News From NPR

There's a lot of talk in politics about the desirability of American manufacturing and "green" jobs. President Obama talks about both often, especially wind turbines and long-lasting batteries that are made on U.S. soil.

Robert Siegel, host of All Things Considered, recently visited a Massachusetts factory that makes a product that hits those same parameters. It's arguably a force for sustainability, nearly 40 Americans assemble it, and it's an interesting case study in innovation: the high-speed hand dryer.

'We Had A Product People Hated To Use'

Nearly a week after it began, the standoff in Midland City, Ala., where a 5-year-old-boy has been held captive in an underground bunker, has come to an end.

Citing a U.S. official, CBS News reports the "kidnapped child is alive [and the] kidnapper is dead."

CNN reports that an "explosion" was followed by "gun shots" shortly before the standoff came to an end.

State Rep. Steve Clouse said the boy is at a hospital seven or eight miles away from Midland City and he is "relatively healthy."

More than four months after a deadly attack at a sprawling allied base in Afghanistan that killed two U.S. Marines, there are lingering questions about how it happened.