Search results for

President Bush's long-term plan to send humans back to the moon and on to Mars meets with skepticism in the House Science Committee. Lawmakers Thursday grilled Bush administration officials about the long-term costs of the plan. Among their concerns is that valuable science at NASA will fall victim to an agency budget crunch. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

North Carolina Sen. John Edwards is expected to end his quest for the Democratic presidential bid Wednesday after failing to win a single state contest Tuesday, when more than 1,100 delegates were at stake. Speculation abounds that Edwards may be picked as Sen. John Kerry's running mate in November. NPR's Adam Hochberg reports.

Researchers proclaim that a new drug tackles two nagging health issues at once: smoking and obesity. The drug, still being studied, appears to double the chances of quitting smoking while also allowing people to lose weight. The medicine controls the urges by blocking the same circuits in the brain that make pot smokers hungry. NPR's Patricia Neighmond reports.

Health care officials say the United States is experiencing a shortage of geriatricians. Although more doctors are needed to care for elderly patients, the number of geriatricians has shrunk by 30 percent. Medical educators are resorting to new methods to attract medical students to the specialty. Madge Kaplan from member station WGBH reports.

A pair of horrific bombings at Shiite shrines in Iraq earlier in the week have apparently not inflamed Sunni-Shiite passions -- at least for now. But the attacks that left more than 180 dead have increased overall Iraqi opposition to the American occupation. NPR's Steve Inskeep reports.

The newly released files of the late Supreme Court Justice Harry Blackmun reveal bickering and joviality among the court's nine members. In one note, Justice Antonin Scalia urges a sleepy Blackmun: "Harry, stay awake!" Blackmun also discloses that the justices had a betting pool on the 1992 presidential election. NPR's Nina Totenberg reports.

Five days before 10 states -- including New York and California -- choose their presidential candidates on March 2, the Democratic presidential hopefuls meet for a debate in Los Angeles. Analysts say the debate represents Sen. John Edwards' best chance to spell out his differences with frontrunner Sen. John Kerry. NPR's Mara Liasson reports.

U.S. officials confirm that recent attacks on an Iraqi police station and a civil defense compound in Fallujah were carried out by Iraqi gunmen -- not foreign operatives, as authorities initially believed. The mayor of Fallujah has been detained by U.S. forces, under the suspicion that he might have collaborated in the attacks. NPR's Deborah Amos reports.

Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. John Edwards concentrates his efforts on winning the Georgia primary March 2. Edwards has won only one state thus far -- South Carolina -- while Democratic frontrunner Sen. John Kerry has won 15 of the 17 contests. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports.

Abuse of Iraqi prisoners by U.S.-led forces was widespread and systematic, according to a report by the International Committee of the Red Cross. The findings, published in The Wall Street Journal, include lists of injuries and harsh conditions "tantamount to torture." Hear NPR's Michele Norris and NPR's Vicky O'Hara.