Search results for

NPR's Sarah Chayes reports from Camp Zeist on today's proceedings in the trial of two Libyans accused of bombing Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988. Defense attorneys cross-examined Mohammed Abu Talb, a prosecution witness who was an early suspect in the case. Abu Talb is currently serving a life sentence in Sweden for a separate terrorist attack. The defense lawyers are trying to shift the blame to him, but Abu Talb says he has an alibi. Today, Abu Talb confirmed that two months before the Lockerbie bombing, he visited Malta, where the bomb is said to have begun its journey. However, when a lawyer asked about military training he received in the Soviet Union, the witness refused to answer.

This evening in Tallahassee, Florida, Katherine Harris, the Florida Secretary of State announced that as of the 5pm deadline for counties to report their vote totals to the state, George W. Bush had a 300 vote lead over Al Gore in the presidential race. Harris said counties that are continuing to hand-count their ballots must offer their reasons for the continuing count by 2pm Eastern Time tomorrow. We hear some of Harris' comments. And Robert Siegel and Linda Wertheimer are joined by NPR's Tom Gjelten in Washington and David Welna in Florida to discuss this announcement. We also hear some of comments of Karen Hughes, Communications Director for the Bush campaign, in reaction to the news from Florida.

On every Tuesday in the month of November, NPR's Special Correspondent Susan Stamberg examines how people cope with significant loss, and how they find a way to recover. In her first report, she talks with Leon Fleisher, one of America's premiere pianists, who lost the use of his right hand due to a repetitive motion injury. Instead of giving up music, he began teaching, conducting, and even played concerts featuring music written for just the left hand. Fleisher is now 72 years old, and has undergone numerous treatments to regain the use of his hand. His efforts have paid off, and now select audiences can again listen to this great pianist playing two handed works.

Tom O'Byrne reports Chinese courts have handed down death sentences -- three of them suspended -- to 14 people convicted in a massive corruption scandal. The defendants included Communist party and senior government officials. State television showed pictures of cars, jewelry, piles of cash and more, confiscated from a smuggling operation that cost the government -- according to official estimates -- more than three-billion dollars in lost import duties. A total of 84 people were convicted in the case, which was so large that it was divided among courts in five southeastern cities. The government has been unusually forthcoming about the case, possibly to convince any angry citizenry that the government is committed to putting an end to official corruption, a problem throughout the country.

NPR's Mike Shuster reports on U.S. efforts to engage North Korea in dialogue that might reverse North Korea's decision to restart its nuclear reactor program. Secretary of State Colin Powell gives North Korea's U.N. representatives permission to fly to New Mexico for talks with Gov. Bill Richardson, a Democrat who is the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations and has visited North Korea. Earlier this week, the Bush administration dropped its refusal to take part in direct talks with North Korea.

NPR's Libby Lewis reports on a Nigerian woman who is trying to have the practice of female genital mutilation accepted as a violation of the anti-torture convention, which the United States has signed. The woman lives in Dallas, but is here illegally and fighting deportation. The woman's claim is that she and her 3-year-old daughter, who is a U.S. citizen, would likely be subjected to the mutilation ritual which is practiced in some African cultures. If her argument is accepted, it could open the United States to many African women who otherwise could not move here.

Gov. Andy Beshear reported a Covid-19 positivity rate of 9.13% -- the highest in nine weeks. He said the rise is due to delta, with no sign yet of the new omicron variant.

In the early 1990s, NPR journalist Scott Simon reported from war-torn Sarajevo. Those experiences formed the basis for his debut novel, Pretty Birds, the story of a 16-year-old girl who adapts to her violent times.

Congestion delayed travelers 79 million more hours and wasted 69 million more gallons of fuel in 2003 than in 2002, according to the latest study from the Texas Transportation Institute. The report concludes that urban areas need more road capacity and better management.

High gasoline prices and a concern for the environment are boosting sales of gas-electric hybrid vehicles. But the cars have become so popular they are now slowing down commuter carpool lanes around Washington, D.C. Eric Niiler reports.