News

The crowd cheers as Singapore's former Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew (center) arrives at the Marina Bay Floating Platform for the annual National Day Parade celebrations in Singapore on Aug. 9, 2012.

World News

Founding Father Of Modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, Dies At 91

7:06pm March 25, 2015

by Anthony Kuhn

During more than a half-century as the city-state's leader, Lee helped turn the sleepy British colony into an affluent trading enclave. But he ruled with an iron fist and muzzled critics and rivals.

Queue Listen Now

"It's an intense job, you give it all, everyday, and I just don't want to get into another term where I say 'Gee, it would be nice to take it a little bit easier,'" Mayor Joe Riley says.

Lessons In Moving Forward On Race From A 40-Year Mayor

6:48pm March 25, 2015

by NPR Staff

Charleston Mayor Joseph Riley is retiring after 10 terms. "I sought this job ... mainly to help build a bridge between the African-American and the white community," he says.

Queue Listen Now

Yoan Francisco, a rookie for the Havana Industriales, warms up before a game at Havana's Latin American Stadium. Cuban baseball has been facing hard times, but improved diplomatic relations with the U.S. have raised the possibility of increased cooperatio

With Improved Relations, Are The U.S. And Cuba Ready To Play Ball?

5:57pm March 25, 2015

by Robert Siegel

Cuban baseball has been struggling. A lack of money means facilities are in disrepair. Defections mean some of the best players have left. But new relations with the U.S. may mean new opportunities.

Queue Listen Now

Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl Is Charged With Desertion

5:52pm March 25, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

Bergdahl was released by the Taliban in exchange for five detainees at the Guantanamo Bay prison. He was captured in 2009 after walking off his post in Afghanistan.

These beans, grown on test plots at the International Center for Tropical Agriculture in Colombia, can thrive in temperatures that cripple most conventional beans.

Meet The Cool Beans Designed To Beat Climate Change

5:16pm March 25, 2015

by Dan Charles

Researchers in Colombia have created new types of beans that can withstand high heat. Many of these "heat-beater" beans resulted from a unique marriage, 20 years ago, of tradition and technology.

Mosquitoes Can Smell Inside Your Blood

5:10pm March 25, 2015

by Poncie Rutsch

When malaria parasites infect blood, they manufacture odor molecules that smell sweet to mosquitoes, scientists report. So how do these odors get from the bloodstream to the insects?

Female and male Marines prepare for a live-fire exercise at Twentynine Palms, a training camp in the Mojave Desert.

National

In Intense Desert Training, Marine Women Fight For Place On Front Lines

5:03pm March 25, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The Marines are being tested in California's Mojave Desert to see if they have what it takes to serve in ground combat units. Injuries in earlier training kept a dozen women from getting that far.

Queue Listen Now

Marine Lance Cpl. Paula Pineda stands in front of a light armored vehicle, or LAV, during an exercise at Twentynine Palms in the Mojave Desert.

As Women Try Out For Armor Units, 'If You Can Hack It, You Can Hack It'

5:03pm March 25, 2015

by Tom Bowman

As part of an experiment, the men and women of a Marine armor unit are being assessed on difficult physical tasks, such as hooking up heavy towing gear. The women are keeping up, but it's a struggle.

Queue Listen Now

National

Panel Finds FBI Made Strides After Sept. 11, But Must Speed Reforms

5:00pm March 25, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

An independent review of how the FBI implemented the recommendations made in the 9/11 Commission Report also says new threats to the U.S. challenged the bureau's "change-resistant culture."

National

Supreme Court Revives Pregnant UPS Worker's Discrimination Lawsuit

4:58pm March 25, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

At issue is an employer's responsibilities under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act. The decision gives a former UPS driver another chance to show the company discriminated against her.