Melissa Block

The Low-Tech Way Guns Get Traced

Melissa Block — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000

Opponents of expanding background checks for gun sales often raise the fear that it would allow the government to create a national gun registry — a database of gun transactions. In fact, federal law already bans the creation of such a registry. And the reality of how gun sales records are accessed turns out to be surprisingly low-tech.

The trace begins after police seize a gun at a crime scene and then reach out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Tracing Center in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Boeing's 787 Dreamliners To Fly Again After FAA Approval

Melissa Block — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:59:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And as we continue to cover the events in the Boston area, we want to also talk about one other story, Boeing 787. The jet known as the Dreamliner will be back in the air soon. This afternoon, the FAA approved Boeing's redesign of the plane's battery system. Fifty 787s have been grounded for the last three months following two serious battery failures, one which led to a fire.

NPR's Wendy Kaufman has been following the story, and she joins us now.

Report: North Korea May Be Able To Deliver Nuclear Weapons

Melissa Block — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:07:00 +0000

Transcript

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED, from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. A stunning revelation today from a member of Congress. It came from Republican Doug Lamborn, of Colorado, during an exchange on Capitol Hill with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lamborn cited a Defense Intelligence Agency report on North Korea's military capability, one that had not yet been released. Here's what Rep.

On Gun Ownership And Policy, 'A Country Of Chasms'

Melissa Block — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:00:00 +0000

The ideological gulf between gun owners and non-gun owners is a wide one — made all the more obvious by the ongoing debate over what, if any, gun control measures should be adopted in the U.S.

Sometimes, the debate feels like people are coming from different worlds, even for people within the same family. And while Americans are often willing to discuss their own views, it's rarer to hear conversations between people who own and love guns and those who do not.

Paul Gwaltney is one of the former.

Among Thousands Of Gun Deaths, Only One Charles Foster Jr.

Melissa Block — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:02:00 +0000

The Morris Missionary Baptist Church is nestled down a red dirt road, in Morris, Ga., set among pine trees near the Alabama state line. Next to the small white church lies its most recent grave site: that of Charles Foster Jr.

While the mass killings in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., garnered a frenzy of news coverage, statistically, they are not the norm. Each year, thousands of gun homicides in the U.S. — 11,000 in 2010 alone — attract little or no media attention.

In those killings, the victim is most often a minority male between 15 and 25 years old and shot in an urban area.

Fugitive Ex-LAPD Officer Apparently Barracaded In Cabin

Melissa Block — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:11:00 +0000

Kirk Siegler talks to Melissa Block for an update on the search for former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner. A man that authorities identified as Dorner was holed up in a cabin near Big Bear Lake, Calif., on Tuesday evening. Hundreds of officers surrounded the home. Dorner is wanted for questioning in three murders and one attempted murder.

U.S. May Build Base For Drones In Northwest Africa

Melissa Block — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:35:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

We're going to head west now, from Egypt across Libya to Niger. The Pentagon has signed a deal with the government there. The agreement could allow the U.S. to establish a forward base in Niger so that it could operate drone aircraft across northern and western Africa. NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman has been reporting on the U.S. military's growing presence on the continent. He joins me now here in the studio.

And Tom, how close is the U.S. to actually setting up a drone base in Niger?

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Well, it doesn't seem to be that close.

In 'According To What?' Ai Weiwei Makes Mourning Subversive

Melissa Block — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YeQPn-6o6o

Inaugural Balls Downsized The Second Time Around

Melissa Block — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:19:00 +0000

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

So 9-year-old Lauren Kanabel there has a dream: a girl president elected in 2016. And whether or not that dream comes true, there will be inaugural balls. The tradition dates back to George Washington. Four years ago, President Obama attended ten inaugural balls, this year only two, both at the convention center here in Washington. And NPR's Allison Aubrey is there. She joins us by phone. Allison, the ball has been going on for a few hours now. What's the scene?

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: (Unintelligible) absolutely packed in here.

House Pulls 'Plan B' Tax Measure From The Floor

Melissa Block — Fri, 21 Dec 2012 03:18:00 +0000

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

Well, so much for Plan B. In a dramatic setback for House Speaker John Boehner, tonight he had to call off a vote on his alternative plan to avert the fiscal cliff because he didn't have the votes from his own Republican caucus to pass it. So now, year-end tax increases and spending cuts are looming as the House has gone home for Christmas without voting on the Boehner plan.

Republicans Counter With $2.2 Trillion Deficit Plan

Melissa Block — Mon, 03 Dec 2012 21:27:00 +0000

On Monday, House Speaker John Boehner answered criticisms that Republicans have not proposed a deficit plan to counter the one from President Obama which they find so objectionable. Boehner's plan takes elements from presidential nominee Mitt Romney's proposal. David Welna talks to Melissa Block about the counteroffer.

