Next to the American flag at the Valero gas station in May's Lick is a shorter pole bearing a white flag with a blue emblem: the Israeli flag. One of the owners of the gas station, Mark Myers decided to erect the flag to express his opinion on the current status of Israel, what it means to America and what America should mean for the country. Friday morning, two days after the flag was hung, a small pile of animal entrails appeared to have been placed in the grass near the flag. Myers now wonders whether someone could have been protesting his decision to display the Israeli flag.
The Souris River began a slow retreat from Minot on Sunday with no further flood damage in the city, but officials warned danger would remain for several days until the highest water passed.
"We're still at full alert until the water starts going down," said Shannon Bauer, a spokeswoman for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "It's still a war."
Why are more people nearsighted today than ever? Researchers say all the time we spend indoors and away from the sun is making our vision worse. Guest host Susan Stamberg talks with neuroscientist Sandra Aamodt. She and co-author Sam Wang wrote about the issue in their upcoming book, Welcome to Your Child's Brain: How the Mind Grows from Conception to College.
Many economists say housing prices won't start to recover until 2014. Even Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke said the market may be worse than anyone had thought. Still, there may be glimmers of hope as policy makers try to think up new ways to help struggling homeowners avoid going into foreclosure, and help investors buy up those properties that already are in foreclosure. NPR's Chris Arnold visits a foreclosure auction to find out what's happening.
Egypt's precarious transition to democracy is threatened by the continued use of military trials against civilians, three-decades-old emergency laws, press restrictions and other repressive practices leftover from the old regime. That's the conclusion of the head of the rights group Amnesty International as he wrapped up a multi-day visit to Egypt Sunday. From Cairo, NPR's Eric Westervelt reports.
In Libya, the area controlled by Libya leader Moammar Gadhafi is showing the strains caused by NATO's embargo and bombing campaign. The once-prosperous oil-producing country is importing food and even fuel from neighboring Tunisia. NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from western Libya that Gadhafi's government is also cracking down harder on foreign journalists who are covering the situation.
The Souris River is cresting in the town of Minot, N.D. The water has reached more than 6 feet above major flood levels, breaking the record set back in 1881. Residents have been forced out of their homes, thousands of which have been damaged. NPR's Carrie Kahn reports.
