All Things Considered

Bombay Bicycle Club isn't from India, nor will any of its members roll through the U.S. on bicycles during their upcoming tour. But the four British indie rockers are bringing a new sound to the States — albeit one with echoes of The Stone Roses, Radiohead and other British rock acts of the past 20 years.

Yet another foreign government has accused Americans of meddling in its internal affairs. It says U.S. donors are bankrolling local political activists, and it may be time for a crackdown on the political influence of outsiders.

The oil industry and environmentalists are fighting over the Keystone XL pipeline, and in this election year, President Obama is caught in the middle.

The industry says the pipeline, which would carry oil from Canada to the Gulf Coast, would create jobs. Environmentalists worry it will lead to more pollution. Obama has until next month to make a decision, and that has both sides lobbying heavily.

For the first time, organizations can apply for an Internet address all their own, marking the start of a new era in the growth of the Internet.

For example, ".com" and ".org" could be replaced by ".starbucks" or ".newyork."

The expansion was planned by the one organization empowered to regulate the global Internet — the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN.

Debate over the new policy has highlighted the key issue of who, if anyone, should control the Internet.

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish. Today at noon, America's oldest working clock tower rang out for the first time since the 1800s.

(SOUNDBITE OF BELL RINGING)

CORNISH: Old South Meeting House in Boston was a Puritan gathering place. Ben Franklin was baptized there and the Boston Tea Party was planned there, but the belfry has been silent since 1876, after the brick building was nearly destroyed in the great Boston fire.