Hsi-Chang Lin

Japan’s Sendai earthquake disrupted work in that country, shutting down factories, which supply parts to the United States. Thanks to hi-tech supply chain issues, car parts are missing and U.S. factories are beginning to shut down. Last week, General Motors stopped production at its Shreveport Louisiana production facility. This week, the Detroit based car company laid off 59 of its 623 full time employees at its Tonawanda New York production facility — before ultimately halting all production. All of these shutdowns were due to shortages of parts that are produced in Japan.

The U.N.’s decision to authorize and the subsequent military effort to enforce a no-fly zone over Libya has elicited a sharp debate across the international community. Although more Americans support the effort than oppose it, the margin is narrow and there is a diversity of opinions here at home. To get a sense of what our friends and neighbors are feeling about America's involvement in the military effort to quell the Gadhafi regime, we speak to a round table of listeners from across the country. 

In 1979 there was a partial core meltdown at Pennsylvania’s Three Mile Island Nuclear Generating Station. Following a non-nuclear secondary system failure, a pilot-operated relief valve was stuck open allowing large amounts of nuclear reactor coolant to escape. In the end, the reactor was controlled, but the image of nuclear power as the future energy resource for America was tarnished forever. In fact, there hasn't been a nuclear power plant commissioned since.

Last week’s earthquake off the coast of Japan measured 9.0 magnitude, which makes it the fourth most powerful earthquake on record worldwide. Earth's poles shifted by more than 3 inches, Japan moved 12-13 feet closer to Hawaii, and the earth’s day is now 1.8 microseconds shorter.

Japan is faced with a massive humanitarian crisis and potential nuclear threat after last week's earthquake and tsunami. The Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 took the lives of over 140,000 Japanese citizens and destroyed the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama. During World War II, Hiroshima and Nagasaki were nearly wiped off the map in an instant flash of nuclear fission. And tsunami is, of course, a Japanese word. How has Japanese culture handled natural disaster and tragedy in the past?

A new exhibit at the Metropolitan Museum of Art features about 65 guitars handcrafted by masters living in New York City in the early part of the 20th Century. The show, called “Guitar Heroes,”  embodies America’s nascent fascination, and ultimate adoption, of the European acoustic instrument. Jayson Kerr Dobney, associate curator of the Met’s Department of Musical Instruments discusses the show.

When the space shuttle Discovery lands at Kennedy Space Center later today, its odometer will read somewhere in the neighborhood of 150,000,000 miles. The shuttle has flown 39 missions in its 27 year career. After today's landing, it will retire on planet earth. With Discovery's retirement, an era of American space exploration comes to a close; and, due to political and economic realities at home, future chapters remain in doubt. Yesterday, the US National Research Council reported that two planned rover missions to Mars, which NASA intended to launch along with ESA in 2018, may be about $1 billion outside of the U.S. budget.

The average price of gasoline reached just over $3.50 per gallon on Monday — a number that made the financial markets shudder. While gas prices vary widely from state to state, the upward trend, driven in part by the nearly two weeks of civil unrest in Libya, shows no sign of retreat. Daniel Singer, President of Robison Oil in Westchester New York knows that there's more to the story for the average consumer than the pump price.

Negotiations between NFL owners and its player's union were granted a 24-hour extension yesterday, avoiding the first work stoppage since 1987. When asked if he would arbitrate in any way, President Obama scoffed, saying "My working assumption at a time when people are having to cut back, compromise and worry about making the mortgage and paying for their kids’ college education is the two parties should be able to work it out without the president of the United States intervening." But amidst the battle between millionaires and billionaires, it's easy to forget that football plays a big role in the American economy.

The Supreme Court ruled on what may be the most controversial case this term: Snyder v. Phelps. Pastor Fred Phelps leads a small crusade against homosexuality. His Topeka, Kansas based Westboro Baptists Church has become infamous for protesting outside the funerals of fallen soldiers. Soldiers like Lance Corporal Mathew Snyder, who was killed in Iraq. Snyder’s father, Albert, filed the suit against Phelps and his church for defamation, invasion of privacy and intentional infliction of distress.

On January 25th, a young generation of Egyptians assembled in Cairo’s Tahrir Square. Their calls for a Democratic form of government sparked a wave of protests that toppled the nearly 30-year rule of Hosni Mubarak's regime. The effect of those public demonstrations is still being felt as waves of protests continue to spread across the Arab world. But why have these protests been so successful?

