National News

An enterprising carpenter and a creative puppeteer teamed up on a do-it-yourself project to build a mechanical hand for a little boy. They created an inexpensive prosthetic and published their designs on the Internet. So far, over 100 children have been outfitted.

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An enterprising carpenter and a creative puppeteer teamed up on a do-it-yourself project to build a mechanical hand for a little boy. They created an inexpensive prosthetic and published their designs on the Internet. So far, over 100 children have been outfitted.

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China sees Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who leaked details of the agency's surveillance programs, as the gift that keeps on giving. The country's state-run media has hailed him as a hero for exposing what it calls American hypocrisy.

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President Obama says federal judges have been "overseeing" the recently exposed government surveillance programs. But few, if any, experts in the Bush or Obama administrations believe that the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court has the enforcement teeth it once had.

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The Arab Spring countries are still in the process of remaking themselves. Consider Libya, where militia fighters continue to roam the streets, yet a new private radio station does not hesitate to criticize the armed groups.

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A fresh study looks at what happens after people change their meat-eating habits. Those who upped their intake — about 3.5 servings more per week — saw their risk of developing Type 2 diabetes during four years of follow-up increase by almost 50 percent.

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Big names in business, entertainment and philanthropy pitched in to help buy a Utah ski mountain for a reported $40 million. They want to turn it into the next cool hub for culture and new ideas. "We look to build the coolest little mountain town in the world," says one of the buyers.

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The first-ever study of more than 1,100 schools of education released Tuesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality shows that teacher preparation is in disarray. The study warns that 163 programs provide only "minimal, substandard training."

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The first-ever study of more than 1,100 schools of education released Tuesday by the National Council on Teacher Quality shows that teacher preparation is in disarray. The study warns that 163 programs provide only "minimal, substandard training."

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The Boston Bruins have beaten the Chicago Blackhawks 2-0 to take a 2-1 lead in the Stanley Cup finals. Game 4 of the best-of-seven series is Wednesday night in Boston with the series shifting to Chicago on Saturday night.

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Police reportedly questioned former advertising executive Charles Saatchi for five hours Monday, after pictures emerged of him with hands around the throat of his wife, TV personality Nigella Lawson.

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The case dates from April of 2012, when a female midshipman reported that she had been sexually assaulted by three men after she went to a party in Annapolis. The men have not been identified publicly.

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The Obama administration says the bill "makes unacceptable deep cuts" to federal food aid programs and extends, rather than cuts, crop insurance payments to farmers.

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The Supreme Court struck down an Arizona law that required proof of citizenship to register to vote. But while celebrating a victory, voting-rights organizations are still waiting for the superstar voting case of the current term: a challenge to the Voting Rights Act.

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Paula Cooper admitted to killing a Bible studies teacher as part of a robbery in 1985. Back then, Cooper was 15 — and she was 16 when she was sentenced to die.

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A civil lawsuit that shifted into U.S. district court in Idaho last week alleges that the United Potato Growers of America has become a veritable OPEC of spuds. The group is accused of using high-tech, strong-arm tactics to inflate potato prices.

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Scientists and parents have long been baffled by the fact that children with autism often don't pay attention to human voices. Researchers say that may be because speech doesn't activate a reward system in the brain for those children the way it does for typical children.

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The saga of Edward Snowden and the NSA’s data collecting program, PRISM continues. Snowden did a live chat today with the Guardian newspaper in which he defended his leaking of those NSA documents a week or so ago.

Jaron Lanier is a computer scientist, author of "Who Owns the Future?" and a researcher at Microsoft though he’s quick to say he does not represent the company. “The details are tremendously surprising to me,” he says. “On the other hand, what we have heard has not been entirely consistent and it’s very hard for people to articulate what software does so it might be that the impression we’re getting about what’s been leaked is not quite accurate.”

He has a suggestion for those worried the U.S. government has gone a step too far. If “information costs money,” the government might be more judicious.

