Search results for

Two new studies on the genetics of autism find that one or more genes may be responsible for the disorder. Autism is a pervasive developmental disorder which affects a child's ability to communicate, reason, and even live independently. Both studies are part of the government's national effort to track down patients with the condition, and examine their DNA through blood tests. NPR's Michelle Trudeau reports.

NPR's Elizabeth Arnold reports Republicans and Democrats in Washington state are deeply divided over the winner of more than just the presidential election. The state is still debating who won the remaining senate seat, incumbent Republican Slade Gorton, or his Democratic challenger, Maria Cantwell. (5:05)

The defense called its first witnesses yesterday in the trial of two Libyans charged with the 1988 bombing of a Pan Am airplane over Lockerbie, Scotland that killed 270 people. NPR's Julia McCarthy reports the defense hopes to show that two radical Palestinian groups were actually behind the bombing.

NPR's Melissa Block reports on the continuing court challenges in Florida. Circuit Courts are hearing cases of disputed absentee ballots in two counties. But it's in the State Supreme Court where the real battle will be fought; the justices hear arguments tomorrow in Al Gore's appeal of a lower court ruling that denied the hand recount of thousands of ballots.

Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan said today that the central bank is being watchful for any signs that the economy is slowing sharply, suggesting that he may be willing to cut interest rates next year. As NPR's John Ydstie reports, stocks rallied sharply after Greenspan's speech. The Fed chairman indicated that he no longer sees higher inflation as the main threat to the economy.

NPR's Julie Rovner reports there is bipartisan support Congress to pass a bill that would increase spending for Medicare and Medicaid. Many in the healthcare industry say the measure is needed to keep America's hospitals financially sound. But some experts doubt that, saying the economic problems the industry faces have little to do with either program.

NPR's Pam Fessler reports the Republican party is starting to settle into the possibility of controlling the White House for the next four years. But they still have a perfectly divided Senate to deal with - half Republican and half Democrat. That means the end of the election controversy has little hope of lowering the partisan tension.

NPR's Martin Kaste reports on tensions between fishermen and conservationists in the Galapagos Islands, long considered an ecological treasure. Local fisherman are resisting conservation measures imposed by Ecuador's government. Their protests against those rules have turned violent, and they've threatened national park officials and scientists, who complain that the police aren't doing enough to protect them.

Chinese farmers were the first to get rich under economic reforms, but over the past 20 years the bottom has dropped out due to overproduction of some crops. Unrest in the countryside is also aggravated by local corruption and the prospect of increased competition under the WTO. NPR's Rob Gifford reports. (5:30).

NPR's Kenneth Walker in Johannesburg reports South African voters go the polls Tuesday in the first multiracial municipal elections since the end of the Apartheid era. The country's main political parties have aggressively courted black voters, leaving white South Africans feeling marginalized.