Around the Nation

Could Hawaii Become A Same-Sex Wedding Destination?

1:27pm December 02, 2013

by Molly Solomon

Starting Monday, gay marriage is legal in Hawaii. The state has long been a destination for weddings and honeymoons. And now state officials, as well as hotels and restaurants, are hoping the latest marriage-equality law will spur a new market for wedding tourism.

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Companies Revisit 'Rank And Yank' of 1980s

1:27pm December 02, 2013

by Yuki Noguchi

Longtime General Electric CEO and management icon Jack Welch popularized a management style in the 1980s that critics dubbed "rank and yank." The system ranks employees — with under-performers getting yanked from their jobs or the company. This old practice is in the news again. Microsoft recently did away with it. But other companies are embracing it.

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Insurance help isn't easy to find in many Iowa counties.

In Rural Iowa, Distance Makes Health Care Sign-Ups A Challenge

10:05am December 02, 2013

by Sarah McCammon

Right now, there are about a dozen full-time navigators and a few part-timers to help 200,000 Iowans make decisions about health insurance. In the countryside, it's particularly hard to get help to people who want it.

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National

The Latest From The New York Train Derailment

7:55pm December 01, 2013

by Jim Zarroli

A Metro-North train derailed this morning in the Bronx, killing four and injuring dozens of others. Arun Rath talks with NPR's Jim Zarroli about the crash and further developments.

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From Lab To Lectern, Scientists Learn To Turn On the Charm

6:15pm November 30, 2013

by Claire Trageser

Science isn't known as a career field that attracts showboats. But academics must give seminars, pharmaceutical researchers present results, and graduate students defend their work. In San Diego, one of the country's science hubs, a group aims to teach scientists the art of small talk and public speaking.

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National

Boston Says It Has A Plan To Erase The Gender Wage Gap

5:08pm November 30, 2013

by Asma Khalid

If you're a woman, you're probably paid less than your male colleagues — 77 cents on the dollar, to be exact. Now Boston thinks it has a solution to eradicate the wage gap. It starts with getting businesses to sign a pledge.

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Week In Politics: HealthCare.gov And Troop Levels In Afghanistan

6:49pm November 29, 2013

Ari Shapiro speaks with political commentators, EJ Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times. They discuss the latest on the HealthCare.gov Website and the discord over reaching a troop agreement between the U.S. and Afghanistan.

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When he was being abused, Rogelio Martinez says his teacher, Lisa Moya King, showed him that he was not alone.

National

An Abuse Survivor Finds Family In A Special Teacher

3:53pm November 29, 2013

by NPR Staff

Rogelio Martinez was being abused when he started taking Lisa Moya King's dance class. Soon, Rogelio ran away, and Lisa took him in when he had nowhere to go. "You showed me that I'm not alone," Rogelio says. "That I actually have somebody."

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Customers at Honeygrow in Philadelphia can charge their cellphones while they dine using one of Doug Baldasare's kiosks.

Economy

Businesses Woo Customers With Free Phone-Charging Stations

11:42am November 29, 2013

by Elizabeth Fiedler

It's not an uncommon experience for smartphone owners: You're out for lunch or running errands, you suddenly realize your phone battery is low, and you panic. A Philadelphia entrepreneur thinks he's found the solution, and it's supposed to help phone owners and stores.

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Sports

College Football Winds Down Ahead Of Final BCS Championship

11:42am November 29, 2013

by David Greene

It's rivalry week in college football. And this weekend, there's some extra spice as games from Alabama to Florida to Michigan could have an impact on which two teams end up playing for the national championship.

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