The dream of high speed rail in California is running into tough realities. Cost estimates have more than doubled — to nearly $100 billion — since the project was approved by voters in 2008. The date of completion has been pushed back to 2030.
The Democratic Republic of Congo holds elections for president and parliament Monday. These are the second elections since a long dictatorship ended in 1997. Elections held in 2006 represented a transition to democracy.
Officials overseeing a new performance hall had to decide on a mobile phone policy. While theaters generally remind patrons to turn off their devices, The New York Times reports the new theater in Bellevue, Wash., will encourage smartphone use. The theater wants to attract younger audiences, and that means there's no use forbidding the technology.
Omar Waraich of Time Magazine talks to Steve Inskeep about reaction in Pakistan to this weekend's deadly NATO strike that killed at least 24 Pakistani troops. Pakistan closed a supply route through its territory to U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
The new movie "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1" made more money at the box office over the holiday weekend, beating new releases like "The Muppets" and "Arthur Christmas." Now, going to the movies is fun, but for some fans it's not enough to simply watch the action. They want an interactive experience. In fact, they want to be the stars. NPR's Travis Larchuk explains.
TRAVIS LARCHUK}, BYLINE: All right. So here's a scene from the movie "Scott Pilgrim vs. the World."
(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "SCOTT PILGRIM VS. THE WORLD")
Mexico's National Institute of Anthropology and History dismisses claims that the apocalypse is coming. Some people predict catastrophe in 2012, based on Mayan forecasts. Anthropologists now say there are two, not just one, ancient references to December 2012. But they warn modern forecasters of doom have "twisted the Mayan cosmovision."
Good morning, I'm Linda Wertheimer. The world's worst soccer team finally won a game. In 17 years of international play, American Samoa has scored just a dozen goals, compared to the 229 they've allowed. But they scored two this week, to beat Tonga 2-1 in a World Cup qualifying match.
The American Samoans hope their win will raise their ranking. They currently sit at 204th in the world.
It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
For the past week, New York Police and the FBI have been at odds over a terrorism case which involves an American of Dominican descent named Jose Pimentel. New York police say he was an al-Qaida sympathizer planning to bomb targets in the city. The FBI declined to get involved with the case because it didn't see him as threat. Law enforcement officials on both sides have been airing the dispute over the case publicly, and that could help Pimentel build a defense.
On this Black Friday, Linda Wertheimer talks to branding expert Martin Lindstrom about the psychology of sales and the array of techniques retailers use to get people to shop.
NPR's Business News starts with rising computer prices. A component used to make computers has become more expensive. The reason why, is around the world in Southeast Asia. NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports.
