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3:30 am
Mon September 10, 2012

Princess Cruises Says Video Disproves Guilt

Credit Dan Peled / AP
Princess Cruise Lines, which operates the mammoth cruise ship Star Princess (above), is being sued after allegedly ignoring a Panamanian fishing boat in distress. Two men died when the boat sank; one man survived.
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Originally published on Mon September 10, 2012 5:17 am

The owners of the Star Princess cruise ship say that they have new video evidence that proves they are not responsible for ignoring a stranded fishing vessel 100 miles off the coast of South America in March.

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The Salt
3:29 am
Mon September 10, 2012

Low And Slow May Be The Way To Go When It Comes To Dieting

Credit Robyn Mackenzie / iStockphoto.com
Eating low-glycemic foods, or foods that take longer to digest, may help you feel fuller for a longer period of time.
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Originally published on Wed September 19, 2012 4:09 pm

If you're dieting, you know you've got to count calories, carbs and fats. But if you really want to take off the weight and keep it off, you might want to pay more attention to the glycemic index, which is essentially a measure of how quickly foods are digested.

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Around the Nation
3:28 am
Mon September 10, 2012

Los Angeles VA Has Made Millions On Rental Deals

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Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
The 388-acre campus of the Veterans Affairs Medical Center in West Los Angeles was donated to the federal government more than 100 years ago for use as a home for disabled veterans, but is no longer used for that purpose. In 2007, Building 209, pictured here, was designated as a place to house disabled homeless vets. It is currently abandoned.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
An empty room is seen inside Building 209. Although the building is supposed to house disabled vets, it is currently vacant and uninhabitable.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
Building 205, pictured here, sits vacant. It was designated as future housing for disabled homeless veterans in 2007.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
The campus has more than a dozen long-term rental deals with various enterprises, most of which don't serve veterans. There's a private baseball stadium, storage for film sets and a laundry for Marriott Hotels. Meanwhile, other buildings sit abandoned.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
Building 208 (left) and Building 209 are seen on the VA campus. In 2010, the VA budgeted $20 million to renovate 209, but work hasn't started.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
The chapel on campus is abandoned and deteriorating. The 1900s-era building is a rare early-American, multidenominational site. It holds one chapel for Protestants and another for Catholics. The J. Paul Getty Museum provided a $75,000 grant in 2000 to support conservation planning, but no work has yet been done on the building.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
R.W. Williams, 63, a Vietnam veteran, has been seeking medical treatment for a host of ailments, including PTSD, at the VA health center in Los Angeles. He is seen here on the campus near a mural honoring soldiers.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
Conly Mims, 59, a Marine Corps veteran, is seen in the old trolley building. Mims participates in the Salvation Army Haven Program, which caters to veterans struggling with a variety of complex problems such as a shortage of housing and chronic medical issues.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
The Old Soldiers Home in Los Angeles is seen in this photo from 1892. The land was donated to the VA by landholder Arcadia Bandini de Baker in 1887, who specified that it should be used to house wounded veterans.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
Arcadia Bandini de Baker donated the West Los Angeles property more than 100 years ago to the federal government.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
"Barracks Buildings and Park" are seen in this vintage postcard from the Old Soldiers Home.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
The chapel, seen circa 1900, was used for religious services, weddings, substance abuse counseling and funeral rites by both veterans and members of the local community until a 1971 earthquake made the building unsafe for use. It is currently deteriorating, although the VA hopes to save it.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
The Band Stand and Memorial Hall, circa 1900.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
Markham Hall, circa 1900.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
The dining hall, circa 1900.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
Barracks Nos. 2, 4, 5 and 6.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
Campus headquarters, 1935.
Credit Courtesy of Carolina Barrie
An image of attendants, circa 1949.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
The campus of the VA Medical Center in West Los Angeles was donated to the federal government more than 100 years ago for use as a home for wounded veterans. Building 209, pictured here, was designated as a place to house disabled homeless vets in 2007, but the VA has yet to start renovations.
Credit Nancy Pastor for NPR
Carolina Winston Barrie is the great-great niece of Arcadia Bandini de Baker, who donated the land for the Los Angeles VA campus in 1887. Winston Barrie spent years trying to get the VA to maintain the intent of the gift. Instead, parts of the property have been leased to various commercial enterprises.
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Originally published on Mon September 10, 2012 7:59 pm

Most Los Angeles residents only know the Veterans Affairs medical center in West Los Angeles as something they glimpse from their cars when they're on traffic-choked Wilshire Boulevard. From the road it looks like a park, but within the grounds is the largest medical facility in the VA's health care system.

