There is a new look at the fastest growing and shrinking cities in America, based on U.S. census data released today. The fastest growing city with a population of more than 1 million: Gilbert, Arizona, which grew 43 percent from April 2000 to July 2004. At the bottom of the list is Detroit, Michigan, [...]

The incredible deals and the promise of a quick, luxurious getaway in places like the Caribbean have long been a huge draw, pulling millions of Americans into the staterooms and teak-lined decks of ships run by mega-companies like Carnival and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines.
The cruise industry is already as big and ostentatious as the ships [...]

Time Magazine said today that it would comply with a court order to hand over the notes from a story Matt Cooper wrote about CIA officer Valerie Plame. The New York Times, whose reporter Judith Miller also faces possible jail time, said it was “deeply disappointed” by Time’s decision.
Both Cooper and Miller stand to [...]

In Washington, money is power, and lobbyist Jack Abramoff brought bags of it. He hit the jack-pot peddling influence to Indian tribes and spread the spoils to Republican power brokers like Ralph Reed, former head of the Christian Coalition, Grover Norquist, architect of the K Street Project, and the Hammer, House Majority Leader, Tom [...]

Steven Spieberg’s adaptation of “War of the Worlds” opens in theaters across the country today. The original novel by H.G. Wells detailed an alien invasion in Victorian England, a subversive undermining in the golden age of the British Empire.
Orson Welles created the infamous 1938 radio broadcast, which sent listeners into a state of panic when [...]

The government’s fight against corporate corruption suffered a major setback when a jury in Birmingham, Alabama found HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy not guilty on 36 counts of fraud and money laundering. This was after more than half a dozen former Healthsouth executives testified as part of their plea bargains that Scrushy took part in [...]

President Bush addressed the nation yesterday, stressing the importance of “completing the mission” in Iraq but offering no timetable for U.S. disengagement.
His statements marked the one-year anniversary of official Iraqi sovereignty. Many saw the speech as an attempt to shore up public support for the war, which has steadily declined as insurgency attacks continue and [...]

President Bush faces one of the biggest challenges of his second term as he tries to reassure the public and troops at Fort Bragg, North Carolina that his administration is not disconnected from reality in Iraq. With public opinion polls showing that up to 60 percent of Americans are unhappy with the war’s progress, [...]

With polls showing popular support for the war in Iraq floundering, President Bush will address the nation and urge Americans to steel their resolve. The President will speak in Fort Bragg, North Carolina on the one-year anniversary of the formal transfer of sovereignty to Iraqis.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan says the President will try to [...]

Two-and-a-half-years ago, the space shuttle Columbia exploded on reentry, killing its seven crew members in a stark reminder of the dangers of space travel. NASA is scheduled to return to space with the July launch of its orbiter Discovery. But yesterday’s announcements by an advisory panel were hardly the boost of confidence NASA was [...]

China is moving to tighten its grip on the world’s oil supplies. Last week the China National Offshore Oil Corporation bid $18.5 billion for the American oil company Unocal. China’s goal: to make sure it has access to enough oil to keep its economy racing forward.
Energy demand is transforming China’s foreign policy and that makes [...]

President Bush and German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder had strong words for Iran today. Addressing reporters, the leaders emphasized the importance of a tough, unified front on Iran’s nuclear program.
The statements come at a tense time for all nations involved. President Bush has expressed skepticism about the legitimacy of Iran’s recent elections. Iranian President-elect, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad [...]

When we think of nature, we don’t usually think of Hawaiian forests trampled by feral pigs or dog food-eating brown tree snakes. But in a world where no corner is spared, nature isn’t as pristine as we would like to think.
In a new book, senior editor for Discover Magazine Alan Burdick says that nature’s intruders [...]

Joshua Redman’s got the world swaying to his saxophone. The New York Times called Redman one of the most visible jazz musicians today. He’s a natural improviser, a strong band leader, and, at age 36, an articulate spokesman for jazz. He’s fusing jazz and funk, stepping over musical boundaries to chart his own path, while [...]

At the White House today, President Bush and Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al Jaafari stood side-by-side reaffirming their commitment to defeat the terrorists in Iraq. The meeting coincided with news of another suicide bombing in Falluja that killed two Marines and left another thirteen wounded.
But in spite of the continued violence and falling support [...]

