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Shots - Health Blog
7:45 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Fatty Foods Bad For Sperm

Credit Robert Byron / iStockphoto.com
Eating foods high in saturated fat may increase fertility problems in men, a preliminary study finds.

Men who eat a lot of fatty foods have lower quality sperm than men who avoid them, a new study found.

Saturated fat, the stuff in meat and dairy foods, was associated with lower sperm counts. The men eating the most saturated fat had 35 percent fewer sperm than men eating the least.

On the bright side, the men who ate more omega-3 fats — the kind found in fish and some plants — had slightly more sperm that were correctly formed than their brethren who ate less.

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The Challenges Of A Nuclear Iran
7:37 am
Wed March 14, 2012

The Debate Over Bombing Nuclear Facilities In Iran

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 10:31 am

Iran said Tuesday that it is unwilling to allow international nuclear inspectors to have complete access to a restricted military complex, called Parchin, which is near the capital Tehran. There are concerns that the complex may contain a facility designed to test explosives meant to trigger a nuclear chain reaction.

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It's All Politics
7:01 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Santorum Gains Momentum, And The GOP Slog Continues

Credit Sean Gardner / Getty Images
After Rick Santorum won primaries in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday, he addressed supporters in Louisiana, which holds its primary on March 24.

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 11:50 am

Rick Santorum won two Southern state GOP presidential primaries Tuesday, embarrassing Mitt Romney who had predicted he'd take one.

Second-place finisher Newt Gingrich vowed to fight on to Tampa, tag-teaming Romney along with Santorum. The "three-way dynamic," as he put it, is a winner for Gingrich and, perhaps, his dream of deal-making at the convention, and for Romney, too, whose Southern result could have been much worse if he'd been posting up against Santorum alone.

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The Two-Way
6:40 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Boston's Back Bay Slowly Recovering After Smoky Fire Causes Chaos

Credit Bianca Vazquez Toness / WBUR
The smoke over Boston from Tuesday's electrical fire.
  • WBUR's Bianca Vazquez Toness
  • NPR's Tovia Smith

Repair crews are working this morning to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses in Boston's Back Bay district, "after two transformers caught fire Tuesday night, knocking out power" and sending think black smoke billowing over the area, our colleagues at WBUR report.

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Africa
6:16 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Congo Warlord Convicted Of Recruiting Child Soldiers

Judges at a war crimes tribunal convicted Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga of snatching children from the street and turning them into killers. A sentencing hearing will now be scheduled. Lubanga faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Two-Way
6:05 am
Wed March 14, 2012

'Tragic Day For All Of Belgium': 22 Children Killed In Bus Crash

Credit Sebastien Feval / AFP/Getty Images
The mangled front of the bus. The crash happened in a tunnel in Sierre, in the Swiss canton of Valais.

There's been a horrible traffic accident inside a Swiss tunnel. At least 28 people — 22 of them children mostly around the age of 12 — were killed Tuesday night when the bus they were in crashed.

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Presidential Race
5:58 am
Wed March 14, 2012

After Santorum Wins, Romney Hopes To Regain Edge

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 11:02 am

For Mitt Romney, the string of victories that would lock up the Republican nomination for president remains elusive.

Last week, Romney looked more or less inevitable to many political observers, thanks to his victories in six of the 10 states that voted on Super Tuesday.

But since then, the former Massachusetts governor has gone on a losing streak. He lost caucuses in Kansas, which voted on Saturday, and primaries in both Alabama and Mississippi, which voted Tuesday.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won all three of those races.

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The Two-Way
5:45 am
Wed March 14, 2012

In Afghanistan, Panetta Says Mission Continues

  • Larry Abramson, reporting from Afghanistan

At Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan today, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged U.S. military personnel to not be deterred from their mission and continue "to make life difficult" for the Taliban and al-Qaida, says NPR's Larry Abramson, who is travelling with Panetta.

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Around the Nation
5:40 am
Wed March 14, 2012

City Council Breaks Paper Products Stalemate

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 6:17 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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Around the Nation
5:33 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Georgetown's Team Mascot Sidelined With Injury

March Madness has barely begun and a key figure in Georgetown basketball has suffered an injury. Team mascot Jack the Bulldog has torn the doggie version of his ACL. Jack's keeper tweeted the injury was likely from jumping on the couch.

