Kathleen Schalch is a general assignment reporter on NPR's national desk. Her coverage can be heard on NPR's award-winning newsmagazines Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition.
The merger of Delta and Northwest has a powerful foe in Congress. James Oberstar, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, says it will lead to other mergers that will mean higher fares and fewer choices for consumers.
Investigators and whistleblowers told a House committee Thursday that the Federal Avaiation Administration was too cozy with irlines and failed to exercise the oversight required by law. FAA inspectors say they were pressured to gloss over problems at major airlines.
Congress is finishing up a massive farm bill that will set U.S. policy for the next five years. Among other things, it funds the food aid program, which is sending half as much food to hungry people around the world as it used to. Critics say this is a life-and-death matter.