Search results for

Linda and Noah read letters from All Things Considered listeners.

NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports on a Massachusetts-based internet startup that plans to take the idea behind frequent flyer programs and apply it to an entirely new area: college savings. UPROMISE says it is signing up credit card companies, grocery chains, car companies and will take the rebates these companies offer and put them in a college savings investment account. Financial advisors are skeptical that such programs are a good idea for most people.

Noah checks in with Frankie Andreau, a domestique with the US Postal team, about racing in the Tour de France. Today riders cranked up Mount Ventoux, a climb of more than six-thousand feet. It's regarded as the toughest part of the race. Andreau's role on the team is to support to the leader, rider Lance Armstrong. Noah also talked with Andreau earlier this month.

NPR's Linda Gradstein in Jerusalem reports the ongoing peace summit at Camp David is prompting dueling demonstrations in Israel, with supporters and opponents of the peace process taking to the streets.

NPR's Jack Speer reports that corporate earnings are coming in strong, but are not strong enough to outweigh the fear of higher interest rates.

Host Madeleine Brand talks to NPR's Rob Gifford about today's meeting between U.S. Defense Secretary William Cohen and China's President, Jiang Zemin. The issues they will be discussing include Taiwan, U.S. plans for a missile defense system, and arms proliferation.

NPR's Jim Zarroli reports that due to the cost of producing television shows, some networks are considering charging their affiliate stations for the use of their signal. Local stations, who used to be paid by the networks for access to their audiences, are fighting the move. They say if they are forced to pay to access the programming they rely on, many stations may go out of business.

Janet Heimlich reports from Austin, on the way public defenders in capital murder cases are chosen in Texas. County judges appoint private attorneys to represent indigent murder defendants. Critics say the system is flawed because there's no guarantee that a defendant will get a competent lawyer, or that the judge will approve funds to properly investigate the defendant's case.

NPR's Tom Goldman reports on the economics of small-market baseball. Unlike major league football, professional baseball revenues aren't widely shared among franchises. Teams like the New York Yankees and the Atlanta Braves earn significant money from TV contracts, and that allows them to afford the sport's top talent. But smaller-market teams must rely on fan loyalty to fill the ballpark. And while they may nurture young, rising stars, these teams know that talented players are likely to go where the money takes them.

Martha Barnett the incoming president of the American Bar Association urged the nation's lawyers to support a death penalty moratorium, saying there is widespread unfairness and even gross injustice in the way it is applied.