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Asia
1:27 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Myanmar's Election Seen As A Test Of Reforms

Myanmar has an election this Sunday where only a small fraction of the parliamentary seats are at stakes — and yet the ballot is commanding international attention.

The closely watched election is seen as a test of whether the country's rulers are sincere about reforms they have been introducing over the past year.

If the vote is seen as free and fair, it could prompt Western governments to begin lifting sanctions imposed during the half-century of military rule in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

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Movie Interviews
1:19 am
Fri March 30, 2012

James Cameron: Diving Deep, Dredging Up Titanic

Credit Mark Thiessen / AP
The Deepsea Challenger submersible begins its first test dive off the coast of Papua New Guinea.

Titanic is back. The 1997 blockbuster featuring star-crossed lovers Jack and Rose is being released in 3-D. Starring Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio, Titanic was the highest-grossing movie in history — until Avatar.

Both films were directed by James Cameron, who has just returned from a landmark expedition to the deepest point in the ocean: a spot in the far western Pacific called the Challenger Deep.

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StoryCorps
8:00 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

As A Life's End Draws Near, A Father And Son Talk

Credit StoryCorps
"For me, dying — it's very enlightening and certainly rewarding," David Plant (left) tells Frank Lilley. "Look at the opportunity to talk, for example. It's just incredible."

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 10:01 pm

In 2010, David Plant was diagnosed with skin cancer. The cancer has since metastasized to other parts of his body, and David is now contemplating the end of his life. So, just before his 81st birthday, he sat down with his stepson to talk about their life together.

As Frank Lilley explains, "David is my stepfather, but I certainly consider him my father."

The two spoke in in New London, N.H. And Frank began with a question.

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Technology
4:39 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Group Finds 'Significant Issues' At Foxconn Factories

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 6:09 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is All Things Considered. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

The Fair Labor Association, a labor rights group, has released its audit of Apple's largest supplier in China, Foxconn. The group found what it calls significant issues with working conditions at three factories there, including more than 50 violations of the FLA's code of conduct and Chinese labor law.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:33 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Thinking The Unthinkable: What If The Whole Affordable Care Act Goes Down?

After this week's oral arguments at the Supreme Court, lawmakers and health policy experts are starting to ponder what had — until recently — been unthinkable to many: What if the court strikes down the entire Affordable Care Act?

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The Two-Way
3:52 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

In Saturday's Final Four, Expect A Kentucky Showdown And Lots Of Emotion

Credit Kevin C. Cox / Getty Images
Senior guard Darius Miller of Kentucky shoots during the Wildcats' win over Baylor in the South Regional final. Kentucky, the NCAA Tournament's No. 1 seed, faces rival Louisville in the Final Four Saturday.

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 4:53 am

College basketball's Final Four men's teams will play in New Orleans Saturday, to decide which two squads will play in Monday night's NCAA championship game. The first match-up pits the University of Louisville against tournament favorite — and archrival — the University of Kentucky. In the second game, Ohio State University will face the University of Kansas.

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The Two-Way
3:13 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Trayvon Martin Death: A Father Who Lost A Chance To Make Good

Credit Jason Reed / Reuters /Landov
Tracy Martin, father of slain Florida teen Trayvon Martin.

We don't have all of the facts from the night of Feb. 26 when Trayvon Martin was killed by a neighborhood watch volunteer. But in remembering his son, Tracy Martin has touched on how the Florida teen saved his father from a house fire when the boy was 9 years old. On Wednesday, I asked Martin to tell me what happened that day.

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The Salt
3:12 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Studies Show Why Insecticides Are Bad News For Bees

Credit iStockphoto.com
One class of insecticides makes an entire corn plant poisonous to many insects that feed on it, including bees.

The search for the killer of America's bees is a little bit like an Agatha Christie novel.

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The Two-Way
2:58 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Massey Mine Boss Pleads Guilty As Feds Target Execs

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 5:34 pm

Thursday's guilty plea and plea agreement from the former superintendent of the Upper Big Branch coal mine in West Virginia is a key step in the effort to seek criminal charges further up the corporate ladder at Massey Energy, according to court documents and the U.S. Attorney for the southern district of West Virginia.

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Shots - Health Blog
2:38 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Deconstructing Some Of The What-Ifs From The Supreme Court

When Kaiser Health News asked for questions during the Supreme Court arguments this week, one that didn't seem to get addressed in court was this:

What happens to people who have already benefited from the law? This would include seniors who got rebates in the Medicare prescription drug "doughnut hole," for example. Would they have to give the money back to ... the manufacturers? The government?

