Search results for

The U.S. economy gained just 74,000 jobs in December, according to a disappointing report released by the Labor Department on Friday. Economists had been expecting nearly three times as many jobs. At the same time, the unemployment rate fell slightly, to 6.7 percent. It's not that more jobs were created, though — many of the long-term unemployed just stopped looking.

A chemical spill contaminated the local water supply near Charleston. Inspectors found that the company responsible for the spill had not taken any steps to contain it by the time inspectors arrived on Thursday.

In the 50 years since the Surgeon General's landmark report on smoking, what's worked to convince people not to smoke, and what hasn't? NPR's Scott Simon talks with Kenneth Warner, professor of public health at the University of Michigan, about cigarette consumption before and after the report.

From nursery tunes to wedding marches to funeral dirges — what does your soundtrack sound like?

Playwright Tracy Letts won the Pulitzer Prize for August: Osage County, a story of secrets and family dysfunction. Now it's been released as a film, for which Letts wrote the screenplay. The story and its characters came from his own experiences, Letts says.

The Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas closed on Friday. Visitors were treated to more than 20,000 new products, with everything from Internet-connected clothing to giant television screens. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with reporter Steve Henn about some of the gadgets on the horizon.

The independent arbitrator upheld most of a 211-game suspension handed down by Major League Baseball. Alex Rodriguez said he would appeal the decision in a federal court.

From its earliest days to its current state, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict can largely be tracked by charting the lives of these arch-rivals. The two played major roles in shaping events, yet the enduring conflict has now outlasted both of them.

Reporting from inside Iran has been very difficult for Western reporters over the last several years. The disputed 2009 elections triggered massive anti-government protests. In response, Iran cracked down hard on protesters, and clamped down tightly on journalists' access. That has begun to change with Iran's newly elected president, Hassan Rouhani. Scott Peterson, reporter for the Christian Science Monitor, was recently able to visit and report from Iran for the first time in more than four years. Peterson speaks with host Arun Rath about his trip.

Former Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon died Saturday at the age of 85. Israelis mourned the death of the celebrated politician and army general. But Palestinians reacted differently to the death of the controversial leader, who pushed for Jewish settlement of Palestinian territories.