NPR News

Sailing On Ice? Yeah, That's A Sport.

Credit Sarah Harris / North Country Public Radio

Come Sail Away: Retired high school science teacher — and adrenaline junkie — Andy Sajor rides his ice boat on a frozen Lake Champlain in New York. Perfect ice sailing conditions call for cold temperatures, a strong breeze and a thick sheet of ice — but not too much snow.

Credit Sarah Harris / North Country Public Radio

Andy Sajor prepares his DM, or ice boat, for a run on Lake Champlain. Ice sailing happens just about anywhere water freezes, but the sport started in the Netherlands and caught on in colonial America, where sailors ran up and down the Hudson River, ferrying goods in winter.

Credit Andy Sajor / North Country Public Radio

For her ride around the lake, reporter Sarah Harris claimed the ice boat's only seat while Sajor balanced the plank next to her. Together, they reached a top speed of about 48 miles an hour.

By editor

Originally published on Thu March 1, 2012 12:00 pm

Listen

The minute I learned that ice sailing was an actual sport, I wanted to give it a try. I watched YouTube videos of wooden boats with big white sails zooming across the ice on steel runners. It seemed like such a rush: Imagine racing over a frozen lake on a wind-powered sled, hitting speeds that top 40 miles an hour.

1:06 pm

Tue February 28, 2012

Dow Does It: Closes Above 13,000

By Mark Memmott

Originally published on Tue February 28, 2012 1:47 pm

For the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, the Dow Jones Industrial average has closed above the 13,000 mark.

It didn't do it by much — about 5 points.

We'll have more in a moment.

Update at 4:15 p.m. ET:

1:04 pm

Tue February 28, 2012

Heartless Bastards: Rousing Songs, Born On The Road

Credit Nathan Presley

Heartless Bastards' fourth album, Arrow, was released earlier this month.

By Tom Moon

Originally published on Thu March 1, 2012 12:00 pm

Listen

It's true that you can still get by in rock 'n' roll on the strength of a unique voice. But it helps if said voice has something interesting to work with.

On the first three records by Heartless Bastards, that wasn't always the case. The Mountain, from 2008, had some terrific songs about a breakup, and a few that got bogged down in a rut. But on the band's latest release, Arrow, every song has a powerful, almost magnetic melody.

1:03 pm

Tue February 28, 2012

IMF Chief Christine Legarde: The European Union Is 'A Work In Progress'

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images

International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

By Eyder Peralta

Listen

On tonight's All Things Considered, NPR's Robert Siegel talks to the chief of the International Monetary Fund Christine Lagarde.

Naturally, Robert focused his interview on Greece, which has been engulfed in a debt crisis that has threatened its membership in the European monetary union. Robert asked Lagarde about the tough austerity measures Greece has agreed to and whether those measures could promote a shrinking economy as opposed to getting Greece back to prosperity.

12:58 pm

Tue February 28, 2012

How Far Will The Changes In Myanmar Go?

Next image Previous image

Credit Altaf Qadri / AP

Supporters greet Myanmar's pro-democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi, atop her vehicle, as she arrives at an election campaign rally in Thongwa village, Myanmar, on Sunday. The country's new government is holding legislative elections on April 1.

Credit Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters/Landov

A girl from the Kachin ethnic group waves the flag of Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy as the democracy leader arrives in Namti village last week.

Credit Chris McGrath / Getty Images

Myanmar President Thein Sein (shown here in Singapore on Jan. 30) has introduced a number of changes. His decision to halt construction of Chinese-supported dam project on the Irrawaddy River was widely praised in the country.

Credit Khin Maung Win / AP

A Buddhist monk reads a newspaper in Yangon on Tuesday. Newspaper articles that would have been rejected by Myanmar's draconian state censors just months ago are making it into print, in one of many signs that the long-repressed country is becoming more open.

By Anthony Kuhn

Listen

Once an international pariah ruled by a repressive military regime, Myanmar has in recent months become one of Southeast Asia's hottest destinations.

Last year, a nominally civilian government took over and began political changes in the country also known as Burma. Now, foreign investors and tourists are flooding in, and foreign governments are considering lifting their sanctions.

All Content	closeNews podcasts Use iTunes Use a different player	RSS
View all podcasts & RSS feeds

Now Playing

Podcasts & RSS Feeds

NPR News

Pages

Reporter's Notebook

1:15 pm

Tue February 28, 2012