Search results for

For as long as anyone can remember, the crowded and squalid old city of Calcutta has danced to the rhythm of labor strikes, political agitations and Marxist theorizing. One of the icons of the city was Jyoti Basu, India's longest-serving and best-known Communist. He died Sunday at age 95.

God Gazarov, a Russian immigrant who owns a jewelry store in Brooklyn, says Equifax won't give him a credit history, suggesting he change his first name to resolve the problem.

Prime Minister Ehud Olmert plans a Washington visit to seek support for an Israeli plan to withdraw from parts of the West Bank. The move would consolidate Israel's control over major settlement blocs in the occupied territory.

Excerpt: 'Jesus Wars'

The new Common Core State Standards for English have stirred plenty of controversy. In a Vermont classroom full of 8th graders, they are working on a cornerstone of the core: close reading.

The Labor Department says the U.S. economy lost more than a half-million jobs in November. It was the steepest drop in nearly a quarter-century. Figures show that 533,000 jobs were lost last month, pushing the unemployment rate to 6.7 percent. That's a 15-year high. It's proof that the recession, already a year old, is getting deeper.

Anthony Shadid, a Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter for The Washington Post, talks about his book Night Draws Near: Iraq's People in the Shadow of America's War.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden in Gaza reports on the Israeli army's thrust into Palestinian-ruled territory. Israeli forces withdrew Tuesday from small areas of the Gaza Strip they seized Monday after an attempt to end Palestinian mortar attacks on Israeli towns and settlements.

Sharon Jones does not hold back. She ranges vocally from smooth, soulful funk to a brazen belt, and she can out-dance almost anyone, having been raised part gospel soul-stirrer, part James Brown disciple. Hear the queen of funk in a high-energy session recorded by KEXP.

A judge this week sentenced more than 500 men to death for the killing of a policeman. He's now presiding over a case with 700 defendants as the country's courts come under increasing criticism.

Thousands of pilgrims defy an icy rain to celebrate Christmas in Bethlehem, the West Bank town where tradition holds Jesus was born. City officials expect the turnout will be the largest since the Palestinian uprising began in 2000.