Over the past two months, the world has witnessed tremendous change in the Middle East; but one voice has been conspicuously absent. Al-Qaida has yet to make a single announcement on the popular demonstrations that have forced out autocratic leaders from Tunisia and Egypt, or on the similar protests which have besieged the governments of Libya, Bahrain and other Arab nations. Is this a strategic move or has democracy wiped out the terrorist organization?

Across the country, states' and local governments have been getting to the difficult work of balancing their bottom lines. In New Jersey, Republican Governor Chris Christie proposed a $29.4 billion budget which, he argues, reduces state spening by 2.6 percent for the 2012 fiscal year. The governor went on to describe a "new normal" of practical taxing and thrifty spending for his state, which is currently burdened by an $11 billion deficit. The governor's new normal includes a 15 percent cut to the Dept. of Health and Senior Services, state-wide benefit reform that would increase the amount state employees pay for their health insurance and increase retirement contributions from 8 percent to 30 percent, and a $2.5 billion tax cut to businesses. It wasn't all about cuts though; Gov. Christie increased school aid by $250 million, and gave $50 million to charter schools.

A new study conducted by the National Institutes of Health links cell phone use with increased brain activity. Apparently less than one hour of exposure to an active cell phone can result in increased glucose production in brain regions closest to the phone’s antennae. Joining us to explain the findings is Lauren Emberson, cognitive neuroscientist and researcher at Brown University. 

As we reported last week, Florida Governor Rick Scott has rejected $2.4 billion of federal money allocated for the construction of a high-speed rail project in his state. Florida’s proposed high-speed rail line would have been a marquee project for the president, who has made it his administration’s goal to provide high speed rail access to 80 percent of Americans in the next twenty years. Unsurprisingly, this is costing the governor political points on the both the left and the right. Joining us now for a view from the legislature is Republican State Senator Paula Dockery. She was an early supporter of Gov. Rick Scott, but is disappointed with his rejection of the high-speed rail stimulus package.

In a press conference held Monday evening, Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker said that it was time to move forward on a budget repair bill currently stalled by the absence of the state’s fourteen Democratic state senators. The senators fled Wisconsin seven days ago in hopes of stalling a bill which, they say, hurts the middle and working class by stripping unions of the right to collectively bargain for benefits. With 19 seats, Republicans can pass the budget bill; without 20 sitting members, the Senate can't vote on spending measures.

Bahrain’s capital city Manama is under military control as the nation tries to clamp down on the popular demonstrations that have swept across Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and elsewhere. The country's protestors may or may not be successful in building a democratic government, but one thing is for sure: civil unrest is not good for business. Just two weeks before Formula One teams are scheduled to arrive for winter testing on the Bahrain International Circuit, the 2011 Gulf Air Formula 1 Bahrain Grand Prix is in doubt. Sports are in many ways the least of the region's worries, but will bad business play a role in the unrest? 

As a symbol of change in the Arab world, angry protests in Bahrain stand in stark contrast to the mostly peaceful demonstrations in Egypt that led to the ousting of President Hosni Mubarak. Reporters describe sleeping demonstrators attacked without warning while camped out in Pearl Square. The police used birdshot, rubber coated steel bullets and tear gas to tamp down the civil unrest, killing three and injuring many more. Now the military has taken over the city and called for a ban on organized gatherings, while moving tanks into Pearl Square.

Radiohead is famous for for pushing the envelope in music, even as the band sells millions of records. But in recent years the group has also taken a hard look at the music industry itself, and made some very public bids for new ways for major bands to interact with fans in the music marketplace. The latest of these moves comes today, as the band releases its seventh proper studio album "The King of Limbs" directly to the masses. Fans can choose from four options, from a $10 digital download to a $53 custom package, including clear vinyl records and over 600 pieces of artwork. Are their efforts revolutionary, or run-of-the-mill?

Protests continue in Yemen with thousands of people taking to the streets in cities across the country in the hopes of forcing President Ali Abdullah Saleh to resign. According to the Associated Press, 2,000 police officers faced off with protesters yesterday in the capital of Sana, firing guns in the air and blocking students from joining the demonstrations. We talk with Hakim Almasmari publisher and editor of The Yemen Post, who is currently in Sana, Yemen.