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Remembrances
3:07 am
Tue December 18, 2012

Daniel Inouye Was Senate's Most Senior Member

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Credit Bill Weems / AP
Inouye's wife, Maggie, waves to a neighbor as she, the senator and son Kenny prepare to leave their home, Aug. 4, 1973, in Bethesda, Md.
Credit AP
In this Jan. 9, 1963, file photo, Daniel Inouye takes the Oath of Office as Democratic senator from Hawaii from Vice President Lyndon Johnson in a re-enactment of the swearing in ceremony in Washington, D.C.
Credit AP
Inouye and Sen. John M. Montoya, D-N.M., are shown during the Watergate Senate hearings on Capitol Hill, Aug. 2, 1973.
Credit Joe Marquette / AP
President Clinton presents the Medal of Honor to Inouye, one of 22 Asian-American soldiers receiving the Medal of Honor for service in World War II, June 21, 2000, at the White House in Washington.
Credit AP
U.S. Rep.-elect Daniel K. Inouye of Hawaii and his wife, Margaret, wave as they arrive at Friendship Airport in Washington, D.C., Aug. 9, 1959.
Credit AP
Seeking the U.S. Senate seat from Hawaii is Democrat Daniel K. Inouye, shown in this 1962 photo.
Credit Matthew Cavanaugh / Getty Images
Inouye, escorted by Army Gen. Charles Taylor, inspects the troops outside the Pentagon during the annual National POW/MIA Recognition Day ceremony Sept. 14, 2004. Inouye lost his arm in World War II combat.
Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Secretary of the Army John McHugh greets Inouye before a hearing of the Senate Appropriations Committee March 21 in Washington, D.C.
Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Senate Appropriations Committee Defense Subcommittee Chairman Daniel Inouye delivers an opening statement during a hearing on the proposed Army budget estimates for fiscal year 2012 on Capitol Hill, May 18, 2011.
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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 10:06 am

Hawaii Democrat Daniel Inouye, the Senate's senior member, died at a Bethesda, Md., hospital Monday. He was 88 years old and was suffering from a respiratory ailment. The Japanese-American was known for his heroism in World War II and for breaking racial barriers.

Born to Japanese immigrants in Hawaii in 1924, the young Inouye dreamed of becoming a surgeon, but world events intervened as he was listening to the radio on Sunday morning, Dec. 7, 1941.

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Politics
2:31 am
Tue December 18, 2012

Gun Issues Return To Political Debate

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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 3:42 am

For almost 20 years, Democrats have been convinced that gun control is a sure way to lose elections. And in his first term, President Obama never proposed any new gun legislation. But in the aftermath of the Newtown, Conn., massacre, he's promising to use whatever powers he has to prevent similar tragedies.

Business
2:25 am
Tue December 18, 2012

Business News

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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 3:54 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with pressure to sell.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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Shootings In Newtown, Conn.
1:26 am
Tue December 18, 2012

Coverage Rapid, And Often Wrong, In Tragedy's Early Hours

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Flowers, candles and stuffed animals make up a makeshift memorial in Newtown, Conn., on Monday. Much of the initial news coverage of Friday's events was later found to be inaccurate.
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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 11:09 am

Nearly everyone reported so many things wrong in the first 24 hours after the Sandy Hook shootings that it's hard to single out any one news organization or reporter for criticism.

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It's All Politics
1:03 am
Tue December 18, 2012

South Carolina's New Senator A Tea Party Favorite, Staunch Obama Critic

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U.S. Rep. Tim Scott smiles during a news conference announcing him as Jim DeMint's replacement in the U.S. Senate at the South Carolina Statehouse on Monday in Columbia.
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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 6:18 am

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley named a fellow Republican, Rep. Tim Scott, as the state's next senator on Monday. He replaces retiring Republican Sen. Jim DeMint and will make history as the first black senator from the South since 1881.

Haley, however, wanted everyone to know her selection was based on Scott's merit, not his race.

