National

National

NRA Vows To Stop Tucson From Destroying Guns

1:14pm January 09, 2013

The Arizona city's gun buyback program is being challenged by the National Rifle Association. The gun rights group says it is illegal under the state's law to destroy the guns, and warned the city it will sue. Tucson officials say they are not violating the law.

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Top schools like Harvard, seen here in 2000, often offer scholarships and other financial incentives, but they are finding it hard to increase the socioeconomic diversity on campus.

Elite Colleges Struggle To Recruit Smart, Low-Income Kids

6:26am January 09, 2013

by Shankar Vedantam

Top schools often offer scholarships that not only include free tuition, but also free room and board for top students from poor families. Each year, however, colleges are confronted with a paradox: No matter how many incentives they provide, enrollment of highly talented, low-income student barely seems to budge.

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The nation's largest provider of nonmedical home care for seniors is now offering training to help family caregivers deal with the challenges of caring for an Alzheimer's patient.

Workshops Help Families Grappling With Alzheimer's Home Care

9:24pm January 08, 2013

by Ina Jaffe

With most of the more than 5 million people with Alzheimer's cared for at home, the nation's largest provider of nonmedical senior home care now offers free training workshops for family caregivers. Caregivers are taught how to make use of long-term memories and to recognize what triggers anxiety.

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The Nekoosa Paper Mill was established in 1883. Its mill in Nekoosa, Wis., sits on the banks of the Wisconsin River, and is now owned by a Canadian paper company.

iPads, China: Twin Threats To Wisconsin's Paper Industry

8:11pm January 08, 2013

by NPR Staff

The paper industry once employed thousands of people across the state. Now, mills are closing. John Schmid of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported on the state of the industry in Wisconsin as well as in China. He explains how the state is losing a publishing-grade paper mill each year.

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After The 'Fiscal Cliff,' Businesses Say Some Uncertainty Remains

7:23pm January 08, 2013

by John Ydstie

Even after Congress' action to avert part of the "fiscal cliff," business owners remain cautious about hiring and expanding. Those that are growing cite the underlying economy, but others say uncertainty about government spending is keeping them wary.

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Gun enthusiasts flock to the New Eastcoast Arms Collectors Associates Arms Fair in March 2012 in Saratoga, N.Y. Some local residents would like the next show to be canceled, in light of the Newtown, Conn., school shootings.

National

New York Town Up In Arms As Gun Show Approaches

6:37pm January 08, 2013

by Dale Willman

Saratoga Springs, N.Y., has been host to a popular gun fair for almost 30 years. But in the aftermath of the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the town has been sharply divided over whether the next show, opening Friday, should continue as planned.

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Officers transfer confiscated weapons after a news conference to announce the arrests of scores of alleged gang members and associates on federal racketeering and drug-trafficking charges in Lakewood, Calif., in 2009.

Gun Control Advocates Say ATF's Hands Have Been Tied

6:37pm January 08, 2013

by Brian Naylor

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is the primary enforcer of the nation's gun laws, but advocates and former ATF officials say agents face legal restrictions that limit their effectiveness. In addition, the agency has been without a permanent director for years.

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Egyptian Coptic Christians celebrate Christmas Nativity Liturgy, the start of Christmas, at the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George in Brooklyn last January.

Amid Instability In Egypt, Coptic Christians Flee To U.S.

5:38pm January 08, 2013

by Bruce Wallace

Many Coptic Christians will celebrate Christmas on Monday outside their native Egypt. Their future there looks uncertain, and many are resettling in the U.S. Churches around New York, New Jersey and Southern California, the centers of Coptic life here, have seen memberships swell.

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Peace Pilgrim acknowledged that some may have considered her "kooky." But, she once said, "pioneers have always been looked upon as being a bit strange."

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Peace Pilgrim's 28-Year Walk For 'A Meaningful Way Of Life'

2:19pm January 08, 2013

by Zak Rosen

On Jan. 1, 1953, Mildred Norman gave up her name — and possessions — to become Peace Pilgrim. She walked across the U.S. and Canada for 28 years, subsisting on handouts from strangers to spread her message of peace.

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New Regulations Could Treat Virginia Abortion Clinics Like Hospitals

10:00am January 08, 2013

by Kathy Lohr

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell has approved regulations requiring clinics where abortions are performed to meet the same building codes as new hospitals. Abortion-rights groups say the regulations are unnecessary, but abortion-rights opponents say they're the only way to ensure that clinics are safe.

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