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The Two-Way
2:37 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Auditor Finds 'Serious Issues' At Apple Supplier Foxconn

Credit Daniel Berehulak / Getty Images
A Foxconn International Holdings Ltd, complex is pictured on November 2010 in Shenzhen, China.

A review completed by the Fair Labor Association found "significant issues with working conditions at three factories in China operated by Apple's major supplier Foxconn."

Apple joined the Fair Labor Association after various reports detailed poor working conditions at the supplier factories. Those reports spawned protests against Apple and Apple responded by saying the FLA would audit the Chinese factories.

In its press release the FLA said the big issues revolved around overtime. The FLA reports:

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The Two-Way
1:42 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

House Passes 2013 Budget That Includes Private Option For Medicare

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-WI) says his budget offers "real solutions."

Voting along party lines, the House of Representatives passed a 2013 budget that was crafted by Rep. Paul Ryan, a Republican from Wisconsin.

Politico reports:

"The 228-191 vote gives the embattled GOP leadership what it most wanted: a show of party unity behind a bold election-year vision that includes new private options for Medicare and a simplified tax code.

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The Two-Way
1:29 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Amid National Strike, Hundreds Of Thousands Protest In Spain

Credit Dani Pozo / AFP/Getty Images
People attend a demonstration in Madrid on Thursday during a national strike.

Hundreds of thousands across Spain took to the streets to protest the latest austerity measures proposed by Prime Minister Mariano Rajoy.

The protests were the culmination of a 24-hour general strike that affected air travel and public transportation.

The AP reports:

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Shots - Health Blog
1:19 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

How Your Brain Is Like Manhattan

Credit MGH-UCLA Human Connectome Project
This image shows the grid structure of the major pathways of the brain. It was created using a scanner that's part of the Human Connectome Project, a five-year effort which is studying and mapping the human brain.

It turns out your brain is organized even if you're not.

At least that's the conclusion of a study in Science that looked at the network of fibers that carry signals from one part of the brain to another.

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It's All Politics
1:12 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

For Romney, Rationale Behind Rubio Endorsement May Be Bigger Prize

Credit Alan Diaz / AP
Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., talks at the Hispanic Leadership Network in Miami on Jan. 27.

Mitt Romney's endorsements this week by two important Republicans — a former president and perhaps a not-too-distant-future presidential running mate — are not unexpected.

But the reasons former President George H.W. Bush and Florida Sen. Marco Rubio give for backing the front-runner are a little less standard political fare.

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The Picture Show
1:11 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Found In A Closet: A Photo Trove Of '60s Icons

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 8:55 am

You never know what people are hiding. When Dan Oppenheimer opened the door to Jack Robinson's apartment, for example, he had no idea what he'd discover. He knew that Robinson had been a photographer in an earlier chapter of his life that he rarely spoke of.

Oppenheimer, who had been Robinson's boss at a stained-glass studio in Memphis, recalls that Robinson kept mostly to himself and had very few friends. Few people even knew he had died, which might explain why Oppenheimer found himself in this position to begin with: There was no one else to take care of the effects.

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Author Interviews
1:08 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

'Escape From Camp 14': Inside North Korea's Gulag

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 6:09 pm

Until his early 20s, the only life Shin Dong-hyuk had ever known was one of constant beatings, near starvation and snitching on others to survive. Born into one of the worst of North Korea's system of prison camps, Shin was doomed to a life of hard labor and an early death. Notions of love and family were meaningless: He saw his mother as a competitor for food.

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NPR Story
1:00 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Review: 'Running The Rift'

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

Athletes all over the world are training for the summer Olympics in London. We'll hear some of their personal stories as the games get closer. But now, a fictional story about a man who wants to reach the Olympics. "Running the Rift" is about an African athlete's struggles with his country's ethnic divisions.

Here's our reviewer, Alan Cheuse.

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Politics
1:00 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Congress Passes Highway Bill To Avoid Shutdown

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

It wasn't just the budget that lawmakers clashed over today. The House and Senate each passed short-term transportation bills. And that sets up yet another showdown over spending, as NPR's Sonari Glinton reports.

SONARI GLINTON, BYLINE: If Congress hadn't passed the short-term transportation bills, beginning this weekend, the government wouldn't have been able to spend money on transportation programs or collect fuel taxes. Disaster averted, right?

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Around the Nation
1:00 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Parents Make Child's Death Their Cause

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

These days, the parents of Treyvon Martin are in the news every day. In the months since their son was shot to death in Sanford, Florida, they've spoken at press conferences and rallies, addressed newspaper editorial boards and even Congress.

Treyvon's father, Tracy Martin, came here to NPR this week. On the program TELL ME MORE, he spoke about the process of dealing with his son's death, saying, it will be a long time before the healing even starts.

