Latest from NPR
  • The Two-Way
  • "Suffering On A Huge Scale": World Refugee Numbers Swell

    The United Nations Refugee Commission says more than 45.2 million people were in "situations of displacement" around the world as of last year — the most since 1994.

    A report from the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says there were 15.4 million refugees in other countries, 937,000 people seeking political asylum and 28.8 million people forced out of their homes but still inside their own countries.

    "Those are the highest numbers since 1994, when people fled genocide in Rwanda and bloodshed in former Yugoslavia," according to The Associated Press.

    The U.N.'s yearly Global Trends report says most people are running away from war. "A full 55 percent of all refugees listed in UNHCR's report come from just five war-affected countries: Afghanistan, Somalia, Iraq, Syria and Sudan," it states. Millions are also on the move in Mali and the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

  • The Two-Way
  • Oops. Wrong Birth Year Fixed On NYC Mayor Koch's Tombstone

    "You could call it a 'grave' mistake," says WNBC-TV of New York City.

    The tombstone of Edward I. Koch, the city's colorful, three-term mayor who died in February, listed an incorrect birth date for him. Instead of showing Dec. 12, 1924, the year mistakenly read 1942 — until yesterday.

    The company that prepared the headstone corrected it Tuesday using composite granite, according to CNN. The network also interviewed former Koch spokesman George Arzt, who said, "Ed would have loved this attention and called the situation 'ridiculous'!"

  • The Two-Way
  • FBI Director Says Agency Is Using Drones Over The U.S.

    The Federal Bureau of Investigation is using drones on United States soil for surveillance purposes, the agency's director, Robert Mueller, told a Senate committee today.

    "Our footprint is very small, and we have very few and of limited use, and we're exploring not only the use but also the necessary guidelines for that use," said Mueller , answering a question from Sen. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa.

    Mueller, who was testifying in front of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said they were used in a "very, very minimal way and very seldom."

    The Wall Street Journal reports:

    "FBI hostage negotiators used surveillance drones during a standoff earlier this year with an Alabama man who had taken a boy hostage inside a makeshift underground bunker.

  • The Salt
  • Women And Children Caught In Middle Of Potato War

    We didn't plan it, but somehow, it has turned into Potato Week here at The Salt. The latest twist in the tater tales takes us to Capitol Hill.

    Americans love to pile on the potatoes – we consumed a whopping 112 pounds per capita last year. But lately, the potato industry has been playing the part of jilted lover and taking its heartache to Congress.

    According to the National Potato Council, the U.S. Department of Agriculture "discriminates" against fresh, white potatoes.

    Huh?

  • The Two-Way
  • It's Beach Time... In Alaska, Where Heat Wave Breaks Records

    Taking advantage of an intense heat wave that broke long-standing records yesterday, residents of Anchorage, Alaska, headed to the beach at Goose Lake.

    As the Anchorage Daily News reports, the National Weather Service recorded a high temperature of 81 degrees in the city, beating the previous record set in June of 1926.

    The AP reports that in other spots, it got in even hotter:

  • History
  • Exhibit Explores US History of 'Rights' Versus 'Privileges'

    The National Archives' upcoming exhibit, 'The Record of Rights,' is about the human rights struggles faced by women, African-Americans, and immigrants in the U.S. Guest host Celeste Headlee talks with one of the exhibit's curators about some of the more unique items on display.