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Current News from NPR

September 3, 2010 | NPR · This was supposed to be the season the economy heated up, thanks to a wave of public works projects funded by the government's stimulus program. But summer is coming to an end and the recovery has not taken root. Forecasters are expecting another gloomy employment report on Friday.
 
September 3, 2010 | NPR · Are you really going to have to have a computer chip implanted in your head as part of the new health law? Will the law allow President Obama to create his own private army? While there are outrageous rumors circulating about the health law, some claims are grounded in truth.
 
September 3, 2010 | NPR · As a long Congo River barge journey ends, so, too, does a unique glimpse into the heart of a poor but potentially rich nation grappling with conflict. Despite the hardship, the people of the Democratic Republic of the Congo draw great inspiration from the inescapable and mighty river.
 
September 3, 2010 | NPR · The biggest cause for concern is that this month could show the weakest business hiring in months. Although the economy is technically a year into a recovery, that is not yet showing up in the jobs numbers.
 
September 3, 2010 | NPR · The program didn't bring any new buyers into the market, a study found. But it encouraged people who would have bought a car anyway to make their purchase a few months sooner.
 

Art & Life from NPR

September 3, 2010 | NPR · George Clooney's latest outing showcases a more internal performance -- as an assassin whose personal life threatens to further complicate an already hard-to-manage career. Kenneth Turan says Anton Corbijn's drama is impeccably composed and beautifully shot -- if a little lacking on the emotional urgency front.
 
September 2, 2010 | NPR · Director Zhang Yimou takes on the Coen brothers, remaking Blood Simple and setting it in the 17th-century "Chinese outback." Adultery, bloody mishaps and Chinese superstition are just the appetizers in this colorful film.
 
September 2, 2010 | NPR · Robert Rodriguez directs Machete, featuring a character first introduced in a fake trailer that played during his 2007 exploitation flick Grindhouse..
 
September 2, 2010 | NPR · Neither director Jean-Francois Richet's style nor star Vincent Cassel's swagger falters in Public Enemy Number One, the exhilarating follow-up to Mesrine: Killer Instinct. With its shootouts, prison breaks and wild flights of ego, the saga's second half was sure to be watchable. It's also smart, funny and incisive -- about the criminal and his era. (Recommended)
 
September 2, 2010 | NPR · Frequently moving and quietly enlightening, the documentary Last Train Home is about love and exploitation, sacrifice and endurance. Director Lixin Fan follows a single Chinese family from 2006 through the financial downturn of 2008. The parents work at garment factories in Guangzhou city; their teenage children live in an impoverished village and see their parents only once a year.
 

November 27, 2008

Oil Shale Feasibility

The federal government recently finalized rules allowing commercial oil shale development in Colorado, Utah and Wyoming … but energy companies are still running tests to determine whether such development is feasible. KRCC’s Eryn Gable recently visited northwest Colorado and has more on the uncertainty and technological hurdles facing this alternative source of energy.

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November 26, 2008

Governor Returns from Asia

Governor Bill Ritter briefed reporters at the state capitol after returning from what he says was a successful ten day economic development trip to Asia. Ritter met with business leaders from China and Japan to promote the state as a renewable energy research hub and lobby for a non-stop flight from Denver to Tokyo. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

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Filed under: Capitol Coverage,Colorado,Denver,Economy,Politics — Delaney @ 5:12 pm

Markey settles in.

One of Colorado’s newest members of Congress spent last week in Washington. Betsy Markey came to look for an apartment and staffers, and to lobby for a seat on congressional committees. It is all part of orientation for freshman lawmakers on Capitol Hill. Sara Sciammacco has more on how she made out and what’s next.

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Filed under: Capitol News Connection,Colorado,Elections,Politics — Delaney @ 2:18 am

November 25, 2008

Colorado's Jobs Committee Put to Work

Creating jobs in rural Colorado, improving the state’s infrastructure and strengthening small businesses are some of the goals of the state’s new job creation committee. The ten member committee held it’s first meeting on Monday and plans to make recommendations when the legislative session begins in January. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

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Filed under: Bente Birkeland,Business/Labor,Capitol Coverage,Colorado — Delaney @ 2:01 am

November 24, 2008

War Stories

War touches many corners of the world. And while many Colorado Springs residents aren’t immune to the effects of war, two residents have come together to share their stories of time spent in countries torn apart by conflict.

Leslie Wirpsa traveled to the South American country of Colombia while a student, and ended up returning in 1984, spending the next ten years as a freelance journalist. David LeCompte travels as a Christian missionary, and between 1997 and 2006, he lived and worked in Chechnya.

Drawn to foreign lands for different reasons and at different times, David and Leslie’s stories are similar despite the very different places in which they found themselves.

Here’s part of their conversation, which begins with why Leslie returned to Colombia, and why David traveled to Chechnya.

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Here’s the complete conversation between David and Leslie (36 minutes):

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Leslie Wirpsa submitted this personal essay, which is accompanied by photographs from her experiences in Colombia and its surrounding region.

David LeCompte submitted this personal essay, which is accompanied by photographs from his experiences in Chechnya.

Here’s another glimpse into the realities both David and Leslie experienced in their respective times abroad. In this conversation, both expand on their respective callings, share similarities between their experiences in countries separated by thousands of miles, and reflect on how their encounters with different cultures caught in the throes of war deeply affected their own lives. (74 minutes)

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For more on David’s book, visit his website, No Escape from Grozny. http://www.noescapefromgrozny.com/

Filed under: Andrea Chalfin,Education,Interview,Slideshow — Delaney @ 6:47 pm

Don Bowie at CC

Located on the northern border of Pakistan, K2 is the second-highest mountain on Earth as well as the second deadliest; for every four people who reach the summit, one dies trying. Veteran climber Don Bowie is one of those lucky four, having summited K2 on a 2007 expedition that he’s documented in his multimedia presentation The Savage Mountain, which he’ll show at Colorado College this evening. KRCC’s Aaron Retka spoke with Bowie, who explained what makes the mountain so much more dangerous than other peaks.

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Filed under: Aaron Retka,Visiting CC — Delaney @ 4:38 pm

November 21, 2008

Presidential Gallery

The state capitol’s 26 year old, third floor presidential portrait gallery is about to get updated. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

Filed under: Bente Birkeland,Capitol Coverage — Delaney @ 5:33 pm

The Laramie Project at Wasson opens.

The Laramie Project is a play that documents the aftermath of the murder of 21-year-old Matthew Shepard, a gay man attending the University of Wyoming. The controversial play hits the stage this week at Wasson High School in Colorado Springs after a five-year delay. KRCC’s Kristin Lynch reports.

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November 18, 2008

Diverse Applicant Pool for Colorado Secretary of State Opening

The 2008 general election may be over, but the job hunt for Colorado’s next Secretary of State is just beginning. The applicants range from a television host, an adjunct professor of Art, an Energy Executive, to several former lawmakers. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

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Filed under: Bente Birkeland,Capitol Coverage — Delaney @ 2:12 am

Civil Justice

Incoming Speaker of the House, Democrat Terrance Carroll went to what can be unfriendly territory on Tuesday. He answered questions about the upcoming legislative session from the Colorado Civil Justice League, a group that tries to protect businesses from abusive lawsuits. Bente Birkeland reports from Denver.

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Filed under: Bente Birkeland,Capitol Coverage — Delaney @ 2:09 am

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