The prospects for an energy bill didn’t look good at the beginning of the week when Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham pulled out of a tripartisan energy and climate change proposal he had worked on for months. And as the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico creeps toward the shore, plans to expand offshore oil drilling — to attract industry support and bring along some Republicans — are increasingly uncertain.
Melissa Block speaks with E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution and Amy Holmes, guest co-host of America’s Morning News and former speechwriter for Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, about the week in politics.
Safety features such as stability control are adding to the complexity of car electronics and the software that controls them. Engineer Ingold Krueger explains how electronics have changed car operation and maintenance, and how, in rare instances, some systems fail.
After years of delay, the Interior Department has given Cape Wind Associates the go-ahead to develop a 130-turbine wind farm off the coast of Massachusetts. Ira Flatow and guests discuss the project and what it might mean for wind farm development in other parts of the country.
A new study of 14 people finds that the body’s response to laughter is similar in some ways to its response to repetitive exercise. For example, watching humorous videos lowered blood pressures, the researchers report. Preventive care expert Lee Berk explains the findings.
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The honk of a horn and the rumble of a truck sound like noise to most people. But to Lucy Fitz Gibbon, and others with absolute pitch, there are notes embedded in the noise. Exactly why some people have this mysterious ability to recognize pitch isn’t well understood.
A federal renewable fuel standard calls for mixing 36 billion gallons of biofuels into transportation fuel by 2022. But the U.S. produces only one-third of that amount today. Ira Flatow and guests talk about meeting that goal with products like cellulosic ethanol or oil squeezed from algae.
Israel and the Palestinians will begin indirect talks with George Mitchell, the special U.S. envoy to the Mideast. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said the ultimate goal is to get the parties into direct negotiations with each other.
A man attacked kindergarten students with a hammer before setting himself on fire Friday, in China’s third attack on kindergarteners in three days. Melissa Block talks with NPR’s Louisa Lim about the reasons such attacks occur in the country.
Both the U.S. and Greece have big budget deficits and too much debt, but Greece faces an immediate crisis. Could the U.S. face similar problems in the future?
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