National

A former encampment. Fresno officials have dismantled three shantytowns.

Fresno Officials Dismantle Homeless Encampments

7:19pm September 26, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

City officials are planning to remove a large homeless encampment on the outskirts of downtown. The California city, where 1 in 4 people live below the poverty line, has taken down three other large encampments in recent weeks. The moves have been controversial and displaced hundreds of people.

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Jonah Engle has written for Foreign Policy, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and The New York City Independent.

Big Pharma And Meth Cooks Agree: Keep Cold Meds Over The Counter

5:11pm September 26, 2013

In 2006, Oregon successfully made pseudoephedrine, a key ingredient of meth, a prescription drug. Since then, Mother Jones' Jonah Engle reports, 24 states have tried to follow suit — and 23 have failed. Engle attributes those failures to pharmaceutical companies' massive lobbying efforts.

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If The Government Closes, 'Essential' Employees Would Work

5:35am September 26, 2013

by Brian Naylor

Unless Congress and the White House come together on a bill to fund federal agencies, a large part of the government will be closed on Tuesday, Oct. 1. If a shutdown occurs, Social Security checks, food stamps and unemployment insurance would not be affected. But some vacation plans could be disrupted.

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National

In Wake Of Colo. Floods, A Scramble To Clean Up Spilled Oil

5:06am September 26, 2013

by Grace Hood

Colorado flooding has prompted an unprecedented challenge for the state's oil and gas industry. The practice of hydraulic fracturing is widespread along the state's Eastern Plains, but overflowing rivers have swept away equipment and caused more than 37,000 gallons of oil to spill into or near rivers.

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Free Syrian Army fighters prepare to raid a house in Dara'a on May 16.

Syrian Rebels: U.S. Distracted By Focus On Chemical Weapons

5:06am September 26, 2013

by Deborah Amos

Syrian rebel groups say the pipeline of weapons, ammunition and nonlethal aid pledged by the U.S. has slowed in recent weeks, as the Obama administration has shifted focus to destroying President Bashar Assad's chemical weapons. The rebels have a broader goal: destroying the Assad regime.

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Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton speaks during the annual Clinton Global Initiative meeting in New York City on Wednesday.

Every Move She Makes, Pundits Are Watching Hillary Clinton

11:09pm September 25, 2013

by Mara Liasson

Everything former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton says gets a tremendous amount of attention, even if she says virtually nothing, says strategist Geoff Garin. And that's not likely to change as the 2016 presidential race gets closer.

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Some reputation management companies required that its writers have a certain number of Yelp friends. Yelp says it welcomed the New York attorney general's crackdown on fake reviewers.

Fake Reviewers Get Zero Stars From New York Attorney General

12:04pm September 25, 2013

by Laura Sydell

Nineteen companies agreed to pay more than $350,000 in penalties to settle accusations that they wrote or bought phony online reviews of their products, services or restaurants.

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Claudia Felder, 21, was in and out of the U.S. foster care system for nearly 10 years before she found a permanent family. Her difficult story ended happily, but that's not always the case for the 400,000 kids in foster care in America.

National

Strained Foster Care System A 'Meter Of Our Social Problems'

12:02pm September 25, 2013

by NPR Staff

Claudia Felder spent nearly 10 difficult years in and out of the U.S. foster care system. Now 21 years old, she lives with a loving family. But there are nearly 400,000 kids in foster care, and one researcher says that the problems they face are so intractable because they are also society's problems.

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Department of Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius says "6 in 10 Americans who currently lack insurance will be able to find coverage that costs less than $100 a month" in health insurance exchanges set to open next week. Here, Sebelius i

Administration Touts Lower-Than-Expected Obamacare Premiums

11:42am September 25, 2013

by Julie Rovner

According to a report released by the Department of Health and Human Services, "premiums nationwide will ... be around 16 percent lower than originally expected," and 95 percent of uninsured people live in a state with average premiums that are lower than expected.

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Iran, U.S. Can Manage Differences, Rouhani Tells U.N.

6:25am September 25, 2013

by Michele Kelemen

Iran's new president has made his first appearance at the United Nations General Assembly. Hassan Rouhani has been signaling that his government wants a thaw in relations with the West, and may be ready to strike a deal on Iran's suspect nuclear program. There are, however, deep suspicions on both sides.

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