Search results for

NPR's Wendy Schmelzer reports on a study showing that taking estrogen (EH-struh-jihn) supplements late in life may be just as effective in preventing osteoporosis (ahs-tee-oh-por-OH-sihs) as it is right after menopause. But doctors still aren't sure exactly how long estrogen therapy can be delayed.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports from Zaire's capital Kinshasa that many people there are increasingly anxious about the refusal of anti-government rebels to agree to a ceasefire. Kinshasa has long been the center of the non-violent opposition to President Mobutu Sese Seko. As the rebels steadily advance, many residents of the capital say the guerrillas should agree to a truce and allow previously scheduled elections to go ahead.

NPR's Debbie Elliott reports from Jacksonville, Florida, the site of the latest tobacco trial. The suit, brought by the family of Jean Conner, a woman who died of lung cancer, seeks monetary damages from the R.J. Reynolds Company. It's the first lawsuit to be tried since the Liggett tobacco company admitted that cigarettes are addictive and cause cancer.

NPR's Julie McCarthy reports that in Beijing, the memorial service for Deng Xiaoping may be over, but elsewhere in Asia, the death of China's longtime leader is still a big topic of discussion. From Tokyo to Manila, policymakers and analysts are wondering what course China's new generation of leaders will follow and how it will affect regional economic and security interests.

Labor unions, the Christian Coalition and other well-heeled interest groups tried to use campaign donations to get rid of lawmakers they opposed and elect those they supported. But NPR's Peter Overby reports their success in yesterday's elections was extremely limited, and those that gave to the parties, rather than to individual candidates, seem to have had the most effect.

NPR's Margot Adler reports that the Planned Parenthood Federation of America today announced plans to begin offering a non-surgical alternative for abortions. The alternative involves using a combination of drugs that have already been approved for other purposes. A few doctors are already using the approach. But the move by Planned Parenthood would make the method much more widely available.

With job creation strong and unemployment extremely low, it would be easy to think that corporate downsizing is a thing of the past. But downsizing hasn't necessarily abated this year...corporate layoffs this year are actually running ahead of last year's pace. NPR's David Molpus has a report on the post-layoff experiences of three white-collar managers who lost their jobs to downsizing.

Steve Inskeep reports on how different states view innmate rights when it comes to voting privileges. In Massachusetts, he notes, inmates are allowed to vote, but in Deleware, felons are forbidden to vote for life. Inskeep explores efforts to win voting rights for felons in several states and problems that poses at a time when politicians are seeking reelection by getting tough on crime.

President Clinton today used the Grand Canyon as a backdrop to his announcement that he was designating 1.7 million acres of Utah land as a national monument. The designation is intended to limit development of a coal mine in the area, and was expected to help the president solidify his support among pro-environmental voters. NPR's David Molpus reports.

NPR's Ted Clark reports on the Clinton Adminisration's heightened war on terrorism. In a little-noticed speech recently CIA director John Deutch revealed that the administration is taking terrorism as a serious threat to national security and planning to fight it with more agents, more infiltration of radical groups and more pro-active policies.