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Politics
4:57 am
Sat July 14, 2012

'Exhaustion' Can Signify A Lot More Than 'Tired'

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Credit Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
The office of U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. initially said he had gone into seclusion for exhaustion. Later, that was revised to a mood disorder.
Credit AP
The 1972 Democratic ticket of George McGovern (right) for president and Thomas F. Eagleton for vice president lasted only 18 days. Eagleton was dropped after telling reporters he'd had electroshock treatments for depression.
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We may never know all the reasons why Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., has dropped out of sight, but history teaches us that if a public figure is linked to "exhaustion," the word can be code for something more problematic than simply being tired.

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Food
4:51 am
Sat July 14, 2012

Three Beers To Cheer Your Summer Suppers

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Originally published on Wed July 18, 2012 10:58 am

When the mercury's soaring, a cold, refreshing beer can be the best part of summer. As part of our occasional Taste of Summer series, we asked beer expert Graham Haverfield to recommend a few of his seasonal favorites.

Haverfield is the beer director for the Wine Library in Springfield Township, N.J. He's also a certified cicerone, or beer server. "Summer beers are typically lighter in body, they're typically a little lower in alcohol," he tells NPR's Scott Simon.

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History
4:51 am
Sat July 14, 2012

Winston Churchill's Way With Words

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Winston Churchill wrote every word of his many speeches — he said he'd spend an hour working on a single minute of a speech. Above, he is shown speaking during the 1945 election campaign.
Credit Courtesy of Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge
Though he went on to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, Churchill didn't always excel in school. His 1884 school report card states young Winston is "very bad ... a constant trouble to everybody," and unable to be "trusted to behave himself anywhere." Click to enlarge.
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Churchill makes his broadcast to the world on V-E Day, May 8, 1945.
Credit Churchill Archives Centre, Cambridge, and the Estate of Winston Churchill
Churchill spaced and marked his speeches to help him with his delivery. Above is the final draft of the speech he broadcast on Feb. 9, 1941. Click to enlarge.
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Originally published on Sun July 15, 2012 11:38 am

Winston Churchill is best remembered as the British prime minister whose speeches rallied a nation under a relentless Nazi onslaught in World War II. But few people know that he won the Nobel Prize in Literature — in part for his mastery of speechmaking.

Now, a new exhibition at the Morgan Library in New York City, Churchill: The Power of Words, holds a megaphone to Churchill's extraordinary oratory.

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National Security
4:50 am
Sat July 14, 2012

Osama's Driver Freed In Latest Guantanamo Release

Credit STR / Reuters/Landov
Ibrahim al-Qosi, shown here on July 11 in Khartoum, Sudan, was released from Guantanamo Bay prison this week after spending a decade there. He was Osama bin Laden's former driver, and he pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy with al-Qaida and supporting terrorism. There are now 168 prisoners remaining at Guantanamo.
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Originally published on Sun July 15, 2012 11:38 am

The latest detainee to leave the Guantanamo Bay prison boarded an Air Force jet earlier this week. His destination: Sudan. The man, 52-year-old Ibrahim al-Qosi, had admitted to being Osama bin Laden's bookkeeper, driver and sometime cook, and he was one of the first prisoners to arrive at Guantanamo in 2002.

Now, he is the latest to leave. His departure brings the total detainee population at the U.S. naval base in Cuba down to 168 — from a high of 680 in May 2003.

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World
4:49 am
Sat July 14, 2012

Vive La France ... And Its High Taxes On The Wealthy

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Credit Loic Venance / AFP/Getty Images
A French military brass band parades on the Champs-Elysee during a rehearsal as part of the Bastille Day celebrations, which take place Saturday.
Credit Pierre Verdy / AFP/Getty Images
To combat France's debt, President Francois Hollande, seen here on Friday, has proposed a 75 percent tax rate on those who earn more than 1 million euros a year.
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Originally published on Mon July 16, 2012 3:54 pm

As the French people celebrate their revolution on Saturday, Bastille Day, the founding principles — liberte, egalite and fraternite — seem to be alive and well.

New President Francois Hollande embraced equality on the campaign trail this spring. To reduce the French deficit, he proposed raising taxes on large corporations and the super-rich. The move helped his campaign take off, says Gerald Andrieu, a political journalist with Marianne magazine.

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