down turns by giving the earners and creators of wealth more money. (3:28).

Host Bob Edwards talks to NPR's Tom Goldman about Olympian track star Marion Jones. Her bid for becomming the first Olympic female to win five golds ended today when she took bronze in the long jump. She still has the two relay events to compete in before the end of the games.

Robert talks to David Macaulay, host of the five-part PBS Television Series "Building Big," and author of the book of the same name, about the secrets of constructing huge structures. Macaulay describes some of the equipment, and techniques used to erect dams, skyscrapers, tunnels and giant domes. (8:00) On the Web, see /www.pbs.org/wgbh/buildingbig. The book, "Building Big," by David Macaulay, is published by Houghton Mifflin, ISBN # 0-395-96331-1, publication date October 2000.

Yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration approved the abortion drug, RU486. NPR's Joanne Silberner explains how the drug works and how it will be dispensed. The drug will only be available from doctors, not from pharmacies. It's expected to cost about the same amount as a surgical abortion.

NPR's Martin Kaste talks to Robert Siegel about the OPEC summit underway in Caracas, Venezuela. This is the first summit of OPEC nations in 25 years. Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez convened the summit in a bid to reinvigorate the organization, at a time when member nations are benefiting from soaring oil prices. Yesterday, some member nations warned the west against releasing more oil from strategic reserves, saying it could prompt an OPEC response.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on the ongoing dispute between Philadelphia's school board and its public school teachers union. The teachers say they will not go on strike, but they're looking for improved compensation on par with their suburban counterparts in the area.

Euen Kerr of Minnesota Public Radio reports on the popularity of the 101 fiberglass statues of Snoopy that are spread around St. Paul. The city commissioned the representations of Charlie Brown's dog to celebrate the 50th anniversary of native son Charles Shultz's Peanuts comic strip. Many of the statues will be auctioned this weekend, with proceeds going to a Charles Shultz memorial scholarship fund.

NPR's Jack Speer reports the U.S. government had to correct its inflation numbers going back to January today, but the correction is a small one and doesn't change the overall picture of a strong economy with stable prices. The government's main inflation gauge, the CPI, was boosted by a tenth of a percent to 2.7% for the period January through August. Separately, the White House announced the budget surplus for the current fiscal year would be about $230 billion.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports that dozens of people have been hurt during a clash between Israeli police and Palestinians at one of Jerusalem's holiest shrines. The trouble started as hard-line Israeli politician Ariel Sharon left the shrine, which Jews call the Temple Mount.