wnyc.org / 93.9fm / am 820

Last Updated: November 20, 2009 05:06 pm


Museum: Galileo's Fingers, Tooth Found

November 20, 2009 05:06 pm

Two fingers and a tooth removed from Galileo Galilei's corpse in a Florentine basilica in the 18th century and given up for lost have been found again, a Florence museum said Friday.

Marines Reflect On Duty, Death In Afghanistan

November 20, 2009 04:16 pm

When the Marines of "America's Battalion" first arrived in Afghanistan, they were eager to get into the fight against the Taliban. Now, as they wrap up their seven-month deployment — and after the loss of a dozen comrades — they see warfare in a different light.

Evidence-Based Medicine Is Hard To Swallow

November 20, 2009 04:07 pm

This week two panels of medical experts recommended fewer screening tests for breast and cervical cancer. The idea of evidence-based medicine is that the decisions made between doctors and patients should be based on scientific studies. Yet people don't always want to do what the data say to do — whether it be about screening, or treatment.

Obscured By War, Water Crisis Looms In Yemen

November 20, 2009 03:56 pm

News from Yemen has been dominated recently by an escalating rebellion along the border with Saudi Arabia. But the country has been making news for decades because of its severe overuse of a rapidly disappearing water supply, the result of natural and political causes.

High School Football A Way Of Life In Massillon

November 20, 2009 02:16 pm

Massillon, Ohio, is something of a football nirvana. A high school game can draw 20,000 spectators — in a town of 30,000. The school's official name is Washington High School, but no one calls it that. It's just Massillon — and in Massillon, it's just about football.

Hard Lessons From Two Mass Killings In Texas

November 20, 2009 02:49 am

The Senate is conducting hearings into the recent shootings at Fort Hood — a tragedy that took place just miles from the site of a deadly 1991 attack. That episode, in which a gunman killed 23 people at Luby's Cafeteria in Killeen, Texas, reshaped how police, medical and psychological personnel respond to such tragedies.

'Botax' In Senate Health Bill Upsets Plastic Surgeons

November 20, 2009 03:38 pm

Levies on liposuction, breast augmentation and other cosmetic procedures would generate billions of dollars to help cover the uninsured.

Record Rainfall Wreaks Havoc In Britain, Ireland

November 20, 2009 03:35 pm

Raging floods engulfed northern England's Lake District on Friday, killing a police officer and trapping dozens in their swamped homes. In Ireland, more than 3 feet of water shut down the center of the country's second-largest city, Cork, and more than a dozen other towns and villages.

Peruvian Police Say Gang Killed People For Their Fat

November 20, 2009 03:08 pm

Police arrested three members of a gang in the Peruvian jungle that allegedly has been killing people and draining fat from the corpses to sell on the black market for use in cosmetics. Medical experts expressed doubt about an international black market for human fat, though it does have cosmetic applications.

Senate Ethics Committee: No Punishment For Burris

November 20, 2009 12:26 pm

The Senate Ethics Committee on Friday admonished Sen. Roland Burris, D-Ill., for making "inconsistent, misleading or incomplete" statements about the circumstances surrounding his appointment to the seat once held by Barack Obama. The committee didn't recommend any punishment.

Senate Health Bill Faces Saturday Showdown

November 20, 2009 11:42 am

Democrats will need to vote in lockstep to overcome GOP opposition in a key procedural vote to move the $848 billion measure to full debate. But it's not yet clear whether Majority Leader Harry Reid can round up enough support.

Students Rail Against University Of California Fees

November 20, 2009 07:47 am

UC regents, meeting at UCLA, approved fees that will bring the average annual cost to about $10,300 — a threefold increase in a decade. In protest, University of California Berkeley students barricaded themselves in part of a campus building on Friday.

Suicide Motorcycle Bomber Kills 16 In Afghanistan

November 20, 2009 07:33 am

Two children and a policeman were among those killed in the blast, which wounded at least 23 others when the motorcyclist detonated the explosives in a busy city square in western Afghanistan, officials said.

Price Fight: Coke Isn't It At Costco

November 20, 2009 08:01 am

If you're a member of Costco, the nation's largest wholesale club, you may be surprised to learn that Coca-Cola's products are no longer on the shelves. The two companies are locked in a rare public dispute over the price consumers pay for beverages.


Students Protest University Of Calif. Fee Hike

November 20, 2009 06:00 am

Thousands of University of California students converged on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles Thursday, as regents adopted a 30 percent fee hike. It's one of the latest signs of California's continuing economic crisis. UC officials say, faced with a huge deficit of their own, they have no choice but to raise the fees. Many students say they can't afford to pay more.