Search results for

NPR's Cheryl Corley reports a new study by the group Railwatch says miles and miles of railroad tracks pose potential safety hazards and are not regularly inspected. The report also charges that increased transportation of hazardous materials by rail has raised public health and environmental risks. The railroads strongly dispute the report's allegations.

Consultants hired by Alaska Airlines to assess its programs after the January crash of Flight 261 earlier this year released their report today. Citing poor communication and marginal staffing levels the report concludes that the carrier must rebuild its safety culture. From KUOW in Seattle, Sam Eaton reports.

Jacky Rowland reports from Belgrade that a Yugoslav military court today sentenced a Serb journalist to seven years in prison on charges of espionage and spreading false information. The reporter, Miroslav Filipovic reported allegations of atrocities committed by Yugoslav army troops against ethnic Albanians in Kosovo last year.

Representatives from the Government Accounting Office and Librarian of Congress James Billington faced off today at a Congressional hearing. The GAO has just released a very critical report of mismanagement at the Library of Congress. The report also challenges the Library's mission. Dean Olsher reports.

NPR's Pam Fessler reports on the findings of the 2000 census that the Hispanic population of the U.S. is growing faster than had been thought, and is roughly even with the black population. The official report on Hispanic population growth has not been released yet, but the increase was indicated in a chart released with another census report last week.

NPR's Brooke Gladstone reports on a proposal that news councils be established to determine whether newspapers, television and radio stations are giving balanced treatment to the subjects of investigative reports. The proposal has divided the journalistic communicty with reporters such as CBS's Mike Wallace supporting it and former editor Abe Rosenthal of the New York Times objecting to the proposal.

House Republicans released a report today that charges President Clinton with trying to block investigations of the firing of the White House travel office staff. House Democrats protested the report, walking out of the meeting where it was adopted, and accusing Republicans of waging a political smear campaign. NPR's Brian Naylor reports.

NPR's John Ydstie reports the Advisory Council on Social Security Reform released its final report today. The Council has been studying various options for reforming and preserving the nation's main retirement program. The 13 members of the Advisory Council could not agree on the best method of fixing the problem, so they issued a report with three options.

NPR Diplomatic Correspondent Michele Kelemen reports the ongoing violence in the Middle East figured prominently in the State Department's annual report on Human Rights, issued today in Washington. Israel is criticized in the report for a disproportionate use of force against Palestinian protestors, but human rights activists say the criticism was too mild.

This month, the British government issued licenses allowing trained marksmen in southwest England to shoot badgers. Farmers — and many scientists — say the animals pose a health threat to cattle. But the decision has outraged British animal lovers.