Search results for

At least 12 people, including five foreign contractors, are killed in a car bombing in Baghdad. Over the past three days, a series of attacks have killed numerous Iraqis, including a senior civil servant and a top official in the foreign ministry. The attacks illustrate the security concerns Iraq's new government faces as it prepares to assume sovereignty June 30. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt.

We begin our annual summer reading series with Francis Slakey, a Georgetown University professor and an accomplished mountain climber. Before an expedition, Slakey packs several paperbacks for when bad weather slows down his climbing team. He discusses two of these books, An Instance of the Finger Post by Iain Pears, and In the Heart of the Sea by Nathaniel Philbrick.

Radio producer and commentator Paul Ingles offers an appreciation of rhythm & blues legend Ray Charles, who died this past Thursday. For Ingles, there's one song that towers above all others.

The Environmental Protection Agency's annual inventory of toxic air emissions acknowledges that the numbers have gone up. But a study by an environmental group says the increases are even steeper than the EPA estimates. NPR's Allison Aubrey reports.

Insurgents in Iraq launch a series of attacks on several cities in the Sunni Triangle around Baghdad, killing nearly 70 people and wounding hundreds more. U.S. officials say the attacks appear to be coordinated and targeted at police stations. Attacks in Baquba and Mosul kill at least three U.S. soldiers. Hear NPR's Deborah Amos.

The Pentagon announces new procedures for investigating the deaths of people in U.S. military custody. The new rules call for every death to be reported to military investigators and the Armed Forces medical examiner, who will decide if an autopsy is required. The guidelines are seen as an attempt to quell criticism of detainee deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan. NPR's Michele Kelemen reports.

The casket of former President Ronald Reagan is loaded onto a caisson in Washington, D.C., after arriving from California. After a procession, the late president's body will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda until Friday. Hear NPR's Brian Naylor.

Seagle has written for Superman and Uncanny X-Men as well as House of Secrets: Foundation, a supernatural court drama comic. He's teamed up with artist Teddy Kristiansen for the new graphic novel, It's a Bird... In this semi-autographical book Seagle deconstructs the classic Superman myth and reflects on power and powerlessness.

Simon and Garfunkel made some of the most memorable music of the 1960s and '70s. They are back together on tour, performing old favorites and a new song.

Thirty years ago, Guy Tyler, an amateur ethnographer, began recording Emmett Van Fleet, the last of the Mojave creation song singers. Over the course of several years, Tyler spent his weekends and holidays meticulously recording the 525 song cycle that recounts the legend of the creation and origin of the Mojave people. These recently rediscoverd recordings have been unheard for decades.