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Megafires: The New Normal In The Southwest
2:18 am
Fri August 24, 2012

In Southwest, Worst-Case Fire Scenario Plays Out

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 6:48 pm

Third of a five-part series

As the Earth's average temperature creeps upward, climate scientists have predicted record heat waves and droughts. That's what we've seen this summer in the U.S.

The question has become, are we now seeing the real damage climate change can do?

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The Two-Way
6:12 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Gawker Releases 950 Pages Of What It Says Are Internal Bain Documents

This afternoon, the website Gawker published 950 pages of what it says are internal documents from Bain Capital.

Bain is the private equity firm founded by Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. Now what the documents tell us, is up for debate. And it's worth noting that NPR has not independently verified their authenticity.

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The Two-Way
5:36 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Immigration Employees File Suit Against Obama's New Immigration Policy

Credit Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images
The logo of the U.S. Homeland Security Department of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Detention and Removal unit.

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 12:03 pm

A group of immigration agents on Thursday filed a lawsuit against the Obama administration, claiming that following new lenient deportation policies requires them to violate the law.

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The Two-Way
4:55 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Michelle Obama Meets With Victims Of Sikh Temple Shooting

Credit Morry Gash / AP
First lady Michelle Obama greets Sikh temple secretary of the board of trustees Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal, left, and Oak Creek, Wis.

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 4:59 pm

First lady Michelle Obama met with the victims of the Sikh Temple shooting in Oak Creek, Wis. today.

The AP reports that Obama met with the families of the those killed and those were wounded in the shooting.

The AP adds:

"Temple official Kulwant Singh Dhaliwal says Obama offered her sympathies Thursday for the Aug. 5 tragedy. He says her appearance is a 'wonderful gesture.'

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Election 2012
4:47 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Michelle Obama Focuses On Work Still To Be Done

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 6:35 pm

This week, first lady Michelle Obama was doing something she loves to do, talking about nutrition with kids. She hosted the first state dinner for children, welcoming 54 of them and their parents to the White House.

"This is the hottest ticket at the White House, right here, because of all of you," Obama said to the children, who ranged in age from 8 to 12.

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Afghanistan
4:14 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

US Confronts Growing 'Insider Attacks' In Afghanistan

Credit Lucas Jackson / Reuters/Landov
Spc. Ben Purvis (center) helps train Afghan troops on how to use mortars in the eastern province of Kunar in June. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan, Gen. John Allen, points to several factors in the rise of "insider attacks" on American forces. He says relations between U.S. and Afghan troops are good overall.

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 4:55 pm

Gunmen wearing Afghan police and army uniforms have killed 40 U.S. and NATO troops so far this year, and the top American commander in Afghanistan says there is no single reason — and no simple solution.

Taliban infiltrators, disputes between NATO and Afghan security forces, and even the timing of Ramadan, the Muslim holy month, are all factors, according to Gen. John Allen.

"We think the reasons for these attacks are complex," says Allen, who spoke by video link from Kabul on Thursday. Ten of the American deaths have come in just the past two weeks.

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Energy
4:14 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Romney Energy Plan Touts Oil, Gas, Coal Production

Credit Evan Vucci / AP
In unveiling his energy policy during a campaign event on Thursday, Mitt Romney says he wants to set a goal of North American energy independence by 2020.

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 6:07 pm

Mitt Romney outlined an energy plan Thursday that would guide his Republican presidency. It focuses heavily on expanding the supply of fossil fuels. The presumptive nominee said the U.S., Mexico and Canada together could reach energy independence by 2020.

But the plan makes no mention of climate change and would end subsidies for cleaner sources of energy, such as wind and solar.

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Around the Nation
4:14 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

A City Leveled By Hurricane Andrew Rebuilds — Again

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 5:43 pm

Twenty years ago, Homestead, Fla., was in the eye of what was then the worst storm to hit the United States.

Fifteen people died directly from Hurricane Andrew and a few dozen more died from injuries later. Tens of thousands of homes were destroyed. Andrew's 165-mile-per-hour winds took out nearly every building in Homestead, leaving tens of thousands homeless. Families spent hours in lines to get water and ice.

