Search results for

CBS and NBC refuse to air a TV commercial for the United Church of Christ, saying the ad is too controversial. The commercial shows two bouncers standing in front of a church refusing to let some people in, including a gay couple. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.

A U.S. military transport helicopter crashes in the desert of western Iraq Wednesday, killing 31 U.S. Marines. The helicopter was about 220 miles west of Baghdad, carrying personnel from the First Marine Division. A U.S. military spokesman says there were no survivors and that the cause is still being investigated.

Ukraine's Supreme Court overturns the result of the country's presidential election. The court ordered a new runoff election later this month. Hear NPR's Steve Inskeep and NPR's Lawrence Sheets.

Amid new and often confusing revelations about painkillers currently on the market, the Food and Drug Administration issues an interim advisory while it compares data on pain relievers. NPR's Joanne Silberner reports.

Author Paul Auster reads "Auggie Wren's Christmas Story." The short story has no Santa Claus, no Christmas tree, and no brightly wrapped packages. And yet there's plenty of giving.

President Bush formally announces the selection of former New York City police commissioner Bernard Kerik to succeed Tom Ridge as head of the Department of Homeland Security. Kerik would be the second person to head the two-year-old agency. NPR's Pam Fessler reports.

North Carolina is home to some 4,000 Vietnamese Montagnard refugees. For most of the recent arrivals, this Christmas will be their first chance to celebrate openly. Hear reporter Jessica Jones of member station WUNC.

New York Times writer Jason DeParle's book American Dream explores the effects of the 1996 welfare reform enacted by President Clinton and Congress. DeParle and Angela Jobe, a woman featured in the book, join NPR's Scott Simon.

The doping scandal that erupted this week due to the revelations of Victor Conte of the BALCO company may have a serious effect on at least two major athletes, track star Marion Jones and baseball slugger Barry Bonds. Jones denies using any illegal substances, and Bonds says he never knowingly used banned drugs, but skepticism is growing. NPR's Tom Goldman reports.

Author Susan Sontag died Tuesday in Manhattan, after a long struggle with cancer. Sontag was the author of many essays and 17 widely translated books. She wrote about photography and AIDS, film and choreography, Vietnam and the Sept. 11 attacks. Her novel In America won the National Book Award for fiction. Sontag was 71. Hear NPR's Kim Masters.