Search results for

Secretary of State of Condoleezza Rice is making her first trip to Iraq as the nation's top diplomat. NPR's Peter Kenyon is in Baghdad, and he talks to host Liane Hansen about Rice's visit and the United States' efforts to combat insurgents along the Syrian border.

Karen Hughes, a top advisor to President Bush, says the Bush administration's decision to allow National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice testify before the Sept. 11 commission proves it wants to be open with the American public about its actions before and after the attacks. Hughes has written a new book about her life in politics, Ten Minutes from Normal. She speaks with NPR's Juan Williams.

Senate hearings cast light on systemic problems within the U.S. military structure that may have contributed to the abuse of Iraqi prisoners at Abu Ghraib. Testimony from top U.S. officials and military commanders suggests a lack of defined leadership, poor communication within the chain of command and confusion over rules for interrogating prisoners. Hear NPR's Jackie Northam.

U.N. envoy Lakhdar Brahimi, who was tasked with leading the formation of Iraq's new interim government, says he did not get his choice for candidates to fill some top spots. But he says comments he made Wednesday calling U.S. civilian administrator Paul Bremer "the dictator in Iraq" were in jest. Brahimi talks with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

For most of the 1980s, Naomi Judd and her daughter Wynonna were the top country music duo. In the late 1990s, Judd was diagnosed with hepatitis C and told she had just a few years to live. Judd documents her miraculous recovery, and offers advice to others with the disease, in her new book, Naomi's Breakthrough Guide: 20 Choices to Transform Your Life. NPR's Bob Edwards speaks with Judd.

The Brazilian state oil company has a new chief executive and her name is Maria das Gracas Foster. Petrobras is the world's fifth-largest oil producer, and Foster becomes the first woman to run a top-five oil company. This comes as the firm looks to double its production by 2020. The company's stocks surged on news of the appointment.

Cumberland Farms put giant photo cutouts of David Hasselhoff in front of their stores across New England and Florida. The 60-year-old star of Baywatch and Knight Rider is shown smiling, wearing a tank top and promoting iced coffee. Of 570 photos, roughly 550 have been stolen.

Stocks in Japan and Australia hit highs not seen in more than four years after Tuesday's big rally on Wall Street. The benchmark Dow Jones Industrial Average hit an all-time high — topping a record set in the fall of 2007, just before the financial crisis hit.

Gambling houses have placed odds on who might become the next leader of the Catholic world. At the top of the list of frontrunners are men not from Europe.

Before the next drawing, on Saturday night, experts say the lottery could top $1 billion.