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The Two-Way
1:10 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

While Controversial, 'Kony 2012' Has Put Focus On Atrocities

Credit Stuart Price / AP
The leader of the Lord's Resistance Army, Joseph Kony, in 2006.
The Two-Way
1:03 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

A Scoop, Really? BuzzFeed, Breitbart.com Spar For Credit On Obama Video

Credit Frontline
A still frame from a video shot in 1990.

Last night a bewildering debate broke out on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight over video posted online yesterday of a young Barack Obama speaking at a student protest at Harvard Law School more than two decades ago.

The debate focused on whether the new BuzzFeed website or Breitbart.com deserved credit for the scoop.

My bewilderment stemmed from the question of why anyone would consider this video to be a scoop at all.

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Afghanistan
12:43 pm
Thu March 8, 2012

For Afghan Policewomen, Sex Abuse Is A Job Hazard

Originally published on Thu March 8, 2012 6:33 pm

The image of Afghan women wearing police and army uniforms is meant to inspire pride and hope for a future where the rights of women will be protected in Afghanistan.

So why would female police officers in the northern city of Mazar-e-Sharif be ashamed to admit they wear the badge?

"Except my very close family members, no one really knows that I am a police officer," said one woman at a NATO training session.

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Shots - Health Blog
11:56 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Detailed Genetic Tests Reveal Cancer's Complexity

Credit Wikimedia Commons
A study of kidney cancer patients finds the complexity of tumors may thwart simple attempts to personalize treatment.

Cancer may be even more complicated than everybody already thought. And that's why a single tissue sample taken from a single tumor may not be the best way to figure out a course of treatment.

British researchers took multiple samples within kidney tumors (before and after drug treatment) and also got samples from tumors that had spread from the original cancers in four patients.

They performed all kinds of genetic tests, including detailed DNA sequencing, on the cancers and found wide variations in some key traits.

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The Two-Way
11:55 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei Gives Rare — If Brief — Praise For U.S.

Credit AFP/Getty Images
A handout photo provided by the office of Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei shows him addressing a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts in Tehran on Thursday.

Iran's supreme religious leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said he welcomed President Obama's comments that attempted to cool off tensions between the West and Iran.

The Christian Science Monitor calls it an "unprecedented praise."

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The Two-Way
11:36 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Solar Storm Goes Easy On Earth — But More Are Sure To Come, NASA Says

Credit NASA/JPL
The sun-orbiting SOHO spacecraft captured this image of filaments erupting off the sun's surface and magnetic plasma blasting into space. The field of view of this image, seen in ultraviolet light, extends some 1.243 million miles from the solar surface.

Originally published on Fri March 9, 2012 10:07 am

The Two-Way
10:53 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Pat Robertson: 'Treat Marijuana The Way We Treat Beverage Alcohol'

Credit Clem Britt / AP

Rev. Pat Robertson.

Those in favor of legalizing marijuana have gained an unlikely ally.

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World
10:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Senator Blumenthal Pushes President On Iran

The Associated Press reports that International Atomic Energy Agency officials are concerned that Iran may be trying to cover up evidence related to nuclear weapons. That could fuel the debate over U.S. options for addressing Iran. Host Michel Martin talks with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

The Salt
10:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Hundreds Battle For International Cheese Glory In Wisconsin

Credit Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association
A judge smells a block of cheese at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wis. Judges carefully appraise a cheese's look, smell and texture before they taste it and spit it out.

When over 50,000 pounds of cheese rolled this week into Wisconsin, a state clearly not suffering from cheese shortages, it could only mean one thing: The World Championship Cheese Contest was in town.

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The Two-Way
9:34 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Inside Bin Laden's House, 'A Fading Splash Of Blood'

Credit Getty Images
The compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was found and killed. (May 3, 2011, file photo.)

