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The Two-Way
9:08 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Lorax Statue Stolen From Dr. Seuss' Garden, Family Hopes For Its Return

Credit San Diego Police Department
The Lorax, before he was taken away.

The Grinch returned all those stolen presents.

Now the family of Dr. Seuss (Theodore Geisel) is hoping that the person or persons who took a Lorax statue from the garden of the late, great author's home also has a change of heart.

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Shots - Health Blog
8:30 am
Wed March 28, 2012

A Struggle To Define 'Death' For Organ Donors

A new method of obtaining organs for transplantation is raising a host of ethical questions, including whether the donors are technically "dead."

For decades, organ donation has been guided by something called the "dead donor rule."

"We have this idea that you must be dead first — so before your organs can be removed, we agree that you are dead," said Leslie Whetstine, a bioethicist at Walsh University in Ohio.

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Krulwich Wonders...
7:59 am
Wed March 28, 2012

How To Spot A Mimic Octopus — The Mystery Revealed

In my last post, I wondered: How did Asian fishermen manage to discover the mimic octopus? Thaumoctopus mimicus is a wildly talented cephalopod that lives in shallow waters off Indonesia and Malaysia.

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The Two-Way
7:10 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Tibetan Exile Dies From Burns Suffered In Self-Immolation

Credit Dibyangshu Sarkar / AFP/Getty Images
In Kolkata on Tuesday, exiled Tibetans and human rights activists held a candlelight for Jamphel Yeshi.

Originally published on Wed March 28, 2012 7:13 am

Jamphel Yeshi has died. The 27-year-old Tibetan exile, who on on Monday set himself on fire in New Delhi, was the latest in a small but growing number of Tibetans who in the past year have burned themselves in protest of China's rule over their country.

As we reported Tuesday, at least 30 Tibetans have taken that dramatic step in the past year.

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The Two-Way
6:50 am
Wed March 28, 2012

JetBlue Freak Out: Passenger Had To Put Panicked Pilot 'In A Choke Hold'

Credit Newseum.org

"I grabbed his arm and put him in a choke hold. ... I'm just happy I was able to get him down to the floor."

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Animals
5:22 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Tiny Pup May Take Crown For World's Smallest Dog

Transcript

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The Two-Way
5:20 am
Wed March 28, 2012

It's Day 3 For Health Care Cases At The Supreme Court

  • Ari Shapiro, on the NPR Newscast

On the third and final day of Supreme Court arguments over the constitutionality of the health care overhaul law enacted in 2010, the focus turns to whether the law could survive if the justices decide to strike its most controversial component — the so-called mandate that "requires most Americans to either have health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty," NPR's Julie Rovner reports.

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Animals
5:15 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Choking Dog Somehow Dials Phone For Help

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The Two-Way
5:05 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Gingrich Slashes Staff, Pins Hopes On GOP Delegates Turning To Him

Credit Jessica Kourkounis / Getty Images
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, who wants to the the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, during a campaign event in Camp Hill, Pa., on Saturday (March 24, 2012).

Originally published on Wed March 28, 2012 12:58 pm

  • Don Gonyea, on the NPR Newscast

As he slashes his campaign schedule and lays off about one-third of his staff, 2012 Republican presidential Newt Gingrich is mounting a "big-choice convention strategy" that he hopes will end with Republicans turning to him to be their nominee, NPR's Don Gonyea tells our Newscast Desk.

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Law
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Supreme Court Hears Arguments On Individual Mandate

The nation's capital is focused on the Supreme Court this week, and that includes members of Congress. Wednesday is the third day justices will hear arguments considering the constitutionality of President Obama's health care overhaul.

Law
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Justices Hear Arguments Over Heart Of Health Law

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm David Greene.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

It's the third and final day for the U.S. Supreme Court to consider the Obama health care overhaul. The justices hear arguments today on what parts could remain in effect if the court rules the individual mandate of the health care law is unconstitutional. After yesterday's arguments, that seemed more likely than most experts had expected.

NPR's legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg reports.

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Health
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Organ Harvesters Blur Line Between Life And Death

Backed by the federal government, doctors in Michigan are trying to expand the use of a controversial form of organ donation that raises disturbing ethical concerns, including questions about whether the donors are really dead. Defining dead turns out to be pretty complicated. There are two ways to declare someone dead.

