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NPR Story
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Renee Montagne has the Last Word in business.

Election 2012
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

On The Road, Obama Pushes U.S. Energy, Manufacturing

The Obama administration is announcing plans to lease nearly 38 million acres in the central Gulf of Mexico for offshore oil and gas drilling. It's part of the push to boost domestic energy supplies that the president outlined in his State of the Union address. President Obama is also promoting American manufacturing and worker-training efforts this week, as he visits five states likely to be important in the November election.

Election 2012
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

GOP Rivals Vie For Florida's Spanish-Speaking Vote

Cuban-Americans are an important part of the Republican presidential electorate in Florida. Both Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich have reached out to these voters in Spanish-language TV and radio ads. Romney, in particular, has racked up many endorsements from prominent Cuban-American political figures.

Analysis
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

Gingrich Accused Of Dishonestly Challenging Voter Resentment

Republican presidential candidates Newt Gingrich, Ron Paul, Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum are scrambling to tie up votes in Florida, which holds its winner-take-all primary next Tuesday. Steve Inskeep talks to conservative writer David Frum about the state of the GOP race.

Asia
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

Chinese Forces Move Against Tibetan Protesters

Originally published on Thu January 26, 2012 10:37 am

Frustrated Tibetans this week staged some of the largest protests against Chinese rule in nearly four years. Chinese security forces responded by opening fire on demonstrators, killing up to four and wounding more than 30, according to Tibetan rights groups.

The demonstrations were inspired — in part — by a disturbing new trend in Tibetan dissent: Tibetan people lighting themselves on fire.

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Election 2012
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

Will Nevada Be A Blue State In November?

President Obama visits Nevada on his post-State of the Union trip Thursday. He won the state in 2008. But with unemployment now at nearly 13 percent, the state will be more of a challenge in this fall's presidential election.

Health
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

Kids Have A Say In Louisville's School Lunch Menu

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The federal government has come out with its new standards for school meals - less fat, less salt, less sugar and more fruits, grains and vegetables. Devin Katayama from member station WFPL reports on how the Louisville, Kentucky school district is trying to comply with the guidelines and satisfy student tastes.

DEVIN KATAYAMA, BYLINE: Meet fourth grade food critic Jackson Schleff.

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Movies
2:00 am
Thu January 26, 2012

'Beasts Of The Southern Wild' Shines At Sundance

Originally published on Thu January 26, 2012 3:27 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The Sundance Film Festival wraps up this weekend in Park City, Utah. Movies and more movies have been on offer at the gathering, famously backed by Robert Redford. Our own Kenneth Turan is taking it all in and joined us from member station KPCW in Park City.

Good morning.

KENNETH TURAN, BYLINE: Morning, Renee.

MONTAGNE: Well, let us begin with the dramatic films. What stands out for you this year?

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Election 2012
10:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

'President Gingrich' Promises Permanent Moon Base

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich outlines his vision for the U.S. space program at a Space Coast town hall meeting in Cocoa, Fla., Wednesday.

Newt Gingrich is a self described space nut. He traveled to Florida's Space Coast near Cape Canaveral Wednesday to outline what he described as a bold program that would send Americans back to the moon and beyond.

Gingrich outlined his vision to a crowded hotel ballroom in Cocoa, not far from the Kennedy Space Center. He talked of coming of age at the time of Sputnik, which was the first satellite launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union. He recalled reading science fiction, author Isaac Asimov and Missiles and Rockets magazine.

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Business
10:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

To Grow Business, Starbucks Thinks Outside The Cup

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP
Barista Nicole Adams serves up a drink in March at a Starbucks in downtown Seattle. The company is expanding its coffee options to include a light roast and plans to create a new health and wellness brand.

Just four years ago, Starbucks seemed to be losing its mojo. Howard Schultz, the man who made Starbucks a household name, returned to the company as CEO. He closed hundreds of stores, streamlined operations and set the company on a path to record revenues and strong profits.

Starbucks serves 60 million beverages a week, which adds up to big profits. The company reports its earnings Thursday. In a bid to further expand its consumer base, Starbucks has a new roast and plans to produce more retail products to sell outside of its coffeehouses.

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Middle East
10:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Growing Pressures Prompt Plunge In Iranian Currency

The value of Iran's currency — which had been sliding steadily for months — took another plunge this week. Faced with new economic sanctions from the U.S. and Europe, the rial now seems to be in free fall.

