NPR: Korva Coleman

Get In Line! Enormous Powerball Jackpot Up For Grabs

NPR: Korva Coleman — Wed, 15 May 2013 13:58:00 +0000

If it seems as though lottery jackpots keep growing in size, you're right — the multistate Powerball lottery has ballooned to its third-largest size in history, and one or several lucky people could win Wednesday night's drawing.

At this writing, the Powerball is worth an estimated $360 million, with a $229.2 million cash value.

Need A Lift? See Japan's New 'Branomics Bra'

NPR: Korva Coleman — Thu, 09 May 2013 16:43:00 +0000

As Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe focuses on boosting his country's bottom line, a lingerie company is hoping to give Japan a different type of lift.

The "Branomics Bra" from Triumph International is a play on Abe's economic policy known as "Abenomics." The company says the garment has a "growth strategy" to help bust Japan's persistent inflation problem, according to Reuters.

The concept bra features three toy arrows and a target shaped pouch, modeled after the

After Socking The Rockies, Snowstorm Moves East

NPR: Korva Coleman — Thu, 02 May 2013 15:57:00 +0000

Arbor Day celebrations have come and gone, but winter weather is gripping the Plains and Upper Midwest.

Send Your Haiku To Mars! NASA Seeks Poets

NPR: Korva Coleman — Thu, 02 May 2013 14:42:00 +0000

Galactic poet?

Here's how to become famous.

Send your work to Mars!

NASA is raising awareness for its upcoming launch of the Mars Atmosphere and Volatile Evolution spacecraft with its Going to Mars project.

Snow In May? The Nation's Midsection Bundles Up

NPR: Korva Coleman — Wed, 01 May 2013 15:47:00 +0000

Update at 4:55 P.M ET: The Associated Press reports that Cheyenne, Wyo. has now received at least 15 inches of snow.

Our original post: It's a good thing Punxsutawney Phil's handler admitted he'd misinterpreted the early spring forecast from the world-famous groundhog weather prognosticator.

Just In Case: Cruise Line Insured Against Loch Ness Monster

NPR: Korva Coleman — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 17:14:00 +0000

There's word that a Scottish cruise line has taken out an insurance policy in case of a beastly disaster. Jacobite Cruises is now insured against damage from the Loch Ness Monster.

"We see it as keeping in line with good business practice," Freda Newton, managing director of Jacobite Cruises, tells The Scottish Sun. "There is so much going on — people have tried to hunt the Loch Ness Monster, people have tried to capture it. We just don't know what could happen.

4-Year-Old Rape Victim Dies In India

NPR: Korva Coleman — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 16:37:00 +0000

A young girl raped this month in the Indian state of Madhya Pradesh has died, according to several news reports. The 4-year-old child had been lured with chocolate by her alleged attacker, who later dumped her at a farm, as NPR's Julie McCarthy has reported.

The New York Times' India Ink blog says the girl's parents found her April 18, the day after the attack, and that she had been in a coma since.

Tarantino's Stolen 'Pulp Fiction' Chevy Found After 19 Years

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 20:33:00 +0000

Remember that cherry red Chevy Malibu convertible that John Travolta drives in Pulp Fiction? You know the one that he crashes, trying to get help after Uma Thurman overdoses? Did you know it's been missing for 19 years because it was stolen? Well, it's not missing anymore.

The car, which belongs to filmmaker Quentin Tarantino, turned up in the Oakland, Calif., area, according to the San Bernardino Sun.

Several Arrests In Deadly Bangladesh Factory Collapse

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 15:14:00 +0000

Bangladeshi authorities have arrested at least seven people in connection with this week's deadly building collapse outside Dhaka, the capital. Several garment factories, shops and a bank were housed inside.

The country's state-run news agency says the people were arrested in connection with the building collapse, including two engineers and two garment factory owners.

Honoring Film Critic Roger Ebert — With A Conga Line

NPR: Korva Coleman — Fri, 26 Apr 2013 15:49:00 +0000

It's not been a full month since Roger Ebert passed away, but his annual Ebertfest continued this month in Illinois with screenings, lectures and guest visits by artists.