Election 2012
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Gingrich Pares Down Presidential Campaign

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Now, if the health care law survives constitutional scrutiny, the Republicans who are running for president have vowed to repeal the law if elected. One GOP candidate now appears less likely to have that opportunity. Newt Gingrich is short on victories and low on cash, and he is dramatically shrinking his campaign for president.

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Religion
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Pope To Officiate Mass In Cuban Capital

Transcript

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Pope Benedict stuck to mostly spiritual themes on a visit to communist Cuba's most sacred shrine. This morning, the pontiff leads a mass in Havana's Plaza of the Revolution. As Nick Miroff reports from Havana, so far even Benedict's gentle push for greater religious and political freedoms for Cubans has been rejected by the government.

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Around the Nation
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Slain Teen's Parents Appear On Capitol Hill

Transcript

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Florida state investigators are continuing to look into the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. His family has been part of a widespread campaign calling for the arrest of the neighborhood watch volunteer who shot and killed the 17-year-old high school student. Yesterday, the parents of Trayvon Martin were up on Capitol Hill attending a forum on hate crimes and racial profiling. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports from the Capitol.

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Politics
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

Bill Maher's Obama SuperPAC Donation Causes Stir

Credit Chris Pizzello / AP
Bill Maher, shown here at a 2011 event in Los Angeles, gave $1 million to the superPAC supporting President Obama's re-election bid.

Comedian Bill Maher's $1 million check to the superPAC supporting President Obama's re-election is the first seven-figure donation to the group since Obama tacitly endorsed the fundraising strategy in early February.

And it has brought new focus to some of Maher's statements about women — specifically Republican women — and led to calls for the White House to disavow the HBO host and his money.

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Business
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And our last word in business today is lost and found.

For nearly 60 years, the whereabouts of a painting by Paul Cezanne remained a mystery. Some art experts feared his 19th century painting was lost forever. The watercolor is a study for a famous series of oil paintings Cezanne called "The Card Players."

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Business
2:00 am
Wed March 28, 2012

The Good And The Bad Of Kenya's First Oil Strike

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Kenya strikes oil - that was the headline in Nairobi's Daily Nation newspaper this week. It's the first time such a discovery has been made in the East African nation. Kenya's energy minister quickly held a press conference with oil company executives. Holding up a glass bottle of crude oil, he pledged to make sure that oil is a blessing for the people and not a curse.

And we're joined now by the BBC's Will Ross in Nairobi to talk about this discovery. Well, good morning.

WILL ROSS: Good morning.

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The Record
10:01 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Alan Lomax's Massive Archive Goes Online

Credit Shirley Collins / Courtesy of Alan Lomax Archive
Alan Lomax (right) with musician Wade Ward during the Southern Journey recordings, 1959-1960.

Originally published on Thu October 25, 2012 12:53 pm

Folklorist Alan Lomax spent his career documenting folk music traditions from around the world. Now thousands of the songs and interviews he recorded are available for free online, many for the first time. It's part of what Lomax envisioned for the collection — long before the age of the Internet.

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Law
10:01 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

In Southern States, Immigration Law Battle Rages On

Originally published on Wed March 28, 2012 6:21 pm

Last year, several states passed strict laws aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration. Those laws are now being challenged in federal court, and next month the Supreme Court is set to hear arguments on Arizona's immigration law — but that hasn't stopped some Southern states from moving forward with more restrictions.

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Health Care
10:01 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Texas, Feds Face Off Over Planned Parenthood

Texas and the federal government are going at each other again, this time over Planned Parenthood.

The Texas Legislature cut off all Medicaid money to Planned Parenthood because of its involvement in abortions; in response, the federal government has suspended funding for the state's reproductive health program.

Now, Texas is suing the Obama administration.

Closed For Business

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Shots - Health Blog
10:01 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Supreme Court's Medicaid Decision Could Reach Far Beyond Health Care

Credit Adam Cole / NPR
The final argument the Supreme Court will hear about the new health care law is whether its Medicaid expansion unfairly forces states to participate.

