National

How Possessive: The Apostrophe's Place In Space

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

Martha Brockenbrough, the founder of National Grammar Day and the Society for the Promotion of Good Grammar, tells host Rachel Martin about what she has referred to as an "apostrophe catastrophe." The U.S. Board on Geographic Names has a policy against possessive apostrophes in the names of places. The reason, The Wall Street Journal reports, is that the apostrophe quote implies private ownership of a public space.

Detective On Closing Case After Committing Decades To It

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

In this week's Sunday Conversation, host Rachel Martin speaks with Detective Sgt. Joe Matthews, who worked for decades on the Adam Welsh murder investigation in Florida. She will speak to him about how the case changed overtime, how it affected him personally and professionally, and how it feels to close a case that he worked on for so long.

Turmoil Of '63 Shut Down Proms; Former Students Dance Again

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

Several high schools had to cancel their proms in 1963, during a time of tumultuous civil rights protests across the South, and in Birmingham, Ala., particularly. Fifty years later, some of those African-American students finally got the chance to dance the night away. Gigi Douban reports.

The Durability Of Levis, Woven Into America's Fabric

editor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

Host Rachel Martin talks with Levis archivist Lynn Downey about the brand's 140th anniversary this month.

Nonconservative Groups Say IRS Scrutinized Them, Too

Brian Naylor — Sun, 19 May 2013 09:41:00 +0000

The IRS was in the hot seat Friday, with its outgoing acting commissioner testifying before a House committee. A Senate panel is scheduled for Tuesday. Congress is prodding to find out why the agency singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny.

Attention has focused on the IRS's flagging of these groups starting in 2010.

Tesla Rides High, But Faces Formidable Foe: Car Dealers

Liz Halloran — Sun, 19 May 2013 04:51:00 +0000

Tesla Motors, the American maker of luxury electric cars, has been riding a wave of good publicity.

Its Model S sedan (base priced at $62,400, after federal tax credits) was just named Motor Trend Car of the Year.

Impossible Choice Faces America's First 'Climate Refugees'

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 20:42:00 +0000

Climate change is a stark reality in America's northernmost state. Nearly 90 percent of native Alaskan villages are on the coast, where dramatic erosion and floods have become a part of daily life.

Perched on the Ninglick River on the west coast of the state, the tiny town of Newtok may be the state's most vulnerable village. About 350 people live there, nearly all of them Yupik Eskimos. But the Ninglick is rapidly rising due to ice melt, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers says the highest point in the town — a school — could be underwater by 2017.

Suzanne Goldenberg, a U.S.

Turning Up The Heat On Civil Rights-Era Cold Cases

Joseph Shapiro — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:17:00 +0000

Six years ago, the FBI took on a challenge: To review what it called cold-case killings from the civil rights era. The investigation into 112 cases from the 1950s and 1960s is winding down, and civil rights activists are weighing the FBI's efforts.

The review comes with word this week of the death of a man who'd been named, by a newspaper investigation, as a possible suspect in one notorious case.

The Case

The investigation was of the death of Frank Morris, in Ferriday, La., in 1964.

When Alcohol Takes The Wheel: What's Your Limit?

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

This week, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol content for drivers to .05 or even lower. Currently, it's illegal to drive in all states with a BAC of .08 or higher. Host Scott Simon speaks with Dr. Anthony Liguori of Wake Forest School of Medicine about alcohol's impact on driving ability.

Local Story Shows 'Plain Dealer' Prowess, But Future's Murky

editor — Sat, 18 May 2013 09:13:00 +0000

NPR's Scott Simon talks to Connie Schultz, former columnist and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist for the Cleveland Plain Dealer. Starting this summer, the paper's owners will be reducing home delivery to three days a week and making huge cuts in the newsroom staff.