Search results for

After more than a week of gruesome media coverage, linguist Geoff Nunberg takes a close look at the words we use to describe events that mesmerize and horrify, that sensitize and desensitize, that transfix and repel us at the same time.

The tiny Gulf nation of Qatar has been "punching above its weight" diplomatically in the region in recent years. Now, it's taking a prominent role in Syria, arming rebels there. The U.S. wants to see such aid go to moderates. Qatar has its own approach.

The suspect arrested in Spain is thought to have perpetrated what's been described as the biggest distributed denial-of-service attack in the history of the Internet.

While the most recent data show a slight dip in the rate of fatal injuries, the actual number of people who lost their lives while at work edged up. Groups that push to make work safer say not enough is being done to prevent such deaths.

Delays at the nation's airports surged this week because the Federal Aviation Administration furloughed air traffic controllers to stay within a reduced budget. Now Congress has voted quickly to give the FAA more spending flexibility to reduce staff cutbacks.

The U.S. Navy is planning to expand training exercises off California and Hawaii, citing the need for military readiness. That's raising concerns about threatened whales and marine mammals, because sonar is known harm and, in some cases, kill them. The state of California is fighting the Navy's plan.

As college recruiting continues to be a challenge, many schools hope a run at a national title in football or basketball can get prospective students to check out their campus. But for a small private school in the Midwest, an unprecedented domination of another competition may be what sets them apart. Bradley University has won more national titles in speech competitions than UCLA, Kentucky and Duke combined have in basketball.

Weekend Edition Saturday host Scott Simon speaks with journalist Mike Barnicle about how Boston is faring since the bombing at the Boston Marathon and the subsequent manhunt. Barnicle, a journalist frequently on MSNBC and who has written for the Boston Globe for many years, was born and raised in Massachusetts.

The long day in Boston left many residents stuck in their homes watching TV. Some chose to congregate, and NPR's Chris Arnold went to a "lock-down party" Friday night, and spoke to happy residents after the capture of the second suspect.

Violence between Muslims and Christians in Egypt, which has only increased since the revolution, is prompting public debate about religious identity. To try to ease tension and de-emphasize differences, one group of Egyptians wants to remove religious labels from national ID cards.