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National

Saturday

Ham Radio Volunteers Worry About Spectrum Plan

Amateur radio operators are helping to restore emergency communication in some of the areas hardest hit by the tornadoes in the South. But those volunteers say their ability to provide that help is threatened by a new bill in Congress.

Ham Radio Volunteers Worry About Spectrum Plan

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A 'Radical' Plan To Cut Military Spending

Defense Secretary Robert Gates talks with troops during a visit April 7 at Camp Victory in Baghdad. Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images hide caption

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Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

The Federal Budget Crunch

A 'Radical' Plan To Cut Military Spending

As Congress and the White House set a higher priority on cutting the budget deficit, a retired military man sees ways to reap major savings. In a plan he acknowledges as "somewhat radical," former Army Col. Douglas Macgregor proposes slashing the defense budget by 40 percent in just three years.

A 'Radical' Plan To Cut Military Spending

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Deadly Tornadoes Remain Hard To Predict

Residents survey the destruction after a tornado hit Pratt City, Ala., on April 27. Short-term forecasting of twisters like the ones that swept the South this week has grown increasingly accurate, but long-term forecasting remains highly unreliable. Butch Dill/AP hide caption

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Butch Dill/AP

Science

Deadly Tornadoes Remain Hard To Predict

Short-term forecasting of twisters like the ones that swept the South this week has grown increasingly accurate. But long-term forecasting remains highly unreliable. Meteorologists are working on ways to improve that.

Medicare Math Problem: Taxes - Benefits = Trouble

U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., right, hears from a constituent during a "listening session" Tuesday at Gateway Technical College in Kenosha, Wis. Ryan's plan to fundamentally restructure Medicare and cut social safety net programs has proved to be a tough sell to many Republican voters the last few weeks. Jeffrey Phelps/AP hide caption

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Jeffrey Phelps/AP

Health Care

Medicare Math Problem: Taxes - Benefits = Trouble

An average 66-year-old couple kicks in about $100,000 in Medicare taxes over the course of their lives. They've paid in, so they expect Medicare to pay out. — and it does, to the tune of $300,000, on average. So how did the system become so unbalanced?

Medicare Math Problem: Taxes - Benefits = Trouble

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Small Towns Struggle After Storms' Destruction

A damaged truck in a tornado-ravaged area near Rainsville, Ala. Mark Almond/AP hide caption

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Mark Almond/AP

Small Towns Struggle After Storms' Destruction

Three days after tornadoes hit Alabama, people are trying to cope. While the damage and destruction in Tuscaloosa and Birmingham have received plenty of attention, many of the state's smaller communities, also blitzed by tornadoes, have their own challenges. NPR's Kathy Lohr reports.

Small Towns Struggle After Storms' Destruction

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Wis. Political Split Hardens Into Great Divide

A Tea Party supporter, left, argues with a critic before a rally where former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin spoke at the Wisconsin State Capitol in Madison on April 16. Darren Hauck/Getty Images hide caption

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Darren Hauck/Getty Images

Wis. Political Split Hardens Into Great Divide

No state may be more polarized right now than Wisconsin. That follows the effort by Republican Gov. Scott Walker to eliminate the collective bargaining rights of most public workers there. The gap is most apparent between Wisconsin's biggest cities and its smallest towns.

Wis. Political Split Hardens Into Great Divide

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Friday

NFL Lockout: Why Pros Still Show To Off-Season Workouts

A day after the NFL lockout ended, Ryan Mundy of the Pittsburgh Steelers reports to the South Side training facility. Jared Wickerham/Getty Images hide caption

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Jared Wickerham/Getty Images

The Two-Way

NFL Lockout: Why Pros Still Show To Off-Season Workouts

In the end, it's about the money. One player alone gets a $750,000 bonus for showing up to 85 percent of the workouts.

NFL Lockout: Why Pros Still Show To Off-Season Workouts

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Scattered Across Ala. City: Broken Homes, Memories

The Linwood neighborhood in Tuscaloosa, Ala., was pulverized by the nation's deadliest tornado outbreak in nearly four decades. Debbie Elliott/NPR hide caption

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Debbie Elliott/NPR

Scattered Across Ala. City: Broken Homes, Memories

Residents of Tuscaloosa, which was devastated by tornadoes, salvaged what they could as President Obama and the first lady visited.

Scattered Across Ala. City: Broken Homes, Memories

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Mass. Legislature Takes On Union Rights

A battle between lawmakers and labor unions is brewing in unlikely territory. The overwhelmingly Democratic Massachusetts House agreed to weaken municipal employees' ability to bargain over health care. Gov. Deval Patrick (D) distanced the bill from more severe anti-union efforts in other states.

Mass. Legislature Takes On Union Rights

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Forget Bake Sales: Schools Turn To Luxe Auctions

Cash-strapped schools across the country are staging swanky events to auction off everything from weeklong Italian vacations to an unwashed Lance Armstrong jersey, which sold for $110,000. "Probably the strangest thing," says one auction organizer, "was the vasectomy for you and your cat."

Forget Bake Sales: Schools Turn To Luxe Auctions

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Tornado Survivors Pick Up Pieces As Obama Visits

Andy Page cries as he sits with his cat, Ellie, placed in a pet carrier, in his storm-demolished apartment in Trenton, Ga., on Thursday. Page has several cats, and Ellie was the last one he was looking for. Angela Lewis/AP hide caption

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Angela Lewis/AP

Tornado Survivors Pick Up Pieces As Obama Visits

As President Obama arrived in Alabama to survey damage and meet with officials and devastated survivors, search crews and residents continued to comb the remains of communities pulverized by the nation's deadliest tornado outbreak in nearly four decades. More than 300 were killed across seven states.