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Kabul's Roads, Paved With Good Intentions

Credit Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images

Afghan laborers work on a roads project last month in Kabul. A huge project to fix the city's roads and sewers is causing huge headaches.

Credit Sean Carberry / NPR

One of the streets undergoing renovation in Kabul. Residents often have to build makeshift bridges at their own expense to span the sewage trenches and reach their garages or driveways.

By Sean Carberry

Originally published on Wed December 5, 2012 1:00 am

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Sometimes, you don't have to go far to find a story. For the past few months, just stepping outside NPR's Kabul office has been a drama.

The neighborhood is in the midst of a major road and sewer renovation project. It's just one of many such projects that is badly needed in Kabul and elsewhere in the country.

But as is often the case, the pace and quality of the work has been uneven. And residents aren't so sure whether the final product will be worth the months of gridlock, power outages and business interruption.

6:00 pm

Tue December 4, 2012

AAA Calls To Suspend Sale Of New Ethanol Fuel

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images

By Sonari Glinton

Originally published on Tue December 4, 2012 6:50 pm

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AAA has warned against potential damage that a new blend of gasoline could do to some engines. And the warning has started a fight over renewable fuels and the future of what we put in our gas tanks.

The fuel is called E15 — named for the percentage of ethanol in the blend. Most of the gas that's sold in the U.S. has about 10 percent ethanol in it.

5:20 pm

Tue December 4, 2012

The Perilous Politics Of The Health Insurance Tax Break

Credit Macmillan

MIT health economist Jonathan Gruber, who explained the ins and outs of health overhaul in a comic book, says that excluding the value of health insurance from federal taxes is a terrible idea, at least from an economist's point of view.

By Julie Rovner

Originally published on Tue December 4, 2012 6:50 pm

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There's not much in health care that economists agree on. But one of the few things that bring them together is the idea that excluding the value of health insurance from federal taxes is nuts.

5:00 pm

Tue December 4, 2012

The First Book Ever Printed In North America And A Church's Decision To Sell It

Credit Monica Brady-Myerov / WBUR

Jeff Makholm holds the Bay Psalm Book.

By editor

Originally published on Wed December 5, 2012 11:34 am

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This past Sunday, the Old South Church in Boston made a decision that cuts to the heart of not only the congregation's history, but to the very beginning of this country's founding.

With an overwhelming 271 to 34 vote, the church decided to give its board the power to sell one copy of the Bay Psalm Book, the first book ever printed in British North America.

Only 11 of the original 1,600 copies of the book printed in Cambridge in 1640 remain. And of those, the church owns two.

4:29 pm

Tue December 4, 2012

For Tea Party Activists In Florida, The Health Care Battle Goes On

By Greg Allen

Originally published on Tue December 4, 2012 6:50 pm

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President Obama's re-election sent a message to state capitals: The war over the president's health care overhaul is finished.

Even in Florida, where Republican leaders led the legal battle against Obamacare, there's recognition now that the state has to act fast to comply with the new law.

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