Search results for

Micro-gardens are small spaces, such as balconies, patios and rooftops, cultivated with planting containers like wooden boxes and trash cans. Now, creative reuse of old materials and some new tools for sale are making it easier for urban dwellers to stretch their green thumbs.

NPR's Neal Conan reflects on his 11 years of hosting Talk of the Nation and thanks some of the influential contributors to the show along the way. After 36 years at NPR, Conan signs off.

Some aid workers are describing Syria as "the humanitarian crisis of this generation." United Nation's agencies are still struggling to get aid to rebel-held areas, and are seeking support in a divided U.N. Security Council.

Built by a former automobile engineer, the ELF bike is a pedal-driven, solar electric-assisted bicycle that offers its riders some protection from the elements. One customer picked up his new bike in North Carolina — and is riding it home to Massachusetts.

Nearly one week ago, a fire erupted inside a parked Ethiopian Airlines Boeing 787 at London's Heathrow Airport. Thursday, the British Air Investigation Branch issued a bulletin urging the deactivation of an emergency transmitter on all 787s. The British investigators stopped just short of blaming the Emergency Locator Transmitter for the fire. But they did recommend that the Federal Aviation Administration order the deactivation of beacons on 787s under FAA authority. Melissa Block talks with NPR's Wendy Kaufman.

Henry James' put-upon Victorian heroine is now the child of a present-day rock star and her philandering husband, but the dynamics among the observant Maisie and her feckless parents are as painful and revealing as ever.

With days ticking down to the automatic tax hikes and spending cuts deadline, President Obama took his case to the American public again on Wednesday — and House Republicans were not happy about it. House Speaker John Boehner responded with a statement that barely lasted a minute as the House prepared to vote on competing plans to avert the tax hikes but which do not address the spending cuts.

In a closed-door meeting Thursday, lawmakers will consider whether to approve the report, which human rights groups are pushing to be made public. It's part of an ongoing fight over whether harsh interrogation methods, which critics compared to torture, were effective.

The 2012 election was the most expensive in history, but there remain some gaping holes in our knowledge about who paid for what. The Securities and Exchange Commission is considering a proposal to add more transparency in future elections, but it won't happen without a fight.

If you liked the movie The Blob, then feast your eyes on this: It's tricked-out Silly Putty in the form of a gelatinous monster that eats magnets for lunch.