The New York Times writes this morning about a retired Pakistani Army brigadier's attempt to reconstruct what happened last May when U.S. Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden at the al-Qaida leader's hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

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The Two-Way
8:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Report: 'Explosive' Growth Of 'Patriot Movement' And Militias Continues

Credit Southern Poverty Law Center
"Patriot movement groups" in red. Militias — armed wings of such organizations — in gray.

An enormous surge in the number of groups that "see the federal government as their primary enemy" and in some cases have militias as their "armed wings" continues, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports today.

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The Salt
7:49 am
Thu March 8, 2012

The Secret To Glowing (Yellow) Skin? Eat Your Fruits And Veggies

Credit iStockphoto.com
Carrots and other veggies give skin a slight yellow tone that people think looks healthy and attractive.

Originally published on Thu March 8, 2012 9:01 am

We know that fruits and vegetables do us all kinds of good. But evidently they also give us a healthful glow — by tinting our skin yellow and red.

People's skin color changed in just six weeks when they increased their fruit and vegetable consumption, according to researchers in Scotland who compared eating habits to skin tone.

And while the cosmetics industry might have you believe that rouge is the ideal cheek color, this study found that another hue rated more healthful and attractive: yellow.

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The Two-Way
6:35 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Jobless Claims Rise By 8,000

There were 362,000 first-time clams for unemployment insurance last week, up 8,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration just reported.

That means the number of claims has moved up slightly, but remains around the lowest level since this time four years ago.

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The Two-Way
5:45 am
Thu March 8, 2012

In Video, Man Said To Be Syrian Oil Ministry Official Says He's Defecting

  • Kelly McEvers on 'Morning Edition'
Around the Nation
5:15 am
Thu March 8, 2012

California Teacher Moonlights As Porn Star

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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Around the Nation
5:08 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Indiana Legislature Votes On Official State Gun

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

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The Two-Way
5:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

House Expected To OK Jobs Bill In 'Rare Agreement' With Obama

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Sometimes bipartisanship does shine down on the Capitol.

Originally published on Thu March 8, 2012 12:01 pm

Update at 1:55 p.m. ET. The House Passes JOBS Act:

Saying that it shows the federal legislature can work in a bipartisan fashion, the Republican-controlled House passed the JOBS Act, which was supported by President Obama.

"It is a welcome sign that we can put our differences aside and work together to produce results to help boost the economy and get people back to work," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said, according to the AP.

The bill was passed with a vote of 390-23.

Our Original Post Continues:

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NPR Story
2:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Creditors Face Deadline In Greek Bond Swap

Originally published on Fri March 9, 2012 2:00 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Private creditors holding Greek bonds have until the end of today to participate in the largest sovereign debt restructuring in history. This means creditors must exchange the Greek government bonds they now hold for new ones that are worth far less. Some creditors are balking, since it means up to a 70 percent loss on their returns.

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NPR Story
2:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And we turn now to a group of people worth almost as much as a small country. Today's last word in business goes to Forbes magazine, which has released its 25th annual billionaires list.

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NPR Story
2:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Syrian Rebels Commit To Anti-Government Strategy

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

Western governments are still debating whether to help Syria's rebels. But as they debate, the rebels are finding ways to help themselves.

INSKEEP: Syrians continue arming themselves, even after they retreated from the battered city of Homs. This week, the United Nations' humanitarian chief finally toured that city, including a rebel neighborhood, now mostly abandoned.

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Asia
2:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Japanese Businesses Post Tsunami

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Here's a stunning fact we came across as the anniversary of Japan's tsunami and nuclear disaster approaches. Of Japan's nuclear plants, only two of 54 reactors are currently active one year after the disaster. To talk about the implications of this, we've called Kenneth Cukier. He is Tokyo correspondent for The Economist magazine. He's on the line.

Welcome to the program.

KENNETH CUKIER: Hi, there.

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Business
2:00 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Business News

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with allegations of price fixing on e-books.

