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Africa
10:01 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

In Morocco, Unemployment Can Be A Full-Time Job

It is rush hour in Rabat, the Moroccan capital, and time for the march of unemployed college graduates.

They are part of a movement that has become a rite of passage. It's a path to a government career for a lucky few, even though it can take years.

"I have a degree, a master's degree in English, and I'm here ... idle without a job, without dignity, without anything," protester Abdul Rahim Momneh says.

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Television
10:01 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

For 'Black Nerds Everywhere,' Two Comedy Heroes

Comics Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele have known each other for years. They were both in the cast of MadTV. Now they're starting their own sketch-comedy series, due to launch on Comedy Central Jan. 31.

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StoryCorps
8:00 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

After Son's Sudden Death, Shock, Grief, And Coping

Nearly 21 years ago, Dennis Apple and his wife, Buelah, were thrust into a situation parents dread. Their son Denny had come down with mononucleosis. And as they recall, just before bed one night, Denny took his medicine and then talked about where he wanted to sleep.

At the time, Denny was 18; he had begun competing in triathlons near the family's home in Olathe, Kan., outside Kansas City.

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The Two-Way
4:50 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Later Tonight: Live Blogging The Latest GOP Debate

With just four full days to go before Tuesday's crucial Florida primary, the four remaining major Republican presidential candidates gather tonight for another debate.

This time the setting is the University of North Florida in Jacksonville. The host network is CNN. The network's Wolf Blitzer will moderate. The other sponsors are the Republican Party of Florida and the Hispanic Leadership Network, a center-right advocacy group.

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It's All Politics
4:38 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

In A Campaign Defined By Debates, Some Moments That Really Mattered

Shots - Health Blog
4:07 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Blood Doctors Call Foul On NCAA's Screening For Sickle Cell

Credit AP
University of Central Florida wide receiver Ereck Plancher died in 2008, after taking part in voluntary strength and conditioning drills. A lawsuit by his family claimed his death was related to complications from sickle cell trait that weren't properly treated. The university is appealing the decision against it.

If you're a college athlete who's talented enough to play a Division I sport, the NCAA requires that you get a blood test to see if you have sickle cell trait.

People with sickle cell trait carry one copy of a gene that can lead to an abnormal type of hemoglobin, the oxygen-carrying molecule in red blood cells. (Two copies of the gene lead to sickle cell disease.)

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Energy
3:33 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Panel Charts Path To New Home For Nuclear Waste

A panel of experts today set forth a plan for getting rid of thousands of tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste.

Most of it is spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. It was supposed to go to a repository in Nevada called Yucca Mountain, but the government has abandoned that plan.

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The Two-Way
3:10 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

McCain Says History Will Judge Obama Harshly On Policy Toward Iran

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Sen. John McCain, right, as he endorsed Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency earlier this month.

President Obama has made the case that his administration spoke out forcefully when Iran's government used deadly force to suppress protests in the spring of 2009.

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Presidential Race
3:08 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Gingrich Fights Against The Lobbyist Label

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks Thursday during a Lakeside Inn Tea Party rally in Mount Dora, Fla.

In the race for the Republican presidential nomination, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich continues to fend off accusations that he should wear the scarlet "L" — for "lobbyist." This week, he released two of his consulting contracts and said they didn't call for any lobbying.

Like many other former lawmakers, Gingrich was advocating for paying clients, while not officially registering as a lobbyist.

The two contracts disclosed this week came from Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant. Between 1999 and 2007, Freddie Mac paid his firm $1.6 million.

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NPR's Backseat Book Club
3:04 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

'Birmingham': A Teen Take On The Civil Rights Era

Originally published on Fri January 27, 2012 11:40 am

Welcome to the fourth installment of NPR's Backseat Book Club, where we select a book for young readers — and invite them to read along with us and share their thoughts and questions with the author.

Our selection for January — The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis — describes the civil rights era from the perspective of a young (and extremely mischievous) boy and his family.

