Search results for

The Securities and Exchange Commission approves new rules to assure that accounting firms maintain independence from companies they audit. The rules stem from legislation Congress passed last summer in the wake of accounting scandals at companies such as Enron and WorldCom. Critics say the new regulations aren't as strict as they should be. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

Public housing authorities are being hard hit by strains on state budgets. Now, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development warns local governments that less funding is in the pipeline to local housing authorities. It's unclear how much funding will be cut. NPR's Janet Babin reports.

The U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments today on a Maine law that uses drug company sales to Medicaid to help pay for other medical programs.

Western cities take extreme water conservation measures as a multi-year drought drags on. Faced with water shortages, talk of future growth becomes controversial in the tourist boomtown of Santa Fe, N.M. Hear from NPR's John Burnett and NPR's Robert Siegel.

Thousands demonstrate in the bitter cold in Washington -- some against abortion, others in favor of abortion rights -- on the 30th anniversary of Roe v. Wade, the Supreme Court ruling that made abortion legal in the United States. NPR's Jacki Northam reports.

New census figures show the number of Hispanics as very close to the number of blacks in the United States. Depending on how the figures are tallied, the number of Hispanics may be seen as having surpassed the number of blacks. Host Robert Siegel talks with John R. Logan about the numbers and the implications of the changing proportion of minority groups in America. Logan is Distinguished Professor of Sociology and Director of the Mumford Center, State University of New York, Albany.

Trombone star Fred Wesley, Jr. is best known for his work as a sideman with James Brown in the 1960s and 70s, but Wesley is also a legendary R&B, soul and funk veteran, whose musical career spans five decades. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks with Wesley about the twists and turns of a long and storied career, which he explores in an autobiography called Hit Me, Fred, and subtitled "Recollections of a Sideman."

NPR's John Burnett reports on the drought that is gripping large swaths of the American West. In Santa Fe, N.M., local officials are attacking the problem in some unusual ways.

Oklahoma’s only competitive congressional district could return to firm Republican control — or give Democrats the best chance they’ve seen in years.

Rock critic Ken Tucker reviews The Headphone Masterpiece, the new CD by singer/songwriter Cody Chesnutt.

NPR's Joanne Silberner has the story of how the Bush administration is approaching talk about sex in anti-abortion campaigns. She reports on a case in which administration officials quashed a family education program aimed at parents. They found some of the language used in a video to be objectionable.

A report on efforts by anti-abortion activists to promote abstinence-only education as a way to prevent unwanted pregnancies and abortions. NPR's Richard Knox has the story.