The Justice Department is threatening to sue Apple and five major U.S. publishers for allegedly colluding to raise the price of digital books. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple persuaded publishers, including Harper Collins, Penguin and Simon and Schuster, to change how they price their e-books before the launch of the first iPad in 2010.

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Middle East
1:05 am
Thu March 8, 2012

Egypt's Moves Leave Democracy Advocate Bewildered

Credit Courtesy IRI
Sam LaHood of the International Republican Institute is one of 19 American democracy promoters who face charges of fomenting unrest in Egypt. Here, he is shown last month at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

Sam LaHood, the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, spent four weeks holed up at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, sleeping on an air mattress part of the time and trying to fathom why the Egyptians wanted to prosecute him and his pro-democracy colleagues.

Eventually, LaHood's organization and others with employees facing prosecution paid more than $300,000 a person in bail to get them off the Egyptian travel ban, and the U.S. government flew most of them home.

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Monkey See
10:01 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

On HBO, A Bestselling Book Becomes A Movie About A 'Dynamic Moment'

Credit Phillip V. Caruso / HBO
Ed Harris as John McCain and Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in the HBO film Game Change.

There were a lot of good stories from the 2008 presidential election, including Hillary Clinton's serious run for the Democratic nomination, not to mention the election of the first African-American president. The whole story was covered in the bestselling — and controversial — book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, Game Change.

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Japan In Crisis
10:01 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

With Radiation, Doubt Grows In Fukushima Farms

The mountain village of Kawauchi lies partly inside the area deemed unsafe because of high levels of radiation in Japan's Fukushima prefecture. Chiharu Kubota uses a high-pressure water gun to hose down buildings there.

Radiation is still leaking from the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear plant, which suffered multiple meltdowns immediately after last year's earthquake and tsunami.

'Nothing Is Better'

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Presidential Race
10:01 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

How Far Apart On Iran Are GOP Candidates, Obama?

Credit AP
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad visits the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in April 2008. Western governments suspect Iran is seeking nuclear weapons, a charge Tehran denies. How to handle the possible threat from a nuclear-armed Iran is a major foreign policy concern of the U.S.

Originally published on Sun March 11, 2012 7:10 am

Republican presidential candidates this week — with the exception of Ron Paul — appeared to be trying to outdo each other in saying how tough they would be in dealing with Iran. Speaking before a pro-Israel group, they said President Obama has been weak — "feckless," in Mitt Romney's words.

Obama, meanwhile, was not impressed. He said he'd heard a lot of "bluster" and "big talk" about Iran, "but when you actually ask them specifically what they would do, it turns out they repeat the things that we've been doing over the last three years."

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Around the Nation
10:01 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

In Denver Taxis, Extra Eyes On The Street For Police

Some days, it would be easy to mistake the Metro Taxi dispatch center in Denver for a police station. Traffic and crime incidents are recorded in a special logbook, as drivers call in descriptions and locations to police.

It's part of a program called Taxis on Patrol. Just a day after the program began, a cab driver helped police make an arrest for a fatal hit-and-run. In the months since, eyewitness calls from cabbies using a bulletin system similar to an Amber Alert have led to hundreds of arrests.

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Planet Money
10:01 pm
Wed March 7, 2012

The European Central Bank, As Seen From A Bar On The Coast Of Spain

Credit JOSE LUIS ROCA / AFP/Getty Images

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 12:14 pm

"I have a little bar. A drinks bar," says Chadd Ritenbaugh. His bar is called El Catalonia. It's in the port of Marbella, on the Spanish coast.

"Just sun, sand, and sea," he says. "It's just kind of empty at the moment."

Ritenbaugh bought the bar in 2009. Since then, business has gone downhill. He tried, and failed, to sell.

"Nobody's out buying bars right now," he says. "Banks in Spain are not lending a cent — a euro cent."

Chad himself tried and failed to get a bank loan. "Absolutely nothing," he says.

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