Search results for

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on the political brouhaha surrounding serious fire code violations that may keep many Washington DC schools from opening on time. This is the second time over the past 3 school years that a judge has ordered the district to fix code violations before opening certain schools. The DC Superintendant of Schools has been accused of misusing money that has been set aside to fixing the city's aging schools. All in all, the situation is creating new anxieties for local parents already concerned about the quality of the school system. In 1992, parents filed a lawsuit to force the school board to take care of the conditions - they won the suit but have had to go back to the court two more times and are still not satisfied.

A sea squirt's chief claim to fame is that of a pest. It grows on boat hulls and pilings, pumping water in one hole and out the other. But an international team of scientists has recently seized on the squirt as a way to study the evolutionary history of humans and other vertebrates. NPR's Richard Harris reports.

The documentary Rocks with Wings, set to air on PBS, highlights an all-Navajo high school girls' basketball team crowned New Mexico state champs in 1988. It also tells the tale of the filmmaker who spent 14 years on the project. Paul Ingles reports. Correction: This story contains an error about the Lady Chieftains basketball team's record. The story stated that the team won state championship titles every year from 1988 through 1995. The story should have said that the Lady Chieftains won four state championship titles between 1988 and 1992, and made it to the state finals in '93, '94 and '95. We regret the error.

Gov. Andy Beshear has reported a new death from record-breaking tornadoes that hit western and central Kentucky Dec. 10 and 11. The most recent victim is an infant from Graves County.

Kentucky's COVID-19 cases may be starting to decline, but hospitalizations are nearing the record high seen during the delta surge in fall.

Whether it's Britney Spears, Madonna, or Jackie O., celebrities have always been mimicked for their sense of fashion -- and degree of dress or undress. Concluding NPR's Fashion Week series, Karen Michel reports on the history of flesh and fashion.

Folk artist Charlie Lucas uses discarded items in his work to piece together his family history. In a new exhibit, Lucas traces his ancestors' story, from the slave ships of Africa to their struggles in America. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports.

She's worth billions, she has her own theme park and her face graces thousands of products. At 30, Hello Kitty is one of the great marketing phenomenons of all time... and she's just so darn cute. NPR's Susan Stone reports.

Reporter Dan Charles examines the controversial life of Wilhelm Furtwangler, who conducted the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra from the 1920s until the mid 1950s. After World War Two, the Americans put him on trial as an accomplice to Hitler. He was acquitted, but his reputation-- at least in the United States --never recovered. But nearly 50 years after his death, there are Wilhelm Furtwangler societies all over the world who revere his music, and collect rare recordings of his performances.

The number of new SARS cases in Hong Kong is on the decline. Health workers there were able to identify -- and put a stop to -- specific practices that spread the potentially fatal disease. NPR's Joe Palca reports from the hospital where SARS was first discovered in Hong Kong.