In 1998, writer Michael Cunningham struck pay dirt and took home a Pulitzer with “The Hours.” The Virginia Wolfe-infused novel was adapted for the big screen and actress Nicole Kidman won the Oscar for her performance.
Now, Cunningham is back with a new novel called “The Specimen.” It is made up of three novellas stitched together [...]

Throughout much of human history, marriage has had very little to do with love. In prehistoric times, it had more to do with building tribal alliances and turning enemies into kinfolk. People married for economic and political gain. Then in the 18th century with the “Love Revolution,” the concept of marriage took an entirely different [...]

The golden years of retirement are supposed to be full of time with the grandkids, cruises around the world, indulging in those hobbies you never had time for at work. But that was then. Retirement now isn’t what it used to be. For one thing, more people are choosing not to retire at all [...]

A federal panel charged with investigating the collapse of the World Trade Center is releasing its long-anticipated recommendations tomorrow. The panel’s proposals are intended to influence policies on evacuation strategies for tall buildings nationwide. Early drafts of the recommendations sparked opposition to the tough demands it would place on future development projects.
For [...]

The world’s first solar-sail powered spacecraft got off to an inauspicious start yesterday when the Russian rocket carrying it shut down 83 seconds into the flight. For hours the spacecraft was believed lost. But later tracking stations in the Pacific Ocean, Russia and the Czech Republic picked up weak signals that seemed to [...]

Mammograms, prostate tests and other preventative health care tests are meant to keep us well. Conventional medical wisdom says that if you detect the bad things early, you can nip them in the bud and enjoy a long, healthy life. Dr. Nortin Hadler disagrees.
In a new book, Hadler, a Harvard-educated physician, argues that many routine [...]

Grant Wood’s “American Gothic” is perhaps the most famous American painting. The portrait of the balding, stern farmer, wearing round glasses, hayfork in hand, hatchet-faced woman at his side, has been reproduced and parodied countless times. Eddie Albert and Eva Gabor famously struck the American Gothic pose at the end of each episode of “Green [...]

Pakistan has been getting more than its share of headlines lately. There’s the case of Mukhtaran Bibi, gang-raped three years ago, whose attackers were released from jail and her passport confiscated to keep her from traveling to the United States. The result: an international outcry and new attention to Pakistan’s human rights abuses.
Meanwhile, Afghanistan is [...]

On July 1, Los Angeles mayor-elect Antonio Villaraigosa will take office and become the first Latino to do so in 133 years. He energized the Latino vote to historic levels and successfully built a multiracial coalition. Political heavyweights are taking note.
One of every seven people in the United States is Hispanic, making Latinos the fastest [...]

Today in Philadelphia, Mississippi, 80 year-old Edgar Ray Killen was convicted of manslaughter in the 1964 murders of three civil rights workers that helped galvanize the civil rights movement. The ex-Ku Klux Klansman sat passively in his wheelchair — oxygen tube attached to his nose — as the verdict was read.
It was 41 years ago [...]

Reports of new cases of identity theft keep coming in. The latest breach could be the largest case of stolen consumer data to date with more than 40 million Visa, MasterCard, American Express and Discover accounts vulnerable to fraud exposure.
Banks and credit card companies say they’re keeping a close eye on financial data. But these [...]

Just hours ago, the U.S. Senate voted 54 to 38 to delay a final vote on the nomination of John Bolton to be the next U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
For the latest developments, On Point spoke to Charles Babington, congressional reporter for the Washington Post.
Guests:
Charles Babington, congressional reporter, The Washington Post

In last year’s American presidential elections, people who said they went to church more than once a week favored George W. Bush over his Democratic challenger, John Kerry.
Faith played a key role in that election in other ways too. Some Catholics questioned John Kerry’s right to receive communion because of his support of abortion rights. [...]

Guests:

Today, in a speech at the American University of Cairo, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said democracy was inevitable for the Middle East, and urged the Egyptian government to lead the way toward political reform. Rice called on President Mubarak to put his faith in the decision of the people in the upcoming presidential [...]

The U.S. always does a delicate diplomatic dance when it comes to the Saudi Kingdom. It’s a powerful American ally with the world’s largest oil reserves. But it’s also a deeply traditional monarchy, ruled by one family, and tightly bound to the radical version of Islam preached by Wahhabi clerics.
Now, in a new book, longtime [...]

