News from NPR

Jeff Neely, the regional official at the General Services Administration who hosted a 2010 taxpayer-funded conference in Las Vegas that became a scandal as details about excessive spending, gifts and lavish parties were revealed, has left his job at the agency.

This interview was originally broadcast on May 10, 2012.

To all appearances, Chris and Lisa Faris seemed to have it all together. He rose through the ranks of the U.S. Special Operations Command to become its top enlisted man, command sergeant major, and his wife tended to their family and many others on his long deployments.

With pride and sadness, writer David Freed watched his son go off to the war in Afghanistan. In the Los Angeles Times, Freed suggests that politicians who vote or make orders to deploy service members don't understand what it means to have a loved one serve. Originally broadcast April 4, 2012.

Amy Richter was slathered up in oil and wearing a sparkling red bikini when she competed in her first bodybuilding contest a few years ago. That was quite a change for an Episcopal priest. Host Michel Martin speaks with the "Ripped Reverend" about keeping the body and spirit strong.

The Barbershop guys weigh in on revelations about the death of Florida A&M University drum major Robert Champion. Some police documents suggest Champion agreed to undergo hazing that allegedly took his life. The guys also dish on their top picks for the NBA playoffs.

NPR's "Sick in America" survey found that a lot of Americans are unhappy with the healthcare system. Among those who had a recent serious healthcare experience, nearly half said that a lack of cultural understanding played a big role in the problems with U.S. healthcare quality. Host Michel Martin talks with NPR's Richard Knox and Dr. Kavita Patel of the Brookings Institution.

Host Michel Martin and Tell Me More editor Ammad Omar comb through listener feedback and give news updates from past stories. They remember pioneering African-American broadcaster Hal Jackson, who died this week at age 96. They also give an update on Hikaru Nakamura, who recently won his third U.S. chess championship.

On Morning Edition, NPR's Frank Langfitt reported about a Chinese company's $2.6 billion purchase of North America's second-largest movie theater chain. Now, he tells us how the movie-going experience has changed in China in recent years: