Melissa Block

Chemical Weapons Use In Syria Crosses U.S. 'Red Line'

Melissa Block — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 23:37:00 +0000

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And I'm Melissa Block.

The Obama administration has now joined France and Britain in concluding that the Syrian government has used chemical weapons against its own people. That crosses a red line that President Obama has repeatedly warned would change the U.S. calculation in Syria. Tonight, the administration announced that it will step up its military support for the Syrian rebels.

Feds Drop Opposition To Restriction On Sales Of Morning-After Pill

Melissa Block — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 02:35:00 +0000

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From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block. The morning-after pill will soon be available - without a prescription - on pharmacy shelves, with no restrictions on age. That's because the Obama administration has dropped a long-running battle to keep age restrictions on emergency contraception. NPR's Julie Rovner joins me to explain this policy change. And Julie, this was an unexpected development. It came tonight.

The Low-Tech Way Guns Get Traced

Melissa Block — Mon, 20 May 2013 21:28:00 +0000

Opponents of expanding background checks for gun sales often raise the fear that it would allow the government to create a national gun registry — a database of gun transactions. In fact, federal law already bans the creation of such a registry. And the reality of how gun sales records are accessed turns out to be surprisingly low-tech.

The trace begins after police seize a gun at a crime scene and then reach out to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives National Tracing Center in Martinsburg, W.Va.

Report: North Korea May Be Able To Deliver Nuclear Weapons

Melissa Block — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 22:07:00 +0000

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And I'm Melissa Block. A stunning revelation today from a member of Congress. It came from Republican Doug Lamborn, of Colorado, during an exchange on Capitol Hill with Gen. Martin Dempsey, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Lamborn cited a Defense Intelligence Agency report on North Korea's military capability, one that had not yet been released. Here's what Rep.

On Gun Ownership And Policy, 'A Country Of Chasms'

Melissa Block — Thu, 21 Mar 2013 23:00:00 +0000

The ideological gulf between gun owners and non-gun owners is a wide one — made all the more obvious by the ongoing debate over what, if any, gun control measures should be adopted in the U.S.

Sometimes, the debate feels like people are coming from different worlds, even for people within the same family. And while Americans are often willing to discuss their own views, it's rarer to hear conversations between people who own and love guns and those who do not.

Paul Gwaltney is one of the former.

Among Thousands Of Gun Deaths, Only One Charles Foster Jr.

Melissa Block — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 22:02:00 +0000

The Morris Missionary Baptist Church is nestled down a red dirt road, in Morris, Ga., set among pine trees near the Alabama state line. Next to the small white church lies its most recent grave site: that of Charles Foster Jr.

While the mass killings in Newtown, Conn., and Aurora, Colo., garnered a frenzy of news coverage, statistically, they are not the norm. Each year, thousands of gun homicides in the U.S. — 11,000 in 2010 alone — attract little or no media attention.

In those killings, the victim is most often a minority male between 15 and 25 years old and shot in an urban area.

Fugitive Ex-LAPD Officer Apparently Barracaded In Cabin

Melissa Block — Wed, 13 Feb 2013 00:11:00 +0000

Kirk Siegler talks to Melissa Block for an update on the search for former Los Angeles Police Department officer Christopher Dorner. A man that authorities identified as Dorner was holed up in a cabin near Big Bear Lake, Calif., on Tuesday evening. Hundreds of officers surrounded the home. Dorner is wanted for questioning in three murders and one attempted murder.

U.S. May Build Base For Drones In Northwest Africa

Melissa Block — Tue, 29 Jan 2013 21:35:00 +0000

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We're going to head west now, from Egypt across Libya to Niger. The Pentagon has signed a deal with the government there. The agreement could allow the U.S. to establish a forward base in Niger so that it could operate drone aircraft across northern and western Africa. NPR Pentagon correspondent Tom Bowman has been reporting on the U.S. military's growing presence on the continent. He joins me now here in the studio.

And Tom, how close is the U.S. to actually setting up a drone base in Niger?

TOM BOWMAN, BYLINE: Well, it doesn't seem to be that close.

In 'According To What?' Ai Weiwei Makes Mourning Subversive

Melissa Block — Wed, 23 Jan 2013 22:20:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YeQPn-6o6o

Inaugural Balls Downsized The Second Time Around

Melissa Block — Tue, 22 Jan 2013 00:19:00 +0000

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So 9-year-old Lauren Kanabel there has a dream: a girl president elected in 2016. And whether or not that dream comes true, there will be inaugural balls. The tradition dates back to George Washington. Four years ago, President Obama attended ten inaugural balls, this year only two, both at the convention center here in Washington. And NPR's Allison Aubrey is there. She joins us by phone. Allison, the ball has been going on for a few hours now. What's the scene?

ALLISON AUBREY, BYLINE: (Unintelligible) absolutely packed in here.