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Chicago's Mayor Emanuel Asks Court To Order Teachers Back To School

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images

Striking Chicago public school teachers outside of George Westinghouse College Prep high school earlier today.

By Mark Memmott

Following through on what he said he would do if the city's teachers didn't end their week-old strike and return to their classrooms, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel has asked a judge to intervene.

10:25 am

Mon September 17, 2012

Astronauts Return From Space Station, As An American Takes Command

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Credit Carla Cioffi / NASA

The Soyuz capsule lands with Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin aboard, near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. The capsule's final meter of descent is eased by braking engines.

Credit Carla Cioffi / NASA

The Soyuz capsule floats as it brings Commander Gennady Padalka of Russia, NASA Flight Engineer Joe Acaba and Russian Flight Engineer Sergei Revin to a landing area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan. When it detached from the space station, the capsule was over Kenya.

Credit Carla Cioffi / NASA

The Soyuz TMA-04M capsule lands in a remote area near the town of Arkalyk, Kazakhstan, Monday. Padalka, Acaba and Revin returned from five months onboard the International Space Station, where they served as members of the Expedition 31 and 32 crews.

Credit Carla Cioffi / NASA

The capsule lands, after its braking engines ease its final meter of descent.

By Bill Chappell

U.S. astronaut Sunita Williams is now in command of the International Space Station, after receiving control of the facility this weekend. Three departing astronauts whose capsule left the station early Monday landed safely three and a half hours later.

For NPR's Newscast, Peter van Dyk filed this report from Moscow:

9:34 am

Mon September 17, 2012

Are You A Sellout If You Cook For Your Man?

By editor

Originally published on Mon September 17, 2012 10:03 am

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For generations women have been told, if you want a man, learn to cook. That's exactly why feminist writer Shayla Pierce stayed out of the kitchen. But now she finds herself with a boyfriend, learning to cook, and wondering if that makes her a sellout. She speaks with host Michel Martin about her article and her change of heart.

Economy

9:34 am

Mon September 17, 2012

Is The 'Fiscal Cliff' As Bad As It Sounds?

By editor

Originally published on Thu September 20, 2012 10:29 am

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Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, last year the Occupy Wall Street movement dominated headlines for weeks and added terms like the 99 percent to our political vocabularies. But a year after the protests started we wanted to know where the movement stands now. We're going to call writer and activist Debra Dickerson about this. She's at the heart of the anniversary protest. That's later in the program.

9:34 am

Mon September 17, 2012

A Year On, What Did 'Occupy' Accomplish?

By editor

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The Occupy Wall Street movement marks its first anniversary this week. Its supporters argue that it elevated the issue of economic inequality, but others say it made more noise than change. Host Michel Martin discusses the movement with author Debra Dickerson, who is still participating in protests and writes about them for Slate.com.

The Two-Way

9:33 am

Mon September 17, 2012

A Los Alamos Landmark, The 'Black Hole,' Is About To Disappear

Credit John Burnett / NPR

"Atomic Ed" Grothus at the Black Hole surplus story in Los Alamos, N.M., in 2008.

By Mark Memmott

It's called the Black Hole because "everything goes in and nothing comes out," as founder Ed Grothus told NPR's John Burnett in 2008.

9:29 am

Mon September 17, 2012

Same Camera, Different Century: Capturing Civil War Sites, 150 Years Later

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Credit Claire O'Neill (@clairevoyant) / Instagram

Here's a snapshot from the field as Harrington composed his image of Burnside Bridge — which involved schlepping the huge, fragile camera down a steep incline to get the right perspective.

Credit Claire O'Neill / NPR

The wet-plate camera used by Alexander Gardner after the Battle of Antietam was like this one: It had two lenses, which created a "stereo" image, or two identical images side by side on one plate.

Credit Claire O'Neill / NPR

Here's what you see when you go under that little black cloth. Naturally, the view is in color — though at first it's a bit surprising. You can see how the camera's twin lenses project two identical images. But it takes some getting used to: The images on the focus plate are upside down and backward.

Credit Claire O'Neill / NPR

To work like Gardner did in the field, the photographer needs a portable darkroom. The interior of Todd Harrington's is like an alchemist's laboratory.

Credit Claire O'Neill / NPR

Todd Harrington holds a developed wet plate up to the light to check its exposure.

Credit Claire O'Neill / (@clairevoyant)/Instagram

Harrington compares his exposure to the original, to see if they line up correctly.

By editor

Originally published on Mon September 17, 2012 4:39 pm

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Believe it or not, there's a lot of food involved in wet-plate photography. Egg whites (albumen) are used to make the glass plates adhesive to the light-sensitive chemicals. And one way to keep the plates from drying out after processing is to coat them in honey. It's also physically demanding, so you get really hungry.

9:24 am

Mon September 17, 2012

China Ratchets Up The Rhetoric In Island Spat With Japan

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Credit Louisa Lim / NPR

Protesters marched in front of the Japanese Embassy in Beijing today. They carried a banner declaring: "We are proud of China's rise. We resolutely oppose Japan's rightist forces."

Credit Louisa Lim / NPR

The Japanese flag flies in front of the embassy, whose walls were yolk-stained after being pelted with eggs during weekend protests.

By Louisa Lim

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 7:52 am

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China's state-run media is warning that Japan could endure another "lost decade" of economic stagnation should Beijing resort to trade retaliation over Japan's purchase of disputed islands.

The warning comes amid a surge of anti-Japanese nationalism across China that sparked huge and sometimes violent protests over the weekend. As the economic cost of the protests begins to escalate, it's becoming clearer exactly who might be behind them.

8:35 am

Mon September 17, 2012

U.S. Kids Eat Nearly As Much Salt As Adults, Putting Health At Risk

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Credit L. Marie / Flickr.com

It's going to take a lot more than emptying the salt shaker to cut back on the sodium U.S. kids are getting.

Credit CDC

These sandwiches may look the same, but the one on the left has a total of 1,522 milligrams of salt (per whole sandwich), while the other one has only 853 mg.

By editor

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 12:42 pm

Yes, we love salt. It makes everything taste better. But as a society, we're eating way too much of it. And, so are our children.

A new study from researchers at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that children in the U.S. between the ages of 8 and 18 are eating, on average, 3,387 mg per day. That's about the same amount as adults. But it's a lot more than the 2,300 mg daily limit recommended by the federal dietary guidelines.

8:18 am

Mon September 17, 2012

Amanda Palmer And The Grand Theft Orchestra: Tiny Desk Concert

Credit Kainaz Amaria / NPR

Amanda Palmer and The Grand Theft Orchestra during Tiny Desk at NPR. (Kainaz Amaria/NPR)

By Bob Boilen

Originally published on Tue September 25, 2012 11:15 am

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16 min 51 sec

A primal, turbulent and artful slice of pop, the new Amanda Palmer record has won my heart. Theatre Is Evil's first song is a wall of well-defined noise that, I'll admit, had me throwing my fist in the air when no one else was around. It was the same feeling I had hearing David Bowie's "It's No Game" from Scary Monsters more than 30 years ago.

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10:30 am

Mon September 17, 2012