The Two-Way
5:15 am
Wed March 14, 2012

6.9 Magnitude Quake Shakes Japan, But Tsunami Warning Canceled

The same general area of Japan that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami almost exactly one year ago was rattled today by a 6.9 magnitude temblor that led authorities to warn of another possible tsunami along the nation's northeast coast. (Note at 7:42 a.m. ET: The U.S.

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The Two-Way
5:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Santorum Wins In Dixie, Romney Takes Hawaii And American Samoa

Credit Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum with supporters Tuesday night in Lafayette, La. Louisiana's primary is on March 24.
  • Mara Liasson on 'Morning Edition'

After another set of presidential contests the story remains much the same — pundits say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains the front runner in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, but former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum continues his strong challenge.

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It's All Politics
4:26 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Why It's Time For Newt Gingrich To Say Good Night

Credit Marvin Gentry / Reuters /Landov
After his losses in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich will face increasing pressure to drop out of the GOP race. Here he waves to supporters after speaking at an election night rally in Hoover, Ala. on March 13.

It is time for the much-winnowed field of Republican presidential contenders to shrink a little further. It is time for Newt Gingrich to bid adieu and wrap up his bid for the nomination.

Rick Santorum, who won the Alabama and Mississippi primaries on Tuesday, has proven himself the conservatives' favored alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney. He did this by winning the voters who mattered most in the deep-dyed red states of Alabama and Mississippi, the white evangelical "born again" voters who cast more than two-thirds of the vote in each state.

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NPR Story
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

European Court Takes Up Crucifixes As Jewelry

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Britons are struggling with the issue of faith in the workplace. Two British women, one an airline employee and the other, a nurse, were suspended or barred from doing their jobs because they wore crucifixes at work. Now the two are taking their case to the European Court of Human Rights.

To find out how this debate is playing out in the UK, we called Lucy Kellaway, she's a columnist for the Financial Times. And she joined us from London.

Lucy, good to talk to you again.

LUCY KELLAWAY: Hello.

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NPR Story
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

The Last Word In Business

On the popular movie-rating website Rotten Tomatoes, Eddie Murphy's latest film A Thousand Words received zero positive reviews.

NPR Story
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Santorum Sweeps Southern Primaries

It was a big night for Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum. He won the primaries in Mississippi and Alabama. Mitt Romney was running third in both states.

Business
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Wal-Mart Backs Hollywood's UltraViolet System

Wal-Mart announced an online video partnership with most of the major Hollywood movie studios on Tuesday. The idea is to make it easier for people to legally watch and share movies digitally.

Sports
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Olympics Letter From London

Americans and Britons share the same language, yet transatlantic visitors to the London Olympics might struggle to understand what's going on. The games are in East London, home of rhyming slang, a form of linguistic gymnastics. It was pioneered in the nineteenth century by Cockneys as a code to confuse snooping policemen.

Economy
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Fed Waits For Economic Growth To Pick Up

Even as the job market is improving and other indicators are positive, the Federal Reserve wants to keep interest rates super low until 2014. The Fed reaffirmed that policy Tuesday. That's likely because the economy is still growing slowly — not nearly fast enough to sustain consistent, long-term job creation.

Election 2012
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Obama Wins Backing Of AFL-CIO

On Tuesday, President Obama received the endorsement of the nation's largest organized labor organization, the AFL-CIO. Collective bargaining has been under attack in several states, which has drained union resources. But labor leaders say that's made them more determined than ever to keep Obama in the White House.

Europe
2:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Marine Le Pen Enters France's Presidential Race

Far right politician Marine Le Pen is officially in the French presidential race after getting the required 500 mayors' signatures to appear on the ballot. She launched her campaign in a small town in the north of France, a poor region where many see globalization and immigration as France's biggest problems.

U.S.
10:01 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

As Gangs Move To New York Suburbs, So Does Crime

Credit Chet Gordon / AP
Law enforcement agents raid a home where the occupants are suspected of selling drugs last month in Middletown, N.Y. For three months, court papers say, authorities tracked them using wiretaps and cameras set up on telephone poles and trees.

Originally published on Fri December 14, 2012 9:45 am

Over the past few years, authorities have arrested more than 200 gang members in an unexpected place: the tree-lined suburbs along the Hudson River in New York.

Drug traffickers with ties to the Bloods, the Latin Kings and other gangs have put down roots there. Authorities say they brought shootings and stabbings with them.

