Search results for

Just a fragment of genes in bat guano was enough for researchers trying to find out how a deadly new virus spreads. It's the first time the Middle East respiratory syndrome virus has been found in an animal, and offers strong evidence that bats carry the virus.

Anti-government activists in Syria are accusing President Bashar al-Assad's forces of deploying a chemical weapons attack on the suburbs of the capital, Damascus. The government denied the attack, but the allegations have prompted the United Nations to call an emergency meeting. Melissa Block talks to Washington Post reporter Loveday Morris for more.

Ruth Calderon's first speech in parliament led some to call her the leader of a Jewish renaissance. But others view her as a real threat — to Judaism itself.

Witnesses from Afghanistan have testified in the sentencing phase of the court martial of Sgt. Robert Bales. He's admitted to killing 16 Afghan villagers during a nighttime massacre, and a military jury in Washington state is deciding whether his life sentence should come with any possibility of parole.

Lobsters are Maine's signature industry, but it's Canada who seems to be doing the better job of marketing its crustaceans. And as Maine lobstermen face record-low prices, the state is hoping to take a few lessons from the success of its northern neighbor.

United Nations Weapons inspectors are already in Syria investigating previous allegations the Assad regime used chemical weapons. Renee Montagne talks to Charles Duelfer, a former U.N. weapons inspector, about this week's apparent evidence of a chemical attack on the outskirts of the capital Damascus.

The United Nation's is calling for an investigation into whether the Syrian government launched a gas attack on suburbs of the capital Damascus. For more, David Greene talks to Abigail Fielding-Smith, who reports on Syria for the Financial Times from Beirut, Lebanon.

Stock markets across Asia fell and India's currency continued its plunge after minutes from the July meeting of the Federal Reserve were released on Wednesday. Records showed Fed officials were comfortable with scaling back the huge bond-buying program as the economy grows stronger.

David Greene talks to author Willam T. Vollmann about this latest article in Harpers Magazine. In it, Vollmann details his discovery, following a Freedom of Information Act request, that the FBI was watching him, and that he was suspected of being a domestic terrorist.

Opposition forces say chemical weapons deployed by the Assad regime killed scores of people on Wednesday. The regime rejects that charge. The claim has some diplomats warning that it may be time for other nations to step in militarily.