Around the Nation

Immigration Reform Activists March To Calif. Farm Country

7:35am August 18, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

Bakersfield is conservative, with a large immigrant and farm labor population. Protesters are pushing the city's Republican congressman to adopt the Senate-passed immigration reform bill — and they've got the support of local Republican leaders.

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Martin Luther King Jr. attends Lyndon B. Johnson's signing of the Voting Rights Act on Aug. 6, 1965. During this time, the drug war was expanding.

National

The Shift In Black Views Of The War On Drugs

11:57am August 17, 2013

by Arun Venugopal

Attorney General Eric Holder called this week for sweeping changes to America's drug laws. He's part of a growing movement of black leaders pushing for major changes to the nation's 40-year war on drugs. But for decades, many African-American leaders supported tough sentencing rules.

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N. America's Oldest Known Petroglyphs Discovered In Nevada

6:22pm August 16, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

The carvings etched into limestone boulders near Pyramid Lake in western Nevada show that the early North Americans were surprisingly creative artists. The carvings, which are at least 10,000 years old, are abstract, geometric designs including shapes that look like diamonds and trees.

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Reggie Shaw killed two men while he was texting on a Utah highway. He now speaks to groups about the dangers of texting and driving.

Herzog Plumbs Guilt And Loss Wrought By Texting And Driving

4:31pm August 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

Werner Herzog's latest project is a slight departure for the acclaimed filmmaker: a 35-minute public service announcement on the dangers of texting and driving. Yes, it's long, he says, but the "inner landscape" of great suffering such accidents can cause "can only be shown if you have more time."

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Saffron is a stringy red spice made from the dried stigma of a saffron flower.

Demystifying Saffron: Mark Bittman Explains The Pricey Spice

4:25pm August 16, 2013

The stringy red spice is actually the dried stigma of a saffron flower. "It's exotic, it's expensive," says The New York Times columnist and cookbook author, but "it should be used."

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Agricultural work, which is physically demanding, is also a risky business venture.

National

Farm Laborers Get A Foothold With Their Own Organic Farms

2:01pm August 16, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

Thousands of seasonal workers come to California's Salinas Valley each year to pick crops, and many of them seem destined for a life in the fields. Now, a training program run by ALBA Organics is giving these workers the skills they need to be their own bosses.

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Happy Dodson (left) and Taz Roman are president and treasurer, respectively, of the Connecticut chapter of Bikers Against Child Abuse.

National

Riding Choppers And Harleys To Protect Kids In Need

11:36am August 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

Bikers may have a tough image, but Happy Dodson, Taz Roman and other members of Bikers Against Child Abuse have a soft spot for kids. The international nonprofit accepts referrals from parents, police and social workers, and if those kids ever feel unsafe, BACA members will come roaring to their aid.

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National

'Nothing Racist' Implied In 'Obama' Act, Says Rodeo Clown

8:40am August 16, 2013

by Mark Memmott

"Comedians all over the country have used political figures to make fun of current events, it's nothing new," rodeo clown Tuffy Gessling has told a Missouri news outlet. The skit he directed at the state fair sparked outrage.

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Kristin Yentes (right) and other volunteers from U.S. Bank serve breakfast to diners at Catholic Charities Opportunity Center in Minneapolis. Workers from the bank have been volunteering with Catholic Charities for more than a year.

National

More Companies Encourage Workers To Volunteer, On The Clock

8:40am August 16, 2013

by Annie Baxter

A growing number of employers are paying their workers to help out at local charities on company time. Human resources experts say compensating staff who put in volunteer hours makes for more engaged workers — and lower turnover.

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Not So Unusual: Bat Found At Atlanta's Turner Field

7:22am August 16, 2013

What was unusual, was that the bat was moving and flapping its wings. It eventually flew away.

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