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Health Care
1:00 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

What Happens If Affordable Care Act Is Cut By Court?

What happens to the provisions of the federal health care law if the Supreme Court throws it out entirely? Melissa Block discusses that with NPR health policy correspondent Julie Rovner.

Asia
12:51 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Headed For The Butcher, Chinese Dogs Are Rescued

To say that people in China eat dogs is something of a stereotype.

Sure, some still do, but these days, more and more Chinese are buying dogs as pets and treating them like beloved family members.

In the last year, that growing affection has taken a radical turn. Activists have begun stopping trucks along the highway carrying dogs to slaughter and then negotiating their release.

A Last-Minute Rescue

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It's All Politics
12:38 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Democrats Embrace 'ObamaCare' To Defang It

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Supporters of the health care law have recently embraced the term "Obamacare," a word they once recoiled from.

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 4:50 pm

A funny thing happened on the way to the Supreme Court and during the three days the court heard oral arguments on the Affordable Care Act. Democrats embraced the "Obamacare" name the law's foes had used as an epithet for two years to deride the law.

In the political equivalent of what happens in battle when the enemy's captured artillery piece is turned around and the opponent's own shells are fired back at them, Democrats decided to take ownership of a word they once seemed to avoid at all costs.

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The Salt
12:10 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

What Is Community Supported Agriculture? The Answer Keeps Changing

Credit John Amis / AP
A member of the community supported agriculture program at Congregation Shearith Israel picks from boxes of squash and cucumbers in Atlanta. Some purists say CSAs are drifting away from their roots.

Community supported agriculture sounds so simple. Support a local farm, get to know your farmer, enjoy weekly deliveries of fresh produce, and rest easy knowing that you've voted for the local economy with your food dollars.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:04 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Autism Rates Jump Again, As Diagnosis Improves

The number of children diagnosed with autism jumped 23 percent between 2006 and 2008, according to the latest federal estimate.

Now, 1 in 88 children has been diagnosed with autism, according to figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The rapid rise prompted calls to declare the developmental disorder an epidemic. "This is a national emergency in need of a national plan," Mark Roithmayr, president of the advocacy group Autism Speaks, said at a CDC media briefing Thursday.

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The Two-Way
12:02 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

After Controversy, Toulouse Gunman Buried In France

Credit Eric Cabanis / AFP/Getty Images
A sign on the ground marks the place for municipal workers to dig in Cornebarrieu cemetery, a Toulouse suburb in southwestern France.

Originally published on Sun April 1, 2012 7:33 am

At first, his family wanted the body of Mohamed Merah sent back to Algeria. Then after the country refused Merah's body, French authorities settled on burying him in Toulouse, where he was suspected of killing seven before he was shot and killed after a two-day siege of his apartment.

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The Two-Way
12:00 pm
Thu March 29, 2012

Three Key Moments As Trayvon Martin's Story Went Viral

Credit Facebook.com
Part of the awareness raising effort: the Justice for Trayvon Martin page on Facebook.

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 12:10 pm

What moved Trayvon Martin's Feb. 26 death from a local story to a national tale that has sparked a discussion about racial profiling and race relations?

Social media played a critical role. And there were key moments along the way.

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All Tech Considered
11:02 am
Thu March 29, 2012

Using An App To Report Injured Wildlife

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 11:04 am

If you find an injured bird in your back yard, do you know who to call? The Boulder, Colo., group Animal Watch has developed a free iPhone and iPad application and a website called AnimalHelpNow designed to assist with such an emergency. The app and site only work for locations in Colorado, but its developers hope to expand the program nationally.

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Shots - Health Blog
10:55 am
Thu March 29, 2012

Like The U.S., Europe Wrestles With Health Care

Credit Anne-Chrisine Poujoulat / AFP/Getty Images
A patient is treated at the Nord Hospital in Marseille, France, in February. European countries have also been engaged in intense debates on the future of their health care systems, where universal coverage is the norm.

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 1:57 pm

The U.S. has been absorbed by the Supreme Court case this week on the future of health care. But Americans are not alone.

Several European nations, where universal health care has been the norm for decades, have been waging their own intense debates as they also deal with aging populations and rising costs.

Britain passed a new health care measure earlier this month, after more than a year of rancorous debate. Can the European experience cast some light on the American debate over health care?

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The Two-Way
10:55 am
Thu March 29, 2012

Gingrich Is 'At The End Of His Line' Says His Biggest Financial Supporter

Credit Mike Clarke / AFP/Getty Images
Sheldon Adelson.
  • NPR's Peter Overby, during the noon ET Newscast

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