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Law
12:45 am
Tue December 18, 2012

'Black America's Law Firm' Looks To Big Cases With New Leadership

Credit Courtesy of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund
Sherrilyn Ifill will become the new president and director-counsel of the NAACP Legal Defense Fund in January.
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Originally published on Mon March 25, 2013 11:47 am

The NAACP Legal Defense Fund has been called the law firm for black America. Once run by Thurgood Marshall, the group played a major role in desegregating public schools and fighting restrictions at the ballot box.

Now, the Legal Defense Fund is preparing for a new leader — just as the Supreme Court considers cases that could pare back on those gains.

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Asia
12:22 am
Tue December 18, 2012

Daughter Of A Dictator Favored In S. Korean Election

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Credit Jung Yeon-Je / AFP/Getty Images
South Korean presidential candidate Park Geun-hye, who appears slightly favored in Wednesday's election, is the daughter of a military dictator who ran the country for nearly two decades. She would be South Korea's first female president.
Credit Song Kyung-Seok-Pool / Getty Images
Moon Jae-in, a former human rights lawyer, is also a leading candidate in Wednesday's election. A former presidential chief of staff, he's shown here at a presidential debate on Dec. 4.
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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 3:07 am

Her presidential campaign rallies present blaring pop music and dancing supporters, but Park Geun-hye's campaign involves managing some tricky legacies.

Her father, Park Chung-hee, was a military dictator who ran the country from the time he carried out a 1961 military coup until his assassination in 1979. His memory still stirs mixed emotions among South Koreans.

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Economy
12:20 am
Tue December 18, 2012

The Downsides Of Living In An Oil Boom Town

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Credit Meg Luther Lindholm for NPR
Cyndy Aafedt (left) owns the El Rancho hotel in Williston, N.D. Jobs in town have been hard to fill. Her employee, Mary Joy Hardt (right), who is from the Philippines, is one of many people with J-1 visas helping to fill retail, hotel and restaurant job openings here.
Credit Meg Luther Lindholm for NPR
Kyle Pfifer works at a McDonald's in Williston, a job he got the same day he applied. He says he turned in his application, got lunch, "and I had a call before I was done eating, and I had a job."
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By Meg Luther Lindholm

Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 8:18 am

The population boom in Williston, N.D., has been a blessing and a curse for many local businesses. Williston, the fastest growing small city in America, is enjoying an oil boom and has seen its population double in the past two years.

At the city's brand new McDonald's, manager Vern Brekhus struggles every day to maintain his staff of nearly 100 workers.

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History
12:20 am
Tue December 18, 2012

WWII 'Canteen Girl' Kept Troops Company From Afar

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Credit Courtesy of Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman
During World War II, "Canteen Girl" Phyllis Jeanne Creore spoke and sang to the troops and their loved ones for 15 minutes every week on NBC radio.
Credit Courtesy of Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman
Creore sits with a sailor at the Stage Door Canteen in New York. "They were all homesick," she recalls.
Credit Vivian Ducat
Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman is now 96 years old. She lives in an apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York City.
Credit Courtesy of Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman
Credit Courtesy of Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman
Credit Courtesy of Phyllis Jeanne Creore Westerman
Credit Courtesy of Phyllis Jeanne Creore
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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 3:07 am

American service members have long spent holidays in dangerous places, far from family. These days, home is a video chat or Skype call away. But during World War II, packages, letters and radio programs bridged the lonely gaps. For 15 minutes every week, "Canteen Girl" Phyllis Jeanne Creore spoke and sang to the troops and their loved ones on NBC radio.

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Shots - Health News
12:18 am
Tue December 18, 2012

NIH To Revisit Debate On Controversial Bird Flu Research

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A prefectural officer carries a chicken on a poultry farm on Oct. 15 on the outskirts of Kathmandu, Nepal, where chickens suspected of being infected with bird flu were found.
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Originally published on Tue December 18, 2012 5:14 am

On Tuesday, the National Institutes of Health in Maryland is holding a second day of talks about whether and how to continue funding some controversial scientific experiments.

Back in January, virologists agreed to temporarily stop research that was creating new forms of bird flu because critics argued that the work was too dangerous. NIH officials are now seeking input from scientists and the public about how to proceed.

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