Middletown, N.Y., is 90 minutes northwest of the city. On West Main Street, you can find tidy brick buildings from the 1800s, a brew pub, and a restaurant that sells fresh mussels and escargot.

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Sweetness And Light
10:01 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Calling Foul: In Basketball, Crunch Time Goes Limp

Credit Michael Conroy / AP
In the closing minutes of a game last month, Purdue University's Robbie Hummel was fouled by Penn State's Matt Glover. College basketball needs to find ways to make its games' final moments more exciting, says Frank Deford.

One thing that distinguishes most team sports is that the game is suddenly played differently at the end. Often, this adds to the fascination, too. Nothing, for example, gets a rise out of me like when the hockey goalie skates off the ice with a minute or so to go, his team down a goal, leaving an open net.

In championship soccer, tie games go to a shoot-out, which is totally alien with all that came before. Neat stuff.

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Middle East
10:01 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

In Gaza, Calls For Change Put Hamas At A Crossroads

Credit Mahmud Hams / AFP/Getty Images
Palestinian artist Mohammed al-Dairi paints a mural of late Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat (right) and late Hamas leader Sheikh Ahmed Yassin (left), in Gaza City. Hamas leaders are divided on what direction to take the Islamist movement, with some calling for reconciliation with Arafat's Fatah movement.

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 8:01 am

The Islamist movement Hamas, which rules Gaza, is a house divided. Its leaders say there are divisions among the ranks as they try to grapple with where to push the movement: toward moderation or a continued commitment to armed resistance against Israel.

Omar Shaban, a Gaza-based political analyst, wonders where Hamas is headed in the next two to three years. He says the changes in the region after the Arab Spring not only shook the world, but they also forced groups like Hamas to reassess where they stand, in terms of old alliances and future direction.

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Sports
10:01 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

An American Soccer Coach In Egypt's National Court

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 10:24 am

Anti-Americanism is on the rise in Egypt these days. A highly publicized trial is under way in Cairo against U.S.-funded pro-democracy groups, and Egyptians are making it clear they reject any American involvement in their country's affairs.

There's one exception, however: an American living in Cairo whom Egyptians are counting on to shake things up. His name is Bob Bradley, and he's the New Jersey-born coach of Egypt's struggling national soccer team.

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Looking Up: Pockets Of Economic Strength
10:01 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Auto Parts Suppliers Hiring As Fast As They Can

Credit Bill Pugliano / Getty Images
Workers build cars on the assembly line at the Ford Motor Co.'s Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, Mich., in December. As auto sales boom, parts suppliers are having a tough time finding the labor they need to catch up, having lost workers during the recession.

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 6:17 am

Part of a series

Detroit automakers are creating thousands of new jobs amid a sales boom. And as they expand, their suppliers are racing to keep up, adding tens of thousands of new jobs.

At Bridgewater Interiors in Warren, Mich., for example, the pace is intense. Hundreds of union employees scurry to fill a growing list of orders. The factory floor is packed with stacks of foam cushions, seat covers and headrests.

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Law
10:01 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

ICE Opens Immigrant Detention Center In Rural Texas

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 8:56 am

Just off the side of the road in rural southern Texas is a large beige building that looks a lot like a prison. Fences and tall walls mark the outside. Inside, the doors slam and people sit in control booths at the end of long concrete hallways.

But just a little farther into the facility, the door opens to a courtyard in the center of the complex, and there, things begin to change. There's a soccer field, a pavilion and a gymnasium. There's also a walk-up pharmacy and commissary. All of it is guarded by officers in polo shirts.

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The Two-Way
5:47 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

After 244 Years In Print, Encyclopaedia Britannica Goes All-Digital

Credit Encyclopædia Britannica
An Encyclopædia Britannica print set.

The digital age has taken its toll on another long-held tradition: Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print and from now on will be all digital.

Its final printed product will be the 2010 edition, which The New York Times describes as a "a 32-volume set that weighs in at 129 pounds and includes new entries on global warming and the Human Genome Project."

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The Two-Way
5:14 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Join Us For Live Coverage Of The GOP Primaries

With two wins in the Deep South, Mitt Romney could solidly establish himself as the inevitable GOP candidate. If you believe polls, that could very well happen in Mississippi and Alabama, which are holding nominating contests tonight.

Now, the polls are so close that Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich could also pull together wins that keep their campaigns going.

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