Originally published on Fri November 18, 2011 1:51 pm
Update at 3:50 p.m. ET: Syracuse assistant basketball coach Bernie Fine has called the accusations about him "patently false," The Associated Press reports.
An Associated Press reporter was on hand last night in Tennessee when two representatives from the Occupy Memphis movement sat down with about 75 members of the Mid-South Tea Party and had what's described as a "sometimes strained and confrontational, but mostly civil discussion."
Authorities in Los Angeles plan to say more later today about why they're reopening the investigation into actress Natalie Wood's drowning death over the weekend of Thanksgiving 1981.
Wood's husband at the time, actor Robert Wagner, says through a spokesman that he supports the new probe.
In these hard times, Britain's Royal Academy of Chemistry has come up with the cheapest meal of all: a toast sandwich. They found the recipe in the Victorian bestseller: Mrs. Beeton's Book of Household Management. It's a piece of toast between two buttered slices of bread and costs 12 cents to make.
The Columbia University Marching Band is known for its sense of humor. But their joke, a song parody, fell flat at a recent football game against Cornell. The Athletic Department wasn't amused, and it banned the marching band from the final game of the season.
When Myanmar President Thein Sein abruptly suspended construction of a dam near the headwaters of the Irrawaddy River (above), he said the project was not "in the interests of the people." That gave many people there hope that human rights are getting more respect.
When he announced early today that Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton will visit Myanmar next month, President Obama cited "flickers of progress" on respect for human rights in the country also known as Burma as grounds for the first visit by an American secretary of state in 50 years.
Among those signs: the release of some political prisoners new President Thein Sein's government and relaxing of some restrictions on the media.
And it is always fun to be in the audience for Susan's cranberry relish sequels. Kenneth Turan says there's a sequel opening in theaters today that's not as much fun as the first. Five years ago "Happy Feet" won the Oscar for best animated feature. Now the penguins are back.
Energy Secretary Steven Chu appeared before a House oversight subcommittee Thursday to defend his agency's decision to lend $500 million in federal money to Solyndra, a company that made solar panels and is now bankrupt. The company is the subject of numerous federal investigations.
NPR's business news starts with oil prices hovering around $99 a barrel. Oil has gone up sharply since last month, partly because of signs of improvement in the U.S. economy. Also because of tensions in some oil producing regions, which could affect supplies. Still, the debt crisis in Europe is holding prices below that psychologically important $100 a barrel mark. Benchmark crude was trading in Asia this morning at about $98.90. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
The outcome in Italy is, of course, of huge importance to Germany. Germany is the strongest economy in the eurozone and has a deep historical interest in the euro's success. We asked the economist Nicolas Veron to remind us of Germany's role in this grand monetary experiment.
