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May 17, 2013 — A long week of scandal has been tough on more than just the White House. President Obama's allies are struggling with how to respond to their first taste of really bad news within the administration.

Why The IRS Scandal Is Built To Last

May 17, 2013 — Of all the current Washington scandals, the one involving the IRS appears to have the most staying power. It rolls into one package an agency many love to hate, partisan suspicions and the American appetite for conspiracies.

After Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Action

May 17, 2013 — Proposals for chemical plants to use "inherently safer" design practices have been blocked by industry executives and their allies in Congress, despite deadly accidents and the risk of a potential terrorist attack that could harm an entire community or city.

Obama U: What Graduation Speeches Say About The President

May 17, 2013 — President Obama's commencement speeches often seem more about the big-picture state of the union than do his State of the Union addresses, which read like to-do lists. And his assessment of where the country stands and where it's going has changed over the past four years.

Previously, On Arrested Development

May 17, 2013 — NPR's guide to the running gags from the show.

Third Challenge: Translation Station. Sara Richards, an production assistant on the International Desk, matches the French translations with corresponding English phrases. (NPR)

A Favorite Holiday Tradition: The NPR Staff Relay Race

by Emily Hellewell

Dec 25, 2012 — By far, the best holiday tradition at NPR is our annual relay race around the perimeter of our headquarters in DC. It's not your traditional office party: eight teams of four employees compete for glory in a race that isn't exactly about athleticism. Check out a pictorial recap of the event.

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Mariah Dodson (Office of the General Counsel) rounds the corner along Massachusetts Avenue to reach the final challenge of the race.

Fourth Challenge: Latte Carry. For the final leg of the race, StateImpact's Danny DeBelius carries a bowl filled with milk and coffee, careful not to spill too much out.

NPR CEO Gary E. Knell takes the megaphone to congratulate the teams. "You are all winners," he said.

Second Challenge: Paint by Numbers. Science Desk Intern David Schultz and Talk of the Nation Producer Sarah Handel paint (within the lines?) a line-art drawing of the Eiffel Tower.

Bard hands off the baguette baton to teammate Emma Roller, an intern on the Washington Desk.

Taylor Phares, a paralegal in the Office of the General Counsel, keeps the pace as her runner's bib flies up in her face near the third relay stop.

Finish Line: 'Judge' Sweeney inspects the latte bowl of Global Health Correspondent Jason Beaubien to make sure he didn't spill too much liquid out during the final leg of the race. He passed the inspection and his team won the race.

Still chewing his last pastry, Bowers takes off running the first leg of the relay race around NPR Headquarters in DC.

First Stop: Pastry Eating Contest. News Apps Developer Jeremy Bowers, Mobile Product Manager Jen Oh and Digital Media Intern Curtis Bard kick the race off as they make their way through four pastries. Apparently some NPR staffers are better at savoring their food than scarfing it down: mid-way through, the requirement for completing this challenge was reduced to just two pastries.

First Stop: Pastry Eating Contest. News Apps Developer Jeremy Bowers, Mobile Product Manager Jen Oh and Digital Media Intern Curtis Bard get the race off to a quick start as they make their way through four pastries. Apparently some NPR staffers are better at savoring their food than scarfing it down: mid-way through, the requirement for completing the challenge was reduced to just two pastries.

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Emily Hellewell

Related Topics at NPR.org

By far, the best holiday tradition at NPR is our annual relay race around the perimeter of our headquarters in Washington, D.C. It's not your traditional office party: eight teams of four employees compete for glory in a race that is less about athleticism and more about the challenging activities along the way. You may recall this hippity-hop sprint from 2010, for example.

This year, the theme for our holiday festivities celebrated one of the golden ages of thought, creativity and entertainment: Paris in the Jazz Age of the 1920's. The relay crews, inspired by the theme, showed up wearing mustaches and floppy hats with team names like "The Champs of �lys�es" and "The Toulouse Lautrekkers." They raced around the building holding a baguette for a baton and competed in four challenge activities: pastry eating, painting by numbers, phrase translation and the latte carry.

Our colleagues, thankfully uninhibited by propriety, are allowing us to display some photos from along the course for all to see. Enjoy.

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