But at least part of the dive could be linked to currency manipulation by the government itself in an effort to fund candidates in upcoming elections.

In images posted on the Internet, hundreds of Iranians are seen gathered outside the headquarters of the Bank Melli in Tehran Monday. They wanted to buy dollars, but there were no dollars to be had.

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Planet Money
10:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

No, Hedge Funds Can't Foreclose On The Acropolis

Credit DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP/Getty Images

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 10:12 am

Greece is broke. But there's no blueprint for a country to declare bankruptcy, so Greece's creditors are sort of making things up as they go along.

"You're taking some sort of loss," Hans Humes of Greylock Capital Management told me. "But it's like, how much of a loss do you take? There's this thing called sovereign immunity. You can't go in and take the Acropolis."

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Space
10:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Want To Make A Giant Telescope Mirror? Here's How

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 9:05 am

The world's largest mirrors for the world's largest telescopes are made under the football stadium at the University of Arizona.

Why there? Why not?

"We wanted some space, and it was just used for parking some cars, and this seemed like a good use," says Roger Angel.

Angel is the master of making big mirrors for telescopes. For 30 years he has been using a method called spin casting to make the largest solid telescope mirrors in the world.

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Middle East
10:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

For Turkish Journalists, Arrest Is A Real Danger

Originally published on Thu January 26, 2012 9:42 am

In the wake of the Arab Spring, some Muslims in North Africa are looking across the Mediterranean to Turkey as a potential model of a state that can be modern, Islamic and democratic.

But some analysts in the region say that model is flawed, and they are questioning Turkey's human-rights record and its dealings with the press.

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Business
10:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Quiznos Gives Up Control To Stave Off Bankruptcy

Credit Rob Kim / Landov
A man walks by a Quiznos franchise in New York City. The sandwich chain has given up part of its ownership to a private equity firm in order to restructure its debt and avoid bankruptcy.

Quiznos narrowly avoided bankruptcy this week when the sandwich chain shifted ownership to private equity firm Avenue Capital in exchange for erasing some debt.

The recession and poor management have hit the Denver-based sub-maker hard. The company once boasted more than 5,000 restaurants, but 40 percent of them have now shut their doors.

Andre Bonyadian owns nine Quiznos franchises in and around Los Angeles.

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The Two-Way
4:40 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Dick Tufeld, Voice Of The Robot in 'Lost In Space,' Has Died

The man who made "danger, Will Robinson!" a phrase that some of us will never forget has died.

Dick Tufeld, the voice of the robot in the classic '60s TV show Lost in Space, passed away Sunday in Los Angeles, The Associated Press reports. He was 85.

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Music Interviews
4:35 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Michelle Kwan's Slow And Steady Workout Jams

Credit Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
Michelle Kwan performs at an exhibition in 2005.
The Salt
4:20 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Alice Waters: Picture Perfect As The Constant Gardener

Credit John Rose / NPR
Chefs Jose Andres and Alice Waters pose along side her newly installed portrait, by photographer Dave Woody, at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, on Jan. 20, 2012.

Alice Waters has moved from the kitchen to the garden to the soap box in her 40 years as a pioneer of the sustainable and locally grown food movement. But on one recent night, The Salt found her "hanging" in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

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Presidential Race
3:51 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Rep. Ron Paul: The Interview Transcript

Robert Siegel interviewed Rep. Ron Paul on All Things Considered on Jan. 25. This is an edited transcript of their conversation.

ROBERT SIEGEL: Representative Paul, welcome to the program once again.

REPRESENTATIVE RON PAUL (R-TX): Thank you. Good to be with you.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:35 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Start Early To Curb Heart Risks For A Lifetime

Credit Yvan Dub / iStockphoto.com

Heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the U.S. But who's at the most risk?

A study in the lastest New England Journal of Medicine offers a simple way to predict the risk of a fatal or debilitating heart attack or stroke for a middle-aged person over the rest of his or her life.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:13 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

With Age, Men May Lose Thinking Ability Faster Than Women

Credit iStockphoto.com
Physical health problems may help drive men's mental decline.

Men are more apt than women to lose thinking ability as they age, according to new research. And that mild cognitive impairment often leads to dementia.

But people can reduce their risk of mild cognitive impairment by staying healthy and educated, according to Rosebud Roberts, a professor of epidemiology at the Mayo Clinic who led the study. "There is a lot that people can do," she told Shots.

