In unveiling his energy policy during a campaign event on Thursday, Mitt Romney says he wants to set a goal of North American energy independence by 2020.
Mitt Romney outlined an energy plan Thursday that would guide his Republican presidency. It focuses heavily on expanding the supply of fossil fuels. The presumptive nominee said the U.S., Mexico and Canada together could reach energy independence by 2020.
But the plan makes no mention of climate change and would end subsidies for cleaner sources of energy, such as wind and solar.
An aerial view of Homestead, Fla., taken on Sept. 7, 1992, two weeks after Hurricane Andrew's 165-mile-per-hour winds took out nearly every building in the city.
Credit Kathy Lohr / NPR
Homestead restaurant owner Cesar Berrones says the city's character has changed. Before Andrew, it was more like a small town, and now, "it's all new people," he says. "It's good for business, it's grown, but the old friends have gone. It's different."
Twenty years ago, Homestead, Fla., was in the eye of what was then the worst storm to hit the United States.
Fifteen people died directly from Hurricane Andrew and a few dozen more died from injuries later. Tens of thousands of homes were destroyed. Andrew's 165-mile-per-hour winds took out nearly every building in Homestead, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Families spent hours in lines to get water and ice.
National Guard troops handed out bags of ice but limited how much each family could get.
Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 5:55 pm
The Rocky Mountain Care Foundation was created in 1999 to provide charitable health care services and improve the overall quality of life for low-income people in Utah.
For example, we recently provided a Hoyer Lift to a quadriplegic woman to assist her in getting into and out of her wheelchair. And to make it easier on her caregiver, her tiny grandmother.
This summer, All Things Considered has asked listeners and guests to share a personal memory: the memory of one song discovered through their parents' record collection.
Originally published on Mon August 27, 2012 6:58 am
If you're going to take a walk on the wild side and get a tattoo, it could get even wilder than you planned.
Federal and state health investigators have identified five clusters of skin infections linked to tattoos.
Now it's true that infection risks from tattoos are not exactly new or unknown. In fact, tattoo parlors are licensed and regulated in many jurisdictions to minimize the risk of trouble for people getting "inked."
Grammy-winning Latin-music producer Aaron Levinson joins WXPN's David Dye for this, the 17th segment of World Cafe's Latin Roots series. Levinson, a Philadelphia native, started his music career at the Philadelphia High School for the Creative and Performing Arts. With a background as a musician and composer, he's a former governor of the Philadelphia chapter of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences. Levinson has gone on to start his own record label, Range Recording Studios, and has produced and released more than a dozen albums along the way.
Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan campaigns with his mother, Betty Ryan Douglas, on Saturday in The Villages, Fla. The Mitt Romney campaign has created an ad from the event.
Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 1:27 pm
Ask your average American about Florida, and you'll hear something like this: It's hot, it has Disney World, and lots of old people live there.
And since the weather and Mickey Mouse don't make good attack ads, both presidential campaigns are trying to scare the bejeezus out of Florida's senior population over Medicare.
It looks like the Democratic Party has all but given up on clinching the seat now held by retiring Republican Senator Olympia Snowe. Independent Angus King has lead in the polls since he announced he was running. Even the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee isn't helping Democrat Cynthia Dill in her run for the seat.
Grocery auctions have been growing in popularity as a way to get a lot of food for not a lot of money.
Credit Matt Sindelar for NPR
Workers hold up five pound bags of frozen chicken nuggets before bidding opens. Grocery auctions have been growing in popularity since the recession as an outlet for food that's past its prime. Around 80 people attended this one at the Chesapeake Auction House in St. Leonard, Md.
Credit Matt Sindelar for NPR
The auctions usually last four hours, and many bidders stay the entire time. The food they bid on won't be sold in stores because it may be expired or have damaged packaging.
Credit Matt Sindelar for NPR
Betty Thomas types bids into the auction house's computer. Most of their grocery auctions bring in $10,000-15,000.
Credit Matt Sindelar for NPR
Many of the bidders bring large coolers to carry home their haul, which often includes frozen meat.
Credit Matt Sindelar for NPR
Kathy Cartwright of Accokeek, Md., is a regular at the grocery auctions. She says her family has stopped buying meat at the store, and relies on what they can get at the auction. Most of the meat is sold frozen.
Credit Matt Sindelar for NPR
The type of food at the grocery auction varies, but this one included frozen meat, chips, juice, laundry detergent and more. Auctioneer Larry Forman and his wife Kay (not pictured) have hosted the grocery auctions for 10 years.
Credit Matt Rourke / AP
Runner Tom Howard holds up the merchandise at a grocery auction in Dallas, Pa., in 2009. These auctions are becoming more popular as people look for deals on food that's past its prime.
Mitt Romney, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, arrives to announce his choice of running mate aboard the U.S.S. Wisconsin in Norfolk, Va., on Aug. 11.
Credit Max Whittaker / Getty Images
Then-nominee Barack Obama's speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention, at Invesco Field at Mile High in Denver, Colo., was carefully staged against a backdrop of classical pillars.
During the next two weeks, the major political parties will assemble their faithful in Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., to officially nominate their presidential tickets. These conventions were once places of high political drama. But over the decades, as the primary system has determined the candidates well in advance, conventions have become political theater. With that in mind, there's much to be said on staging in politics — not substance, but style.
Amb. James Cunningham on the Afghan people's support
With "green on blue" attacks by Afghans in uniform increasingly in the news, Americans officials are being asked whether the people of Afghanistan are turning against the coalition troops that have been in the Central Asian nation since late 2001.
