Search results for

A group of leading Shiite clerics are holding talks to resolve the U.S. standoff with radical Shiite cleric Muqtada al-Sadr, whose anti-American rhetoric touched off a wave of attacks on U.S.-led forces in several Iraqi cities. Al-Sadr's militiamen have withdrawn from police and government buildings they had occupied, but the security situation remains unstable. Hear NPR's Anne Garrels.

The Princeton Review's guide to colleges comes out Tuesday. Colleges fiercely compete to be No. 1 for most of the categories in the guide. That's not the case for the dubious distinction of top party school in the nation.

The highway bill signed by President Bush Wednesday is nearly $30 billion richer than what Bush proposed -- and it tops the figure he said he'd veto. The president has said he expects to cut the federal budget deficit in half by 2009, warning that Congress must control spending.

The gunman who killed a Canadian tourist and left at least 13 people injured at Mexico's iconic Teotihuacan pyramids carried materials that were apparently related to the deadly 1999 high school shooting, authorities said Tuesday.

The non-profit College Board reports that the average annual cost of a four-year private college is now above $30,000. Sending a student off to a year at a public school now costs, on average, nearly $12,800.

For the seventh year in a row, Lance Armstrong has won the Tour de France. And this was a victory lap of sorts. Armstrong will retire at 33. Racing fans will miss him, but look forward to new competition.

American Electric Power, an Ohio-based company, has agreed to a $4.6 billion settlement of a lawsuit over pollution controls at its power plants. The Justice Department says it's the biggest environmental enforcement settlement ever.

In Iran's presidential election, former president Hashemi Rafsanjani and Tehran Mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad are set to contest a run-off election Friday. But one of the losing candidates has charged that the vote was rigged, prompting authorities to order a partial recount.

After a record-setting Christmas, Hollywood wraps up the year with more than $9 billion in the till -- the second biggest box office total in its history. Film critic NPR's Bob Mondello says a large part of that money was well-earned: some of 2003's most popular movies were also among the year's best. He offers a list of his top movie picks for the year.

A dozen writers for America's Next Top Model, the hit reality show, are on strike. Their goal is to unionize reality TV writers. Without their efforts, Model maestro Tyra Banks and other reality show stars might sometimes be at a loss for words.