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It's All Politics
3:04 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Taking His Economic Message On The Road, Obama Touts Factory Jobs In Iowa

Credit Jewel Samad / AFP/Getty Images
President Obama tours Conveyor Engineering and Manufacturing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, on Wednesday.

A day after delivering his State of the Union address to Congress, President Obama took his message on the road. Obama hoped that stops at manufacturing sites in Iowa and Arizona would drive home his point that the government should do more to encourage factory jobs.

The three-day trip also includes stops in Colorado, Nevada and Michigan. Those are all states likely to be important in the November election.

Obama kicked off his road trip at Conveyor Engineering and Manufacturing, a factory in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

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The Two-Way
2:55 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Treasury Secretary Geithner Doesn't Expect To Be Part Of A Second Term

Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner told Bloomberg Television today that he's "pretty confident" he won't be asked to stay in his job if President Obama is re-elected for a second term.

"He's not going to ask me to stay on, I'm pretty confident," Geithner said. "I'm confident he'll be president. But I'm also confident he's going to have the privilege of having another secretary of the treasury."

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The Salt
2:38 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Antitrust Official Gets Stampeded By Big Beef

Credit Frank Morris for NPR
At sale barns, like this one in Kingsville, Mo., cattlemen still bid openly for breeding stock. Meatpackers once bought on the open market, too.

Dudley Butler is quitting his job tomorrow. Never heard of him? He's President Obama's appointee to run the division of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that governs antitrust issues in the meat industry. He was part of a cadre of high-level bureaucrats charged to expose and fight agribusiness monopolies. In fact, he was the last of that group.

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Europe
2:06 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

At The Louvre, A Rare Showcase For American Art

The Louvre had a record 9 million visitors last year, and about 10 percent of them were American. Yet the iconic Paris art museum only has four American paintings in its huge permanent collection.

But the Louvre's curators want to change that and heighten the public's knowledge and awareness of early American art with a new exhibit.

Nationwide, French museums own some 2,000 American paintings, but those Whistlers, Homers and Cassatts are exhibited in more modern museums such as the Musee d'Orsay.

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The Two-Way
2:05 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Alaska Airlines To Stop Handing Out Prayer Cards

Credit Gabriel Bouys / AFP/Getty Images
An Alaska Airlines jet. On that airline, prayer cards are no longer going to be part of the flying experience.

"After more than 30 years of handing prayer cards to customers aboard its planes, Alaska Airlines has decided the practice is outdated and will stop doing it on Feb. 1," The Seattle Times reports.

A few things struck us about this news.

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The Two-Way
1:59 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Homeless Science Whiz Kid Is Not Named Science Prize Finalist

Credit John Dunn / AP
Samantha Garvey, 17.

Samantha Garvey, the homeless teen who came into the national spotlight after she became a semifinalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search competition, has had a bittersweet 24 hours.

First the bitter part: When the science prize competition finalists were announced today, she was not on the list.

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NPR Story
1:00 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Egypt Marks Anniversary Of Revolution

Originally published on Wed January 25, 2012 5:03 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.

Cairo's Tahrir Square overflowed with Egyptians today. Traffic was snarled for miles as people jammed bridges and streets. The crowd marked the first anniversary of the popular uprising that drove Hosni Mubarak from power.

And as NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson reports from Cairo, many people did not come to celebrate.

(SOUNDBITE OF PROTEST)

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Around the Nation
1:00 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Illinois' Quinn Pressured To Roll Back Tax Increase

Last year this time, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was pushing a big income tax increase to help balance the state's budget. This year, Quinn is being pressured to roll part of that increase back. But the state is still months behind in paying its bills, with a pension shortfall looming.

It's All Politics
12:36 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Ron Paul: Steadily, 'Our Numbers Are Growing'

Credit John W. Adkisson / Getty Images
U.S. Rep. Ron Paul, shown at a campaign stop in South Carolina, spoke with NPR's All Things Considered today about the upcoming primaries, the possibility of a third-party run, taxes and other issues.

In a wide-ranging discussion with All Things Considered's Robert Siegel, Ron Paul, the Republican congressman from Texas, said of all the GOP hopefuls, he's been the steady one.

"All I know is that the message is powerful," he said in response to a question about the viability of his campaign. "The message is well-received. Our numbers are growing, and we don't go up and down like a yo-yo."

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