News

ATF Chief Faces Tough Challenge At Troubled Agency

6:54pm November 21, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

B. Todd Jones is in charge of a bureau whose relevance and performance are being questioned and whose resource problems appear to be growing larger. He's trying to put the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives back on solid footing after years of controversy and criticism.

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The average temperature in winter is about -72 degrees Faharenheit. The IceCube Lab is illuminated in the moonlight.

Science

'Ghost Particles' In Antarctica Offer Glimpse Of Deep Space

6:54pm November 21, 2013

by Geoff Brumfiel

By putting light sensors inside a giant ice cube that's a mile beneath the South Pole, scientists detected 28 neutrinos from beyond the solar system. It's just a start – but researchers hope the work could eventually yield a way to see through debris clouds to the core of exploding stars.

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National

Personhood In The Womb: A Constitutional Question

4:57pm November 21, 2013

A study released this year examined cases where law enforcement intervened in the lives of pregnant women who were believed to be endangering their fetuses. State laws are stepping in on behalf of the fetuses' constitutional rights — but what of the mothers' rights? Fresh Air looks at three perspectives in the debate.

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Beef cattle stand in a barn on the Larson Farms feedlot in Maple Park, Ill.

Inside The Beef Industry's Battle Over Growth-Promotion Drugs

4:39pm November 21, 2013

by Dan Charles

Beta agonists, a class of drugs widely fed to cattle and hogs to make them put on weight faster, are coming under increasing scrutiny. Reports suggest animals fed these drugs can seem reluctant to move — lethargic, unable to walk properly — and may die more often, too.

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Low-income adults formerly had few options for free health care. Leah Sessor had her blood pressure taken on April 14, 2012, during a free clinic at a racetrack in Bristol, Tenn.

Medicaid Enrollment Is Brisk Despite HealthCare.gov Troubles

11:16pm November 20, 2013

by Julie Rovner

If you advertise it, they will come. Sign-ups for Medicaid are brisk, even in states that haven't expanded their programs with an infusion of federal dollars. Experts call that the "woodwork effect" — getting the word out to people who were already eligible.

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What A Bitcoin Political Debut Could Mean For Transparency

7:28pm November 20, 2013

by Peter Overby

The Federal Election Commission is expected to vote Thursday on a proposal to allow virtual currency contributions to political action committees.

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Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (left) with Democratic Sen. Jeff Merkley on Capitol Hill in July. Both senators favor curtailing the minority's right to filibuster judicial nominees.

With Nominees Stalled, Democrats Reprise Filibuster Threat

7:11pm November 20, 2013

by David Welna

With Republicans blocking the nominations of one African-American and two female judges to a key appeals court, Senate Democrats are again pondering a rules change to curtail the minority's ability to filibuster judicial appointments. But even Democrats themselves are split on whether to proceed.

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Keegan-Michael Key (left) and Jordan Peele both started their careers at Second City, Peele in Chicago and Key in Detroit.

Arts

For Key And Peele, Biracial Roots Bestow Special Comedic 'Power'

2:19pm November 20, 2013

Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele each have a white mother and black father, and a lot of the jokes on their Comedy Central show are about race. Peele tells Fresh Air that their backgrounds allow them to do characters others would feel uncomfortable doing.

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Formerly known as the Alexandria Slave Pen, this ashen gray row house in Alexandria, Va., once housed one of the country's largest slave-dealing firms.

National

A New Life For An Old Slave Jail

7:31pm November 19, 2013

by Hansi Lo Wang

Lewis Henry Bailey was freed from slavery in Texas and began his journey back to Virginia by foot 150 years ago. The jail where he was sold to slave dealers as a child is now a museum and the offices of a local Urban League chapter just outside of the nation's capital.

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Cyclists negotiate rush hour traffic in central London on Nov. 15. Fourteen London cyclists have died so far this year, all in accidents involving heavy goods vehicles.

World News

Londoners Urged To Cycle, But Commute Can Be Treacherous

7:30pm November 19, 2013

by Vicki Barker

The London mayor has been urging people to get around by bike for years. And this year, 14 London cyclists have been killed — a higher casualty count than that of the British military in Afghanistan. In each fatal accident, a heavy truck was involved.

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