A Dash Of Latin Flavor On The Thanksgiving Table

Melissa Block — Thu, 15 Nov 2012 22:15:00 +0000

When Chef Jose Garces, the Philadelphia-based restaurateur and author of The Latin Road Home, thinks back to the Thanksgiving table of his youth, he remembers the turkey, and his father's chicken giblet gravy.

But his parents, who emigrated to Chicago from Ecuador in the 1960s, whipped up Ecuadorean staples as well.

Those might be meat-filled empanadas, or sweet corn humitas — Ecuadorean Since she was shot, Giffords has been on a long path back from a traumatic brain injury. Giffords, 41, spent five months in the hospital.

Voters In Spartanburg, S.C., Say They Favor Cain

Melissa Block — Fri, 14 Oct 2011 21:41:00 +0000

One of the earliest primary states is South Carolina, which holds its primary on Jan. 21. South Carolina is a Republican stronghold — with a strongly conservative voting base.

In Spartanburg, S.C., a handful of Republican voters share what's on their minds — and many are leaning toward Herman Cain.

Perry Aims To Win Voters

Texas Gov.

In Spartanburg, S.C., Jobs Are Especially Scarce

Melissa Block — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 22:20:00 +0000

The job market is barely treading water. The Labor Department Thursday reported that 404,000 people filed for unemployment benefits last week — pretty much unchanged from the week before. Overall, there are 14 million people looking for work in the U.S.

One of those places where jobs are especially hard to find is Spartanburg, S.C.

On Thursday, the Occupy Wall Street protests spread to the heavily conservative corner of the heavily conservative state.

Ebert: A 'Life' Still Being Lived, And Fully

Melissa Block — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 20:14:00 +0000

"I was born inside the movie of my life."

Appeals Court Rejects Part Of Health Care Law

Melissa Block — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 19:00:00 +0000

A federal appeals court in Atlanta has ruled against the individual mandate contained in the new health care law, saying it is unconstitutional to require citizens to buy health insurance.

Murdoch To Take Questions From Investors, Media

Melissa Block — Wed, 10 Aug 2011 21:22:00 +0000

Rupert Murdoch is expected to take questions from analysts, investors and reporters during a conference call Wednesday. The call follows Tuesday's meeting of the News Corp. board — the first such meeting since the phone hacking scandal that has roiled the company.

In Mozambique, A Fight To Keep Babies HIV-Free

Melissa Block — Wed, 06 Jul 2011 19:05:00 +0000

The southeastern African nation of Mozambique has some of the highest HIV rates in the world. Within Mozambique, Gaza province in the south of the country is a hot zone for HIV infection. There, 25 percent of people ages 15 to 49 are HIV-positive. Among women in Gaza, the number is even higher: Thirty percent are infected with HIV.

At a health clinic in the town of Macia, 24-year-old Adelia is about to get an HIV test. She's wearing a stylish gray suit and carrying a shiny alligator-print handbag. Adelia is about five months pregnant.

In Mozambique, Grim Prospects For Mother And Child

Melissa Block — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 20:25:00 +0000

As part of "Beginnings," a summer-long series on All Things Considered, Melissa Block traveled to Mozambique to explore maternal health. This is the first of three reports.

In Mozambique in southeastern Africa, the rates of maternal and infant mortality are among the highest in the world.

In her lifetime, a Mozambican woman has a 1 in 37 chance of dying during pregnancy or within a short time after a pregnancy has ended. One in 10 children won't live past their first year.

Mozambique's Struggles Fueled By The Price Of Bread

Melissa Block — Tue, 07 Jun 2011 19:16:00 +0000

Everywhere you go in Mozambique, you see people at bakeries buying their daily bread — delicious crusty loaves or eggy sweet rolls.

At the Padaria Allianca, a bakery in the capital, Maputo, customers wait in a long line for their bread. Workers are busy slapping and shaping golden mounds of dough. The bakery turns out 12,000 loaves a day.

The story of bread in Mozambique — as in much of the developing world — turns out to be a tale of poverty, food security and social unrest.

Bread was "the spark" for riots last September, says Mozambican journalist and publisher Fernando Lima.

150 Years Later, America's Civil War Still Divides

Melissa Block — Fri, 08 Apr 2011 19:16:00 +0000

On April 12, 1861, the first shots of the Civil War rang out in South Carolina.

Confederate forces, firing on the Union garrison at Fort Sumter in Charleston Harbor, helped launch a four-year war that would kill more than 620,000 soldiers.

It's been nearly 150 years since the war began.