“We should have a market for information where prices are set by market forces and the government has to pay the market rate,” Lanier explains.  So for example, you make a phone call and the NSA listens in. The NSA will send you a check for that information they gathered.

The wealthy become those who create more useful data. Take for example, someone who likes walking -- the government could track their movement to study the safety of sidewalks. “It’s information that wouldn’t exist if the people didn’t exist.”

And this solution -- turning data generated by the technology people use every day and the personal information it generates -- also helps solve another problem, that of technological inequality.

Lanier points out how the wealthy can profit because they have access to better and faster computers. But under his solution, it’s not about speed but the quality of data you produce.

As part of NPR's series marking 50 years since the summer of 1963 — a formative time in American politics and culture — we turn to Jackson, Miss. There the story of a summer youth workshop meant to bring the Civil Rights Movement out of the past and into the 21st Century unfolds.

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The National Football League announced a controversial rule change starting this upcoming season -- a limit on the size and type of bags that can be brought into a stadium.

Starting this preaseason: no camera bags, no fanny packs, no backpacks, no seat cushions. The NFL says the policy is meant to provide a safer environment for the public, speed up security checks, and expedite fan entry into stadiums.

"The public deserves to be in a safe, secure environment. This is about both safety and improving the overall fan experience," states the NFL's website. "We had been discussing a new approach to bag restrictions before the Boston Marathon incident. We have come up with a way to do it that will actually make access more convenient for fans than it has been. We think the fans will embrace and appreciate it."

Small clutches the size of a person's hand, NFL-branded clear plastic or vinyl totes, as well as one-gallon clear plastic freezer bags will be OK to bring into stadiums. An exception will be made for medically necessary items. Of course, the ban has sparked controversy among football fans. Women, in particular, are upset about the purse restriction.

Melissa Jacobs of TheFootballGirl.com writes, "By asking women to leave their purses at home – and based on the restrictions, I mean asking every woman to leave her purse at home – the league is disconnecting from a fan base they are supposedly working so hard to expand."

By angering female fans, the NFL may be undercutting one of its target growth markets. In recent years, the NFL has focused on women in marketing efforts meant to boost its audience and revenue -- finding success through sales of league merchandise. Scarborough Research data from 2009 shows that women make up 42 percent of NFL fans compared to 58 percent for men.

The NFL's new policy got us wondering how it compares to other places where bag restrictions are in place. Here's a list of famous monuments and places and their bag policies.

• Acropolis Museum, Greece
  Visitors are asked to avoid carrying large bags and luggage into the museum to avoid entrance delays.
• Machu Picchu train, Peru
  Passengers are allowed to carry on one bag or backpack weighing less than 11 lbs. and smaller than 62 linear inches.
• Major League Baseball stadiums
  Guests can bring any bag that is soft-sided (e.g., diaper bags, small purses, etc.) and whose dimensions do not exceed 16" x 16" x 8" as stipulated by Major League Baseball security regulations. Briefcases, coolers and other hard-sided bags or containers are not permitted.
• Staples Center, Los Angeles
  All bags larger than 14" x 14" (i.e. backpacks, suitcases, beach bags, etc.) will be prohibited from entry into the arena.
• Statue of Liberty, New York
  Large packages, suitcases, carry-on luggage and other large parcels are not permitted on the ferry systems or at Liberty and Ellis Islands.
• Sydney Harbour Bridge Climb, Australia
  Climbers are not permitted to take any items onto the bridge, including handbags.
• Taj Mahal, India
  The website discourages visitors from carrying big bags and books inside the monument as it may increase security check time.
• U.S.S. Arizona Memorial, Hawaii
  No purses, handbags, fanny packs, backpacks, camera bags, diaper bags, luggage and/or other items that offer concealment.
• Vatican museums and Sistine Chapel, Vatican City
  You may not enter with any bags, backpacks or luggage measuring more than 40 x 35 x 15 centimeters. Any bag or backpack smaller than that is OK as long as it's not overly cumbersome and doesn't "jut out" by 15 centimeters from the body's shape in its highest point.