Search results for

Also: Bill Clinton blurbs a comic book; Rev. Andrew M. Greeley has died; Molly Fischer on Zelda Fitzgerald.

When Congress voted on federal relief for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, five of the seven Oklahoma representatives and senators voted no. Rep. Tom Cole, who voted yes, warned that someday Oklahoma would be asking for help. That day came last week after a massive tornado hit his district.

Arvind Mahankali, a 13-year-old from Bayside, N.Y., won the Scripps National Spelling Bee on Thursday after correctly spelling "knaidel." It's a yiddish term of German origin meaning "dumpling." Mahankali had stumbled on German words two years in a row. This year, he said, "the German curse has turned into in a German blessing."

Last year a snapshot of a frowning feline went viral, emblazoned with captions such as: "Of all the 9 lives I've lived, this is the worst." Within months, "Grumpy Cat" had a book deal. Now the feline face that launched a thousand memes has a movie in the works. Turns out Grumpy Cat has a great agent — the same one that represents fellow online star Keyboard Cat.

The space rock, which is nine times the size of a cruise ship, is dropping by Earth and it's not coming alone. Asteroid 1998 QE2 has already given scientists a surprise: It has its own moon, measured at about 2,000 feet wide.

Host Michel Martin and editor Ammad Omar crack open the listener mailbox for backtalk. This week, they talk about a controversy surrounding the possible sale of fine art in Detroit to settle the city's debts.

Some news organizations are saying 'thanks, but no thanks' to an off-the-record meeting with U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder. He offered to discuss guidelines involving the Justice Department's investigation of security leaks to the press. Host Michel Martin checks in with the Barbershop guys.

A Chinese company plans to buy U.S. pork giant Smithfield Foods for nearly $5 billion. The deal may undergo review by an interagency panel known as the Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. The panel has played a significant role in shaping foreign investments in this country for nearly four decades.

The coffee chain says it will enforce its no-smoking rule at its outdoor seating areas and within 25 feet of store entrances. So, no coffee and a smoke for those who enjoy them together. Have smoking bans gone too far or not far enough?

Scientists are trying to figure out how chemicals in the air interact with each other to make people sick. So they're building an instrument — a "lung in a box" — that goes way beyond the usual chemical monitors.