Bryan Wilmoth (right) reunited with his brother Michael years after their parents kicked Bryan out for being gay. All six of their siblings either ran away or were kicked out of their family's home over the years.
Credit Courtesy of Bryan Wilmoth
All of the siblings at Bryan and Michael's sister's wedding in June 2007. From left: Jude, Mike, Pam, Bryan, Amy, Curtis (groom), Chris, Luke-Henry and Josh.
When Bryan Wilmoth was in his late teens, his father found a love letter from a man in Bryan's box of things.
Furious at the discovery of a gay son, Bryan's father took him for a ride and dropped him off in the middle of the night with a $5 bill.
"That's sort of all I remember — sleeping outside in the country that night," Bryan, 50, recounts to his brother Michael, at StoryCorps in Los Angeles.
Growing up in a strict, religious household, Bryan and his seven younger siblings all became estranged from their parents over the years.
Originally published on Fri January 25, 2013 9:22 am
Gareth Morgan hasn't said he's a dog person, but he's definitely not a cat person. Morgan, a top New Zealand economist and environmentalist, is campaigning for a cat-free country.
Actor Jimmy Stewart in a scene from the 1939 movie Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, which popularized the notion of a "talking filibuster." Even under changes negotiated in the Senate, the talking filibuster remains a thing of the past.
Originally published on Thu January 24, 2013 9:28 pm
Update at 9:25 ET Senate OKs Filibuster Deal
The Senate voted Thursday to limit filibusters in a rare bipartisan vote that would reduce but not end the number of times opponents can use the procedure.
Another new consequence of Greece's economic crisis is that the skies of Athens and other cities are filled with smoke due to the increase in the use of wood burning stoves. The cost of heating oil has gone up 40 percent — a tax increase imposed by the troika. The Greek Environment ministry has issued a warning that the increase in pollutants in the air is posing public health risk.
Boeing's flagship jetliner, the 787, has been stuck on the ground lately. The FAA and safety authorities around the world grounded the fleet after battery problems. And today we have an update on the investigation of the battery fire onboard a Japan Airlines 787 this month in Boston.
NPR's Wendy Kaufman has been following this story and joins us now for an update. And, Wendy, what did the National Transportation Safety Board have to say today?
One Paris neighborhood is known as "Little Bamako," named after the capital of Mali. It's a place where Malian immigrants welcome and closely follow the French military campaign against Islamist extremists in their home country. Some express disappointment that President Obama did not send U.S. troops alongside the French soldiers. They reject the harsh Sharia law of the extremists, saying Mali is in fact a very tolerant nation.
David Coleman Headley, whose scouting missions were central to the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai, was sentenced to 35 years in prison today.
According to the AP, one American woman injured during the attacks that killed 160 people testified that because of Coleman, she knew the "sound of life leaving a 13-year-old child."
"I don't have any faith in Mr. Headley when he says he's a changed person and believes in the American way of life," US District Judge Harry Leinenweber said before handing down the sentence.
The Gatekeepers is an Israeli documentary based on long interviews with the six surviving heads of the Shin Bet — that's Israel's domestic security service. These six "gatekeepers" were in charge for more than 30 years.
Originally published on Thu January 24, 2013 5:44 pm
Time now for a home-viewing recommendation from NPR movie critic Bob Mondello. A quiet recommendation — because Bob is touting the Ultimate Buster Keaton Collection, a 14-disc set of classic silent comedies.
Silent film had three great clowns. Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp is the one everyone remembers; all-American daredevil Harold Lloyd is the one who made the most money; and Buster Keaton was the genius.