The big hit was actress Tilda Swinton, who closed out last Friday night with this touching tribute to the longtime movie critic: a conga line.

Onstage was Ebert's widow, Chaz, who told the audience they would have to get up, too, and dance to Barry White's "You're My Everything," which they

Have You Seen Me? Giant Styrofoam Head Found

NPR: Korva Coleman — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 18:49:00 +0000

Crew members from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., were out practicing on the Hudson River this week when they were surprised by a gigantic head floating toward them.

The head is about 7 feet tall and made out of plastic foam and fiberglass, the Poughkeepsie Journal says. It's missing a nose and has the appearance of Greek or Roman architecture.

Second Rape Case To Draw Social Media Buzz Will Be Reviewed

NPR: Korva Coleman — Fri, 12 Apr 2013 15:03:00 +0000

A few days after Rehtaeh Parsons' mother turned off the hospital life support systems and allowed her daughter to die, computer activists claiming to be affiliated with the hacker group Anonymous are threatening to reveal the identities of Parsons' alleged rapists.

It's the latest twist in a heartbreaking case that Canadian authorities ruled was not a crime. Rehtaeh, who was 17, hanged herself on April 4 and died a few days later.

Hours After Expulsion, Ex-Nevada Lawmaker Forcibly Arrested In Calfornia

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 30 Mar 2013 18:19:00 +0000

Former Nevada Assemblyman Steven Brooks is jailed in San Bernadino County, Calif., following a high-speed freeway chase with Barstow police and members of the California Highway Patrol.

Christians Trace The Steps Of Jesus As They Mark Good Friday

NPR: Korva Coleman — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 18:34:00 +0000

It's Good Friday, one of the holiest days of the Christian year, when tradition holds that Jesus was crucified and died.

Pope Francis is marking the day at the Vatican by reciting the story of the hours before Jesus' death, says CNN. In Jerusalem's Old City today, Christian pilgrims traced Jesus' steps, pausing to pray at 14 stops and concluding their walk at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher.

Oklahoma Dentist May Have Exposed Thousands To Disease

NPR: Korva Coleman — Fri, 29 Mar 2013 16:02:00 +0000

Oklahoma's health department is contacting some 7,000 patients of Tulsa-area dentist Dr. W. Scott Harrington to warn them they may have been exposed to "blood-borne viruses."

Officials are urging former patients to get screened for hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV after an investigation of Harrington's office found rusty instruments in use and evidence of unsanitary practices.

Mortar Hits Syrian University; Turkey Denies It Deported Refugees

NPR: Korva Coleman — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 17:30:00 +0000

A mortar shell hit part of Damascus University in Syria's capital on Thursday, killing at least 10 students and wounding a number of others, according to the official Syrian news agency, which says the shell fell on an outdoor café in the architecture department.

NPR's Susannah George is following the attack from neighboring Lebanon: "State TV footage shows puddles of blood in a colorful school cafeteria, and an awning is torn above where the mortar allegedly landed."

She says the Syrian government is blaming the attack on "terrori

Powerball Winner Owes Thousands In Child Support Payments

NPR: Korva Coleman — Thu, 28 Mar 2013 15:24:00 +0000

Now he can catch up with his bills. Pedro Quezada of New Jersey claimed the fourth-largest jackpot in the history of the Powerball multistate lottery on Tuesday.

How To Hit A Big Dunk: Griner Tweets A Prediction As Women's Sweet 16 Is Set

NPR: Korva Coleman — Wed, 27 Mar 2013 15:53:00 +0000

There's nothing like encouragement to help you succeed. Or maybe you can just create it for yourself. Baylor's Brittney Griner had both Tuesday night as her top-seeded team blew past Florida State 85-47. She had a double double: 33 points and 22 rebounds, as Encourager-In-Chief and former President George W. Bush looked on with former first lady Laura Bush in Waco, Texas.

Construction Crews May Have Found 'Black Plague' Victims In Britain

NPR: Korva Coleman — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 15:33:00 +0000

What can you find underneath a British railroad or parking lot? These days it could be skeletons, and probably a lot of them. Last month, researchers announced the bones of a man discovered underneath a British parking lot were actually King Richard III.

Florida Sinkhole So Dangerous Rescuers Can't Search For Missing Man

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 02 Mar 2013 17:30:00 +0000

Update at 6:53 p.m. ET Rescuers End Search:

Hillsborough County Administrator Mike Merrill says efforts to find Jeffrey Bush, who disappeared in a sinkhole, have been discontinued. He says that the conditions at Bush's home have become too dangerous for rescue workers.

"At this point it's really not possible to recover the body," Merrill said at a news conference on Saturday.

He says workers will begin efforts to demolish the home on Sunday.

Our Original Post Continues:

The family of Jeffrey Bush still wants to know what happened to him.

Florida's Great Python Challenge Is Over; Not Many Are Caught

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 18:00:00 +0000

After all the hoopla and news of people buying tools to catch Burmese pythons invading Florida, the state's monthlong hunt for them is over. Hunters caught 68 pythons.

Huge Bomb In Pakistani Market Kills Dozens

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 16:31:00 +0000

The top of this post was updated on Feb. 17 at 6:04 a.m.

Nuclear Waste Seeping From Container In Hazardous Wash. State Facility

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 16 Feb 2013 15:45:00 +0000
They thought they'd managed this problem a few years ago. But Washington state Gov. Jay Inslee got a disturbing call Friday from Energy Secretary Steven Chu: Nuclear waste is leaking out of a tank in one of the most contaminated nuclear waste sites in the U.S.
Inslee released a statement, saying a single shell tank at Hanford Nuclear Reservation is slowly losing between 150 and 300 gallons of radioactive waste each year. All of the liquid was removed from the tank in February 1995; what's left is toxic sludge.

U.S. Olympic Skier Lindsey Vonn Crashes In Austrian Event

NPR: Korva Coleman — Tue, 05 Feb 2013 16:09:00 +0000
The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association says that American skier Lindsey Vonn crashed during the women's world Super-G competition in Austria today and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Reports indicate she may have a serious knee injury.
The gold-winning Olympian was trailing the race leader by 0.12 seconds, according to the USSA, when she crashed.

Direct Talks With Iran? Biden Says It's Possible

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 18:56:00 +0000
Vice President Joe Biden says the United States is ready to hold direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program — provided that the country's top leader is serious about such discussions.
Biden, attending a security conference in Munich, Germany, spelled out conditions for the talks, reports Reuters: "We have made it clear at the outset that we would be prepared to meet bilaterally with the Iranian leadership, we would not make it a secret that we were doing that, we would let our partners know if

Powerful Quake Rocks Northern Japan; No Reported Damage

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 18:02:00 +0000
The Japanese Meteorological Agency says an extremely strong earthquake rattled the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido on Saturday. The magnitude was 6.4. The U.S. Geological Survey's report puts the tremor at a higher magnitude of 6.9; the epicenter was very deep, about 65 miles below ground, near the city of Obihiro.

Yes, He Did: Obama Shoots Skeet

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 17:15:00 +0000
The White House has released proof that President Obama really did shoot skeet — at least once — at the Maryland presidential retreat, last summer.
There'd been some disbelief among gun rights supporters this week when Obama claimed in an interview with The New Republic, "Yes, in fact, up at Camp David, we do skeet shooting all the time." Skeptical Rep.

'Vive Francois Hollande!' France's President Visits Mali

NPR: Korva Coleman — Sat, 02 Feb 2013 15:32:00 +0000
The security situation in Northern Mali has improved with the arrival of the French military last month, so French president Francois Hollande traveled there Saturday for a one-day visit.

Burning Cheese Closes Norwegian Road For Days

NPR: Korva Coleman — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 19:19:00 +0000
It was probably a first for Norway when a truck trailer full of sweet goat cheese caught fire near the town of Narvik late last week, blocking a road tunnel. it took four days for firefighters to put out the flames. No one was hurt.