Search results for

Lead in drinking water in Washington, D.C., is just part of a larger, more profound problem that affects cities across the country. In his second report about contaminated drinking water, NPR's Daniel Zwerdling reveals that many cities are still getting their drinking water from systems that date back to the 19th and early 20th centuries.

On Friday, the mother of the youngest of three Japanese hostages being held in Iraq appealed to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi to withdraw Japanese troops. But Koizumi says he has no intention of withdrawing the troops, and pledges that Japan will do its utmost to rescue the hostages. NPR's Rob Gifford reports from Tokyo.

NPR's David Schaper reports from Ellsworth, Wis., on the return of the U.S. Army's 652nd Engineer Company from duty in Iraq. The relatively small bridge-building unit suffered more casualties than any other Army reserve unit.

NPR's Michele Norris talks with KPBS reporter Eric Niiler who is embedded with the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force outside the Iraqi city of Fallujah where four civilian security contractors and five soldiers were killed in separate attacks earlier this week. The city is a flashpoint of anti-American violence.

A week ago, Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika was elected to a second term in a country emerging from more than a decade of civil strife. Many Algerians wonder how he intends to bridge the gap between the nation's Islamists, secular civil society and restless ethnic Berber minority. NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports.

Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's chief national security adviser, will appear Thursday before the Sept. 11 commission. Rice will testify under oath for the first time. She met privately with panel members in February. This appearance follows questions raised by others who have testified before the commission. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

U.S. Marines in Fallujah have discovered weapons, documents and tapes that suggest non-Iraqi Arabs have played a substantive role in the anti-U.S. insurgency in Fallujah. Letters suggest many of the foreign fighters are Sunni Muslims who came to fight the Shiite majority. Hear NPR's Bob Edwards and KPBS reporter Eric Niiler in Fallujah.

Last week, Michelle Witmer was killed in Baghdad, becoming the first woman in the history of the Wisconsin National Guard to die in combat. Witmer's two sisters also serve in Iraq. After the funeral, they face a decision: return to Iraq or complete their tour of duty elsewhere. Wisconsin Public Radio's Brian Bull reports.

Troops from the First Marine Division blockading the Iraqi town of Fallujah, west of Baghdad, conduct several raids into the city, supported by air strikes. U.S.-led forces captured a number of Iraqi insurgents and at least two Sudanese suspected of helping the insurgents manufacture explosives. Hear NPR's Michele Norris and reporter Eric Niiler of member station KPBS in San Diego.

In Khorea, a mixed Sunni-Shiite slum in Baghdad, residents struggle to cope with the recent upsurge in violence in Iraq. The U.S. siege of Fallujah, a Sunni stronghold west of Baghdad, is producing a powerful backlash, uniting Sunnis and Shiites against the American occupation. NPR's Anne Garrel's reports.