After Tuesday's judicial fireworks, the Supreme Court wraps up arguments on the new health care law Wednesday by focusing on two questions. The first involves what would happen if the "individual mandate" — the core of the law that requires most people to have health insurance — is struck down. Would the rest of the law fall, too, or could some provisions stay?

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Sweetness And Light
10:01 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Watching College Basketball's Slump Into Anonymity

Credit Streeter Lecka / Getty Images
Duke freshman Austin Rivers, seen here in the Blue Devils' loss to Lehigh in the NCAA tournament, is leaving school for the NBA draft. The trend of athletes spending only one year in college has hurt the sport, says Frank Deford.

This year's Final Four seems more like Best in Show at the Westminster. Such pedigree: Kentucky, Kansas, Ohio State and Louisville –– four of the very top dogs in the history of the sport. Well, it's a Meryl Streep kind of year, isn't it?

But if the Final Four might delight fans by giving them aristocracy in its teams, unfortunately the whole of college basketball is plagued by anonymity in its players, and external issues that have diminished the popularity of the game.

Good grief. This year, there has been more buzz about Mad Men than about March Madness.

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Movies
10:01 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

In Japan, 'Sliced-Up Actors' Are A Dying Breed

Japan is home to Asia's oldest and largest motion-picture industry, with its own unique genres and traditions. While every film industry has stuntmen, only Japan has a class of actors whose main job is to be sliced and diced by samurai sword-wielding protagonists. But the decline of period dramas means that this class of actors is literally a dying breed.

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Shots - Health Blog
10:01 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Court Looks At Whether Mandate Can Separate From Rest Of Health Law

Credit Adam Cole / NPR
If the Supreme Court rules that the health insurance mandate is unconstitutional, does that invalidate the rest of the law?

In its second-to-last argument over the Affordable Care Act, the Supreme Court on Wednesday ponders a what-if.

Specifically, if the justices decide that Congress exceeded its constitutional authority in enacting the part of the law that requires most Americans to either have health insurance starting in 2014 or pay a penalty, does that invalidate the rest of the law? And if not, how much, if any, of the rest of the law should it strike down?

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The Two-Way
5:26 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Mine Agency To Congress: Don't Blame Us For Deadly Disaster

As we reported last week, an independent panel reviewing the Mine Safety and Health Administration's (MSHA) role in the 2010 Upper Big Branch mine disaster found that the agency "possibly could have prevented" the explosion that took 29 lives.

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The Two-Way
5:10 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Pope Arrives In Havana, Where He's Expected To Meet Raúl Castro

Credit Marcelino Vazquez / AFP/Getty Images
Pope Benedictus XVI arrives at Jose Marti airport in Havana on Tuesday.

Pope Benedict XVI landed in Havana today and he's expected meet Cuban President Raúl Castro.

The pontiff's visit has put Cuba's dictatorship in the spotlight, because during his speeches the Pope has been taking subtle shots at the regime. The Los Angeles Times reports:

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The Salt
4:09 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

Activists Say Americans Support Labeling Genetically Modified Food

Credit Ren Haijun / Xinhua /Landov
People march demanding labels for genetically modified food near the White House in Washington, D.C., on Oct. 16, 2011.

Activists who want genetically modified food to be labeled in the U.S. say there's more support than ever for their cause. As evidence, a coalition calling itself Just Label It released the results today of a survey it commissioned from The Mellman Group, a national pollster. The survey found that 91 percent of voters favor the labeling of food with genetically modified ingredients.

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The Two-Way
4:00 pm
Tue March 27, 2012

British Student Jailed For Racist Tweets About Collapsed Soccer Player

Credit Matt Dunham / AP
Bolton Wanderers' Fabrice Muamba is obscured by medical staff trying to resuscitate him after collapsing. His teammate Ryo Miyaichi, right, and Tottenham Hotspur's Jermain Defoe, center top, watch.

A British student has been sentenced to 56 days in jail for posting racist tweets about a soccer player who collapsed on the pitch.

Liam Stacey pleaded guilty to "incitement to racial hatred," after he let loose a barrage of tweets that contained the n-word and crude sexual references. It all started earlier this month, when Fabrice Muamba, a soccer player, collapsed on the pitch and Stacey tweeted that he was dead, followed by "#Haha."

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