Nov 11th, 2008 · The long-awaited, $621 million underground Capitol Visitor Center opens to the public in three weeks. It's lush and made out of Pennsylvania sandstone, Tennessee marble and Virginia granite. It's also behind schedule and way over budget. NPR's Brian Naylor takes us on a pre-opening tour of the biggest expansion in the Capitol's history.
Aug 19th, 2008 · Race walking normally doesn't get much attention at the games, but a last-minute course upgrade — costing more than $800,000 — has put a new spring in the step of international competitors who feared injury on the original granite surface.
Dec 31st, 2007 · Presidential hopeful John McCain canvasses New Hampshire while rivals battle in Iowa. McCain, a Republican senator from Arizona, is drawing crowds in New Hampshire, which votes Jan. 8. The granite state made him a contender in 2000, and he needs New Hampshire to keep his recent surge alive.
Oct 31st, 2007 · Republican presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and Mitt Romney are campaigning this week in New Hampshire, one of the first states to cast ballots. Guiliani is leading in national polls while Romney is doing well in straw polls.
May 29th, 2006 · A stone cutter in Manassas, Va., is building a 30-foot-long granite memorial, with the names and etched faces of every soldier who's died in Afghanistan and Iraq.
May 20th, 2006 · India's newest boom town is Hyderabad, a hub for multinational high tech and pharmaceutical companies. But Hydrabad is also known for its enormous, prehistoric granite boulders, which are being jeopardized by economic development.
May 30th, 2005 · The meltoff from record-breaking winter snows in the Sierra Mountains is sending torrents of water pouring down the granite cliffs of Yosemite National Park. Sasha Khokha of NPR station KQED says tourists are thrilled at one of the wildest waterfall displays in memory.