From the verdict in the Michael Jackson and Tyco trials to new calls for U.S. troops to get out of Iraq, On Point host Tom Ashbrook and news analyst Jack Beatty look back at this past week in the news.
Guests:
On Point host Tom Ashbrook and news analyst Jack Beatty.

Writer W. “Kip” Stratton grew up in Oklahoma, a rodeo-loving boy who lost his father to the lore of the circuit. His mother took him to his first rodeo in utero. Now, he has taken to the circuit himself, to lay out the origins and culture of the rodeo.
He headed south and west [...]

This Sunday is Father’s Day. For stay-at-home dad Chris McEnroe, this Father’s Day will be particularly special — his third child was born just last week. Chris has spent the last four years on the homefront — taking care of the young kids while his wife earns the paycheck.
In this radio diary, he [...]

While the overwhelming majority of Americans have left guaranteed retirement pensions far behind for the on-your-own world of 401Ks or less, public employees are still wracking up some of the best pension deals in history.
Today, 90 percent of public employees can still look forward to a defined benefit pension. Among private sector employees, that number [...]

On Capitol Hill, a group of Democrats held informal hearings on the British government document that claims the Bush administration fixed intelligence to support the invasion of Iraq.
The memo made a big splash in Britain a month ago, but has only recently drawn mainstream media attention in the U.S. Now, 90 members of Congress [...]

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers today introduced a measure that would require President Bush to start withdrawing U.S. troops from Iraq no later than October, 2006.
Two Republicans and two Democrats sponsored the resolution. One of them was Republican Congressman Walter Jones of North Carolina, who voted for authorizing the war in 2002 but recently [...]

Do you know who I am?” Bill Clinton once asked a tormenting Newt Gingrich. “I’m the big rubber clown doll you had as a kid, and every time you hit it, it bounces back. That’s me. The harder you hit me, the faster I come back up.”
Bill Clinton was and is [...]

What is being described as the worst outbreak of “red tide” ever has closed shellfish beds up and down the Northeastern seaboard — driving up shellfish prices nationally and costing the shell fishing industry $3 million a week.
In this radio diary, On Point contributor Scott Haas explains how scientists are responding to the red tide [...]

The long era of cheap, abundant oil is coming to an end, and debate in Washington is boiling over exactly what to do about it. Congress is up to its neck in energy policy, in House and Senate versions of a massive new energy bill. In it is every thing from tax breaks for [...]

The Senate Judiciary Committee held hearings on the future of the Guantanamo Bay prison today, a week after officials ranging from Jimmy Carter to Republican Senator Mel Martinez called for its closure following reports of prisoner abuse. More than 500 inmates have been held as “enemy combatants” at the prison — some for more than [...]

The San Antonio Spurs hold a 2-1 lead over the Detroit Pistons in this year’s NBA finals. But following the bouncing ball isn’t “must-see TV” any more. Ratings are way down. So are revenues. And there’s a lockout looming.
It wasn’t always this way. Michael Jordan was a household name. The battles between the Celtics [...]

For nearly two decades Pulitzer Prize-winning war correspondent Chris Hedges has covered conflicts in Latin America, the Middle East, and the Balkans. In his bestselling book “War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning,” he reflected on the appeal of war to the human psyche.
Now, he is offering his meditations on America, its religious and [...]

You may have grown up hoping to be a ballerina or a cowboy. According to a new study, those are two of America’s worst professions. Maybe it’s time to put your true passions to bed and follow the straight and narrow path to prosperity and security.
Using six key criteria to analyze the best and [...]

The White House is sticking to its guns and its plan to stay the military intervention course in Iraq. But senior American military officials counter that insurgency in Iraq is stronger than ever.
Almost two years after the conflict in Iraq started, American citizens and politicians are pressuring President Bush to speed the withdrawal of American [...]

Today, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger gave a televised address on his decision to hold a state referendum in California.
Schwarzenegger wants Golden State voters to consider ballot measures that would impose a cap on state spending, redraw legislative districts and increase the time it takes for teachers to gain tenure.
Hear a discussion on the impact this special [...]