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The Salt
2:51 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Ex-Foes Stage Coop D'Etat For Egg-Laying Chickens

When I first saw the press release, I figured it had to be an April Fool's joke. The Humane Society of the United States, a voice of outrage against all heartless exploitation of animals, joining hands with the United Egg Producers, which represents an industry that keeps 200 million chickens in cages?

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Presidential Race
2:44 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Republican Debates Become Must-See TV

This election cycle, one factor stands above all others in driving the dynamics of the race for the Republican presidential nomination: televised debates.

All Tech Considered
2:38 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Apple Continues To Be Plagued By Reports On Labor Conditions

Credit Feng Li / Getty Images
A new iPhone 4S at Apple's Beijing flagship store.

Apple has been taking a lot of heat lately for working conditions at plants making its products in China.

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The Picture Show
2:30 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

A Lens On Life In The Kentucky Hollows

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 9:08 am

"A lot of my work is visiting," says photographer Shelby Lee Adams. "A quarter is actually photographing."

In fact, Adams has spent some 30 years visiting and building relationships with the people in and around Hazard, a small city in eastern Kentucky where he was born.

The visits started well before he was a photographer. As a young boy, Adams would tag along with his uncle, a country doctor, tending to families tucked up in mountain hollows, or "hollers."

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It's All Politics
2:29 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Candidates Campaign On An Economic Silver Bullet: Worker Retraining

Credit Julie Jacobson / AP
President Barack Obama waves after speaking at a UPS facility in Las Vegas on Thursday. Nevada is one stop on the president's latest road trip focusing on the economy.

There are not many things that Barack Obama, Newt Gingrich and Mitt Romney agree on, but when it comes to job training there is common ground.

"It is time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work," President Obama said during his State of the Union address Tuesday.

Earlier in the week, Newt Gingrich offered a similar solution for helping those facing long-term unemployment.

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The Two-Way
2:03 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

An Emotional Moment: Sen. Mitch McConnell Meets Myanmar's Suu Kyi

Credit Khin Maung Win / AP
U.S. Senator Mitch McConnell talks as Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi listens during a press conference after their meeting at her home in Yangon, Myanmar on Monday.

Mitch McConnell, the senate Republican leader from Kentucky, was the original author of the United States' sanctions on Myanmar.

So these last six months have been astounding for him. Myanmar, which is also known as Burma, has gone through an amazing transformation. Aung San Suu Kyi, the country's leading opposition figure, has announced she will seek public office and the U.S. has reestablished diplomatic ties with Myanmar.

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The Two-Way
1:45 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Americans Barred From Leaving Egypt Include Secretary LaHood's Son

Egyptian authorities' efforts to prevent organizations that promote democracy from freely working inside their country have now ensnared the son of a U.S. cabinet secretary.

Sam LaHood, the son of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and at least five other Americans have been barred from leaving Egypt.

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It's All Politics
1:42 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Romney To Highlight Olympic 'Rescue' At 10th Anniversary Of Salt Lake Games

The Romney campaign has confirmed that the Republican presidential hopeful will attend an event in Salt Lake City next month commemorating the 10th anniversary of the 2002 Olympics.

The event gives the struggling campaign the chance to underscore one of Mitt Romney's signature accomplishments. "I worked at one company, Bain, for 25 years," Romney said in a debate and campaign ad. "And I left that to go off and help save the Olympic Games."

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Shots - Health Blog
1:39 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

How Health Care Dropped Out Of The Presidential Conversation

Credit Courtesy of The Advisory Board Co.

Health wonks were miffed about the lack of attention their beloved issue got in President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night.

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Theater
1:33 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

In Broadway's 'Wit,' A Documentary Of Our Demise

In her dressing room at the Friedman Theatre, Sex and the City star Cynthia Nixon has a nightly ritual: She rubs Nivea cream all over her scalp to soothe the razor burns.

