Judge Drops Most Severe Charges For Second Group In Penn State Hazing Case, 11 More Head To Trial
A judge has dismissed the more severe charges against a second group of defendants in relation to the hazing death of Penn State student Timothy Piazza. With the ruling issued, a set of 25 former Beta Theta Pi fraternity brothers will head to trial. Among this group of 12 defendants, five of the brothers, Joshua Kurczewski, Ryan Burke, Jonathan Kanzler, Bohan Song and Aiden O’Brien, were each charged with reckless endangerment, which is a second degree misdemeanor. Centre County judge Steve...
Oliver North Will Be Next President Of NRA, Organization Says
Updated at 3:10 p.m. ET Retired Marine Lt. Col. Oliver North, infamous for his involvement in the Iran-Contra scandal in the 1980s, will be the next president of the National Rifle Association, the organization says in a statement. The process will take several weeks, time that North says he will use to "set his affairs in order." North says he is retiring from Fox News, where he has worked as a commentator and military analyst, effective immediately, according to the statement. On Monday...
4 Ideas To Stop Violence Against Girls: A Walking School Bus, Sports Talk And More
What's the best way to protect girls and women from being bullied, beaten and sexually assaulted? The truth is, we don't really have a lot of evidence. Although gender-based violence affects 35 percent of women worldwide, it's a "substantially neglected" area of research, according to the Sexual Violence Research Initiative , a South Africa-based group. That's why, together with the World Bank, they are investing in new ideas and solutions to find the best ways to fight it. In April, the...
If A Rule Is Unwritten, Is It Really A Rule?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e5JSCE7zzqI In its early days, Congress wrote a series of rules and precedents — Thomas Jefferson penned a book about it — that Congress has used ever since. But there are also unwritten rules. And it's these unwritten rules that break down when politics get excessively polarized. Some are about helping people get along and ease tension: deferring to elders; not campaigning against other senators; speaking to each other with flowery forms of address. Here, we...
Gordi: Tiny Desk Concert
Australian singer-songwriter Gordi (a.k.a. Sophie Payten) has a dusky and evocative voice that usually gets enshrouded somehow: It often sounds like it's echoing down a stairwell, or else she's bathed it in vocal effects a la Imogen Heap or Gordi 's occasional tourmate, Justin Vernon of Bon Iver . But Payten's voice is an expressive and powerful instrument on its own, as her debut appearance behind the Tiny Desk demonstrates. Aside from a bit of looping — in the strangely infectious notes...
PHOTOS: Fissures, Lava Flow And Evacuations Continue On Hawaii's Big Island
Updated at 12:50 a.m. ET on Tuesday A volcanic eruption on Hawaii's Big Island continues to spew lava and toxic gases into a residential neighborhood, days after the shift in volcanic activity first prompted evacuations. Some 35 structures — including at least 26 homes — have been destroyed and there are now 10 active fissures, according to the Hawaii County Civil Defense agency . More than 1,700 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes. The Hawaiian Volcano Observatory said Sunday...
Sessions Says 'Zero Tolerance' For Illegal Border Crossers, Vows To Divide Families
Attorney General Jeff Sessions announced Monday that the Departments of Justice and Homeland Security will partner to prosecute anyone illegally crossing the southwest border and separate children from parents. In two speeches before law enforcement officials in Arizona and California , Sessions expanded on the "zero tolerance" policy against illegal immigration he first announced last month . "If you cross this border unlawfully, then we will prosecute you. It's that simple," said Sessions. ...
Have You Been Affected By Opioids? Tell Us Your Story
NPR is working on a series of stories that will feature the voices of those on the frontlines of the nation's opioid crisis. If you are open to sharing your current or recent experiences with a specific stage of addiction, please fill out the questions below — or here — and we may be in touch. We'll use first names only. Copyright 2018 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.
Listless And Lonely In Puerto Rico, Some Older Storm Survivors Consider Suicide
A social worker, Lisel Vargas, has come to visit Don Gregorio at his storm-damaged home on the steep hillsides of Humacao, a city on Puerto Rico's eastern coast near where Hurricane Maria first made landfall. Gregorio, a 62-year-old former carpenter who lives alone, looks haggard. He stopped taking his medication for depression more than a week ago, and he says he hasn't slept in four days. He feels anxious and nervous, he says, rubbing his bald head and fidgeting with the silver watch on his...
Reports: Intel Firm Was Hired To Discredit Former Obama Iran Deal Negotiators
An Israeli intelligence firm was hired last year to do "dirty ops" research on former Obama administration officials who worked on the Iran nuclear deal, according to reports in the U.K.'s Observer and The New Yorker . The firm is Black Cube, according to The New Yorker: the same company reportedly hired by Harvey Weinstein in 2016 to investigate the women and journalists he thought might come forward with allegations against him. Black Cube touts that the company is run by "a select group of...
The Sistine Chapel Gets Its Own High-Tech Spectacle, With Music By Sting
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IbAeb4NTyA One of Rome's must-see sights is the Vatican's Sistine Chapel — but it's usually so packed, visitors have a hard time absorbing the majesty and beauty of the frescoes painted by Michelangelo. Now there's a new spectacle in town, where visitors can sit comfortably in plush theater seats and feast their eyes on every detail of the Sistine's masterpieces. On a Saturday afternoon in April, the Auditorium della Conciliazione just off St. Peter's Square...
Donald Glover's 'This Is America' Holds Ugly Truths To Be Self-Evident
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VYOjWnS4cMY What a weekend it was for Donald Glover . The 34-year-old rapper, actor and producer hosted Saturday Night Live , appearing as both as the host and the musical guest. He performed two new songs under his stage name, Childish Gambino. But it was the performance and subsequent video release of his new song, "This Is America," that has had everyone talking since its late-night release. The song's visual starts with this striking juxtaposition. Over...
In King Tut's Tomb, Hope For Hidden Chambers Is Crushed By Science
There are no hidden chambers or undiscovered treasures inside King Tutankhamun's tomb. The famed boy pharaoh appears to have been buried without any other members of the royal family, according to the findings of a three-year-long radar study of the funeral chamber, according to the Egyptian Antiquities Ministry. The discovery was announced Sunday, at the fourth annual International Tutankhamun GEM Conference in Giza, Egypt. The recent analysis puts an end to the controversial theory that the...
Pa. Supreme Court Dramatically Overhauls State’s Congressional Map (Clickable Map Included)
The Pennsylvania Supreme Court has enacted a new congressional district map that onlookers say is much more favorable to Democrats, replacing one the court overturned and deemed an unconstitutional partisan gerrymander last month. Justices described the new map in their 48-page decision as “superior” to other proposals filed for their consideration. It’s more compact, they wrote, and splits only 13 counties — fewer than half the number divided in the 2011 map drawn in a process controlled by...
