Search results for

As President Bush considers ways to reform the Social Security system, he's said to be considering a plan that would reduce benefits for retirees. Many people on both sides of the Social Security debate believe the administration is seriously considering indexing benefits according to inflation rates rather than current prevailing wages. NPR's Jim Zarroli reports.

The strongest earthquake in 40 years hit Southeast Asia Sunday morning, setting off tsunamis that killed thousands. Measured at 8.9, the earthquake is the most powerful recorded since a 9.2 quake hit Alaska in 1964.

Three U.N. workers kidnapped in Afghanistan are freed. Afghan Interior Minister Ahmad Jalali made the announcement Tuesday. The workers were helping with the Afghan election won by incumbent President Hamid Karzai. Hear NPR's Paul Brown.

President Bush begins his second term, urging Americans to expand the frontiers of freedom around the world and challenging young people in particular to "serve in a cause larger than your wants." The speech was the centerpiece of a day devoted to tradition and tribute.

The Aceh region of Indonesia, at the northern tip of the island of Sumatra, was one of the hardest-hit areas of Sunday's earthquake and tsunami. The city of Bande Aceh is all but destroyed, and in smaller towns along the coast the death toll continues to grow. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.

Brigadier Gen. Ken Gluck, deputy commanding general of a U.S. military task force rushing to aid to areas hardest-hit by Sunday's earthquake and tsunami, calls the devastation along the west coasts of Indonesia and Thailand "overwhelming," and details American plans to provide relief.

Charities helping victims of last week's Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami report receiving a huge outpouring of money from Americans. Some groups have been overwhelmed by the response, but all are heartened at the level of contributions. NPR's Libby Lewis reports.

Iraqis have voted in large numbers in the country's first multi-party elections in more than half a century. A string of suicide bombings and mortar attacks, mostly in Baghdad, left at least 30 people dead and dozens wounded. NPR's Emily Harris reports.

Election workers are working around the clock in Baghdad's heavily fortified "green zone," counting the votes from Sunday's election. Results are expected in a few days. The unofficial leader in the poll is the United Iraqi Alliance, a collation of Shiites, followed by Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's slate.

Entire towns and villages have disappeared from the coast of the Indonesian province of Aceh at the tip of Sumatra, one of the hardest-hit areas of last week's earthquake and tsunami. Estimates of the number of dead continue to rise, and countless thousands of survivors are in desperate need of food, medicine and potable water. NPR's Michael Sullivan reports.