Melissa Block

When Clarence Thomas Wrote To George Jones

Melissa Block — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 21:28:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w3gtFxUYBDA

Boeing's 787 Dreamliners To Fly Again After FAA Approval

Melissa Block — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:59:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And as we continue to cover the events in the Boston area, we want to also talk about one other story, Boeing 787. The jet known as the Dreamliner will be back in the air soon. This afternoon, the FAA approved Boeing's redesign of the plane's battery system. Fifty 787s have been grounded for the last three months following two serious battery failures, one which led to a fire.

NPR's Wendy Kaufman has been following the story, and she joins us now.

Letters To Mississippi Senator, Obama Show Signs Of Ricin

Melissa Block — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:37:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And Tovia mentioned a different kind of attack, one that's the subject of a widening investigation here in Washington, D.C. A second letter thought to contain the poison ricin has been sent for further testing. That one was addressed to the White House. We heard yesterday about one addressed to Mississippi Senator Roger Wicker. Also today two Senate office buildings were locked down as the Capitol police investigated suspicious packages.

NPR's Tamara Keith joins us to talk about all this.

Arrests Made In Deaths Of Texas DA, His Wife And Prosecutor

Melissa Block — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:37:00 +0000

In Texas, prosecutors have filed capital murder charges against the wife of a former Justice of the Peace in Kaufman County. Kim Williams is charged with the murder of the county District Attorney, his wife, and another prosecutor.

Senate Rejects Compromise On Expanded Background Checks

Melissa Block — Wed, 17 Apr 2013 21:37:00 +0000

The Senate has rejected a compromise background checks language pushed by Democrat Joe Manchin and Republican Pat Toomey. It could mean the end of gun control legislation in Congress, at least for a while. Ailsa Chang joins Robert Siegel from the Capitol with the latest.

Report: North Korea May Be Able To Deliver Nuclear Weapons

Melissa Block — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:07:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. A stunning revelation today from a member of Congress. It came from Republican Doug Lamborn, of Colorado, during an exchange on Capitol Hill with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lamborn cited a Defense Intelligence Agency report on North Korea's military capability, one that had not yet been released. Here's what Rep.

On Gun Ownership And Policy, 'A Country Of Chasms'

Melissa Block — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:00:00 +0000

The ideological gulf between gun owners and non-gun owners is a wide one — made all the more obvious by the ongoing debate over what, if any, gun control measures should be adopted in the U.S.

Sometimes, the debate feels like people are coming from different worlds, even for people within the same family. And while Americans are often willing to discuss their own views, it's rarer to hear conversations between people who own and love guns and those who do not.

Paul Gwaltney is one of the former.

Among Thousands Of Gun Deaths, Only One Charles Foster Jr.

Melissa Block — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:02:00 +0000

The Morris Missionary Baptist Church is nestled down a red dirt road, in Morris, Ga., set among pine trees near the Alabama state line. Next to the small white church lies its most recent grave site: that of Charles Foster Jr.

While the mass killings in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., garnered a frenzy of news coverage, statistically, they are not the norm. Each year, thousands of gun homicides in the U.S. — 11,000 in 2010 alone — attract little or no media attention.

In those killings, the victim is most often a minority male between 15 and 25 years old and shot in an urban area.

Conservative Conference A Parade Of Potential Candidates For 2016

Melissa Block — Thu, 14 Mar 2013 21:27:00 +0000

The annual meeting of the Conservative Political Action Conference began on Thursday. The lunchtime speakers were Senators Marco Rubio and Rand Paul.

Obama Travels To Capitol Hill To Talk Gun Control, Tax Reform, And Spending Cuts

Melissa Block — Tue, 12 Mar 2013 20:55:00 +0000

President Obama came to Capitol Hill on Tuesday, in the first of three planned visits to court lawmakers on a cluster of issues, from gun control legislation to a so-called grand bargain on tax reform and entitlement spending cuts. He spoke with Senate Democrats. Melissa Block talks to Ailsa Chang.