Being completely bald is just one of the many demands of the character she plays in Wit -- a brilliant college professor named Vivian Bearing, who's battling ovarian cancer.

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Presidential Race
1:00 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Republicans Prepare To Debate In Florida

Melissa Block talks with NPR's Mara Liasson about Thursday night's Republican debate in Jacksonville, Fla.

From Our Listeners
1:00 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Letters: In-Sourcing; John Hawkes

Melissa Block and Robert Siegel read emails from listeners.

Politics
12:24 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

The Public Respects Civility, But Rewards Rudeness

Middle East
12:10 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

The State Of Syria: Civil War Or Vicious Stalemate?

Originally published on Thu January 26, 2012 3:40 pm

One thing that's certain about the uprising against Syrian President Bashar Assad is that there is nothing romantic about it.

Unlike Egypt, there's no Tahrir Square filled with hundreds of thousands of people calling for democracy. Unlike Libya, there's no Mad Max warriors in the desert fighting a dictator with guns they've welded to the backs of their pickup trucks.

Instead, grim news seeps out piecemeal from unofficial sources. Most of the reports are little more than body counts, with most of the fatalities blamed on the Syrian security forces.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:09 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Working Long Hours Can Be Depressing, Truly

Credit iStockphoto.com
Working long hours may get you more than a paycheck.

Putting in a lot of of overtime can make a person more vulnerable to depression.

You might have guessed that. But now there are some hard numbers, thanks to a study that tracked the health of civil service workers in Great Britain.

People who worked 11 hours a day or more than doubled their risk of major depression, compared to colleagues putting in eight hours a day.

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The Two-Way
12:09 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

To Shrink Budget, Pentagon Proposes Cutting 100,000 Ground Troops

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta announced that the the Pentagon will propose a $33 billion cut in the military's budget, for the 2013 fiscal year.

The AP reports that will be achieved by reducing ground forces by 100,000 and by eliminating older aircraft.

The AP reports:

"Defense Secretary Leon Panetta tells a Pentagon news conference the administration will request a 2013 budget of $525 billion, plus another $88 billion for operations in Afghanistan. Combined, those totals are about $33 billion less than the Pentagon is spending this year.

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The Two-Way
12:05 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

At Penn State: Memorial Service Under Way For Joe Paterno

An estimated 10,000 people are expected this hour at a memorial service for former Penn State football coach Joe Paterno, on the school's campus in the Bryce Jordan Center.

The Big Ten Digital Network is among several outlets that will be webcasting the service.

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The Salt
12:04 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Gardening Map Of Warming U.S. Has Plant Zones Moving North

It's official: Gardeners and farmers can count on warmer weather. If that's you, it might be a good time to rethink those flower and vegetable beds for this year's growing season.

That's the word from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which released a new version of its "Plant Hardiness Zone Map" this week, the first update since 1990. The color-coded zones on this map of the United States are widely used as a guide for what perennial flowers will survive in a particular area, or when to plant your vegetables.

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The Two-Way
11:30 am
Thu January 26, 2012

Chávez's Daughter Poses With Dollar Bills, Unleashes Anger, Internet Meme

Originally published on Fri January 27, 2012 7:55 am

Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez is known for railing against U.S. capitalism. And it's not just talk. Since 2003, his government has made it very hard for Venezuelans to trade foreign currency.

So you can just imagine the uproar in the country when his 14-year-old daughter Rosinés Chávez published a picture of herself covering half her face with a wad of dollar bills.

The Guardian reports:

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Shots - Health Blog
10:36 am
Thu January 26, 2012

Home Births Grow More Popular In U.S.

Credit Amanda Steen / NPR
Shannon Earle holds her new baby Kiera Breen Earle, moments after she was born at their home last year.

The number of women delivering babies at home in the United States has increased significantly, according to the latest government data released Thursday.

Home births increased by 29 percent between 2004 and 2009.

The upward trend is being welcomed by some advocates of home births and midwives, but it's also raising concern among some doctors.

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