Search results for

In a much needed sign of hope for the U.S. economy, the Labor Department reported Friday that the country gained 163,000 jobs in July, which was better than expected. Still, unemployment rose a bit to 8.3 percent. NPR's Chris Arnold reports from an annual economics retreat in Maine with reaction from some of the country's top economists and analysts there.

Wall Street Journal economics writer David Wessel's new book, Red Ink, lays out in unsparing terms the way the U.S. government spends money, who pays what in taxes, and why politicians can't seem to agree on ways to reduce the potentially catastrophic deficit.

By some measures, General Motors is doing fine post-bailout and post-bankruptcy. The company is profitable and makes better cars than it did a generation ago. But its stock price is down sharply, and it still doesn't have a blockbuster car like its competitors Toyota, Honda and Ford.

All Things Considered host Melissa Block talks with Nick Baumann of Mother Jones magazine about the belief at the core of Missouri state Rep. Todd Akin's furor-raising statement over the weekend: that "legitimate rape" rarely leads to pregnancy. The belief that hormones or adrenaline protect women from conception during rape has been perpetuated for decades in American political discourse, without scientific basis. Studies have found approximately 5 percent of rapes result in pregnancy.

It's too early to know what kind of a difference Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan will make to the GOP ticket. Still, there have been choices who have proved crucial. Here, the top five from the last half-century or so.

In sharp contrast to his 2008 campaign, President Obama hasn't mentioned climate change on the campaign trail this time around, instead choosing to focus on the economic side of clean energy rather than the climate change side.

A new study released by the World Economic Forum ranks northern European nations at the top when it comes to the size of their gender gap. But one area where the gap is huge is in the percentage of women on company boards; it's less than 15 percent EU-wide. Controversy over what should be done about that — and by whom — is more divisive than ever.

A scarlet letter is no longer required, but there are sanctions. For some public figures, it can end a career. For others, it's just a bump in the road that quickly passes.

Melissa Block talks with Carol Leonig of the Washington Post about Jill Kelley, the Tampa Bay socialite whose report of threatening emails to the FBI led to the resignation of CIA director David Petraeus. Since the scandal broke, much has been made of Kelley's background: how she came to be close personal friends with Petraeus, Gen. John Allen and other top military officials, the lavish parties she and her husband hosted, and their mounting debt and pending foreclosures on properties they own.

The election has also triggered some soul searching among evangelical Christian voters. Now, one of the movement's top leaders says it's time to stop the war rhetoric and start reaching out for compromise. Host Rachel Martin talks with Jim Daly, the president and CEO of Focus on the Family, about the post-election direction of the conservative evangelical movement.