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The Two-Way
3:32 pm
Sun September 9, 2012

States' Rights And DOMA Clash On A Shifting Battlefield

Credit J Pat Carter / AP
Carri Jo Anderson joins the protest in front of a Chick-fil-A restaurant in Pompano Beach, Fla., in August. As views on homosexuality change, more states are challenging the federal definition of marriage
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Originally published on Sun September 9, 2012 4:07 pm

The debate over states' rights versus federal power is as old as our country. The latest brush-up comes in a doubly-sticky challenge to the federal Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA, which defines marriage as being between one man and one woman.

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Election 2012
2:59 pm
Sun September 9, 2012

Critics Say Ryan's Record Belies Tough Deficit Talk

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Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Paul Ryan waves as he takes the stage at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 29. Ryan has been celebrated as a deficit hawk with bold vision, but some critics have called his record on deficit-reduction "dismal."
Credit J.D. Pooley / Getty Images
Paul Ryan speaks to supporters in Westlake, Ohio, on Sept. 4. Ryan has been celebrated as a deficit hawk with bold vision, but some critics have called his record on deficit reduction "dismal."
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Originally published on Sun September 9, 2012 5:08 pm

Paul Ryan has a reputation as a deficit hawk. Mitt Romney's running mate has proposed budgets that cut non-defense spending significantly, and advocated controlling Medicare costs by making it a voucher program. But critics argue there's a lot in the Wisconsin congressman's record that undermines his deficit-hawk reputation.

When Ryan gave the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address last year, he restated his commitment to debt and deficit reduction.

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It's All Politics
9:53 am
Sun September 9, 2012

For Both Parties, Spanglish Is The Unofficial Convention Language

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Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Cristina Saralegui waves at the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C., on Wednesday.
Credit Mladen Antonov / AFP/Getty Images
Signs at the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Fla., on Aug. 30.
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Originally published on Mon September 10, 2012 11:34 am

If you grew up in a bilingual Hispanic household, listening to the Democratic and Republican conventions may have sounded a lot like home.

It's no coincidence that both parties highlighted politicians like Florida Sen. Marco Rubio and San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro.

Rubio, whose parents are from Cuba, introduced Mitt Romney at the Republican convention; Castro, whose grandmother immigrated from Mexico, became the first Latino to give the Democrats' keynote address.

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Presidential Race
7:24 am
Sun September 9, 2012

Obama Pitches Recovery On Florida Tour

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Originally published on Sun September 9, 2012 1:43 pm

Transcript

DON GONYEA, BYLINE: This is Don Gonyea in Florida, the perpetual battleground state that President Obama is touring by bus this weekend.

PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: Hello, St. Pete.

(SOUNDBITE OF CHEERING)

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Presidential Race
7:24 am
Sun September 9, 2012

Post-Convention, Democrats Gain Momentum

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By editor

Originally published on Sun September 9, 2012 1:43 pm

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

We're joined now by NPR's national political correspondent Mara Liasson. Good morning, Mara.

MARA LIASSON, BYLINE: Good morning, Linda.

WERTHEIMER: So, Mara, as we heard, President Obama and Mitt Romney are back on the road again, their conventions behind them. According to national polls, it looks like the Democrats got some momentum from their time in Charlotte.

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Business
7:24 am
Sun September 9, 2012

After 73 Years At Macy's, Employee Retires

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By editor

Originally published on Sun September 9, 2012 1:43 pm

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Rose Syracuse has held one job - one job only - for her entire life. For 73 years, she worked mainly in the accounts department at the Macy's Department store on 34th Street in Manhattan. She's worked for Macy's longer than anyone else - ever. And last week, after all those decades, she retired. Rose Syracuse joins us on the line from New York. Thank you very much for taking the time to talk to us.

ROSE SYRACUSE: Oh, that's fine. And Rose Syracuse would not have retired if she hadn't broken her hip.

WERTHEIMER: Oh, dear.

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Economy
7:24 am
Sun September 9, 2012

Shaping The Economic Future: 4 Big Ideas

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Originally published on Mon September 10, 2012 12:02 pm

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Over the last month, WEEKEND EDITION has been talking to top economists about jobs, growth, debt and taxes. But we also ask them a broader question: What is the one big idea in economics that's really caught your attention lately?

NOURIEL ROUBINI: Ideally, I would like the economists to become boring again.

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