NPR News And Stories From WUNC

Pages

The Two-Way
7:09 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

This Is The World's Most Expensive Whisky

Originally published on Wed December 19, 2012 7:48 pm

Update at 10 a.m. ET, Dec. 11. We Were Wrong:

Though Glenfiddich Malt Master Brian Kinsman told Weekend All Things Considered that he thought the $94,000 paid for a bottle of his company's Janet Sheed Roberts Reserve 55 Year Old whisky was a record, it appears he was mistaken.

Read more
The Two-Way
6:32 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

Obama, Boehner Meet At White House Over 'Fiscal Cliff'

Credit Carolyn Kaster / AP
President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner at the White House on Nov. 16. Administration officials say the two men met Sunday to discuss the "fiscal cliff."

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 6:45 am

President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met at the White House on Sunday to discuss the impasse over the "fiscal cliff."

NPR's Kirk Siegler reported on the closed-door meeting between the two men, the first positive signs in days that the negotiations may be moving forward.

Read more
Race
6:08 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

The End Of Affirmative Action? What Could Be Next

Credit Susan Walsh / AP
Abigail Fisher, the Texan involved in the University of Texas affirmative action case, accompanied by her attorney Bert Rein, right, talks to reporters outside the Supreme Court in October.

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 7:09 pm

Around the Nation
5:06 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

Ill. Considers Licenses For Undocumented Immigrants

Credit Seth Perlman / AP
Former Illinois Gov. Jim Edgar speaks to reporters at the Illinois State Capitol on Dec. 4, before a Senate vote on a law that would allow undocumented immigrants to obtain driver's licenses.

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 7:09 pm

Illinois could become the third state — after Washington and New Mexico — where undocumented immigrants can obtain driver's licenses. The legislation is halfway there. A bill that passed the state Senate 41-14 last Tuesday has bipartisan support.

Before the Senate vote, leaders from both parties, including Democratic Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican former Gov. Jim Edgar, spoke out in favor of the legislation. Supporters say that the roads will be safer if undocumented immigrants can pass the tests and get driver's licenses.

Read more
U.S.
4:29 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

Baltimore Says, 'Immigrants Welcome'

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 7:09 pm

Hundreds of people gathered in September at Baltimore's harbor as the wind gusted off the water's edge. Nearly 50 of them were about to be sworn in as U.S. citizens. Some were young, some old. There were uniformed members of the U.S. military, parents and children. There were immigrants from El Salvador, China, Honduras and countries in between. They raised their right hands, recited the naturalization oath to the United States, and were declared fully American.

Read more
Deceptive Cadence
3:04 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

A Bald Mezzo And Three Shades Of Violin: Classical Favorites From 2012

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 7:09 pm

From mezzo-soprano Cecilia Bartoli's ambitious revival of the early Baroque composer Agostino Stefani (and yes, she's got another outrageous album cover) to three very different roles for the violin, here's a clutch of classical albums I returned to again and again this year for sheer delight and aural inspiration. Bartoli lavishes extravagant attention on the music of a fascinating but forgotten link in the history of opera.

Read more
The Two-Way
2:33 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

Egyptian Opposition Calls For Protests Against Referendum On Constitution

Credit Petr David Josek / AP
Protesters chant slogans during a demonstration in front of the presidential palace in Cairo, Egypt, on Sunday.

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 3:20 pm

Egypt's main opposition group has called for mass protests against President Mohammed Morsi's decision to go ahead with a referendum on the country's draft constitution.

"We do not recognize the draft constitution because it does not represent the Egyptian people," said Sameh Ashour, who spoke on behalf of the National Salvation Front, the main umbrella group for opposition parties.

Read more
The Two-Way
1:18 pm
Sun December 9, 2012

American Doctor Rescued From Captors In Afghanistan

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 6:03 pm

U.S. forces rescued Sunday an American doctor who was kidnapped in Afghanistan last week.

Dr. Dilip Joseph of Colorado Springs, Colo., was kidnapped Dec. 5 along with two other aid workers who were returning from a visit to a rural medical clinic outside Kabul. All three worked for Morning Star Development, a Colorado-based nonprofit.

NPR's Sean Carberry reported on the rescue for our Newscast Unit. Here's what he said:

Read more
Afghanistan
5:10 am
Sun December 9, 2012

Afghan Contractors Feel Pinch Of Drawdown

Credit Musadeq Sadeq / AP
Laborers work on a building in Kabul, Afghanistan. Following the drawdown of U.S. troops and NGOs, many construction companies are without projects and being forced to close offices and downsize.

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 3:27 pm

The Afghan construction industry has been one of the big winners since the fall of the Taliban. NATO and the international community have pumped billions of dollars into building roads, schools and bases.

With the drawdown of troops and NGOs, however, comes a drawdown in construction spending, and that has Afghan contractors scrambling to find new business.

Read more
Your Money
5:09 am
Sun December 9, 2012

Fiscal Cliff Leaves Accountants Hanging, Too

Credit iStockphoto.com
With major tax changes still undecided, accountants and other financial professionals must advise their clients on various possible scenarios.

Originally published on Sun December 9, 2012 2:53 pm

The expiration of Bush-era tax cuts. A patch to the alternative minimum tax. An increase in capital gains taxes.

As the "fiscal cliff" approaches, all of these are possible, but none certain. That uncertainty solicits many questions from anxious taxpayers. But, for accountants and financial planners, there are a few definitive answers.

Financial professionals who spoke with NPR say they are not strangers to uncertainty. When the Bush tax cuts were up for expiration two years ago, for instance, the feeling was similar.

Read more

Pages