National Guard troops handed out bags of ice but limited how much each family could get.

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Participation Nation
4:03 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Caring For Others In Bountiful, Utah

Credit Courtesy of RMCF
Providing charitable health care in Utah.

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 6:55 pm

The Rocky Mountain Care Foundation was created in 1999 to provide charitable health care services and improve the overall quality of life for low-income people in Utah.

For example, we recently provided a Hoyer Lift to a quadriplegic woman to assist her in getting into and out of her wheelchair. And to make it easier on her caregiver, her tiny grandmother.

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Mom And Dad's Record Collection
3:41 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

How Rashida Jones Found Her Inner Music Nerd

Credit Vera Anderson / WireImage
Actress Rashida Jones says Steely Dan opened her young mind to "the mathematics of music."

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 7:06 am

This summer, All Things Considered has asked listeners and guests to share a personal memory: the memory of one song discovered through their parents' record collection.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:30 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Tattoo Ink Linked To Serious Skin Infections

Credit A. Kalus / CDC
Along with a tattoo, this person got an infection.

Originally published on Mon August 27, 2012 7:58 am

If you're going to take a walk on the wild side and get a tattoo, it could get even wilder than you planned.

Federal and state health investigators have identified five clusters of skin infections linked to tattoos.

Now it's true that infection risks from tattoos are not exactly new or unknown. In fact, tattoo parlors are licensed and regulated in many jurisdictions to minimize the risk of trouble for people getting "inked."

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The Salt
3:10 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Willing To Play The Dating Game With Your Food? Try A Grocery Auction

Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 9:56 am

NPR Story
3:10 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Obama's Energy Policy Contrasts With Romney's Plan

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 4:47 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

We're going to talk now about how Mitt Romney's energy plan lines up with the Obama administration's policies. To help do that, I'm joined by Steven Mufson, who covers energy for the Washington Post. Steven, welcome to the program.

STEVEN MUFSON: Thanks.

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Theater
3:07 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

In The Theater Of Politics, Staging Is Everything

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 5:16 pm

During the next two weeks, the major political parties will assemble their faithful in Tampa, Fla., and Charlotte, N.C., to officially nominate their presidential tickets. These conventions were once places of high political drama. But over the decades, as the primary system has determined the candidates well in advance, conventions have become political theater. With that in mind, there's much to be said on staging in politics — not substance, but style.

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It's All Politics
3:05 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Presidential Campaign Ads Target Seniors In Fla., Younger Voters In N.H.

Credit Phelan M. Ebenhack / AP
Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan campaigns with his mother, Betty Ryan Douglas, on Saturday in The Villages, Fla. The Mitt Romney campaign has created an ad from the event.

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 2:27 pm

Ask your average American about Florida, and you'll hear something like this: It's hot, it has Disney World, and lots of old people live there.

And since the weather and Mickey Mouse don't make good attack ads, both presidential campaigns are trying to scare the bejeezus out of Florida's senior population over Medicare.

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The Two-Way
3:03 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Ambassador To Afghanistan: 'Vast Majority' Of Afghans Support Coalition

Credit Corporal David R. Hernandez / 3rd Battalion 5th Marines-RCT 2
U.S. Marines with 1st Platoon, Company I, 3rd Battalion, 5th Marines (3/5), Regimental Combat Team 2, in Afghanistan. (January 2010 file photo.)
  • Amb. James Cunningham on who is attacking U.S. troops
  • Amb. James Cunningham on the Afghan people's support

With "green on blue" attacks by Afghans in uniform increasingly in the news, Americans officials are being asked whether the people of Afghanistan are turning against the coalition troops that have been in the Central Asian nation since late 2001.

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The Two-Way
1:48 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Good Intention, Heartbreak: The Botched Restoration Of A 19th Century Fresco

Credit AFP/Getty Images
A combination of three documents provided by the Centre de Estudios Borjanos.

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 8:32 pm

Cecilia Giménez, 81, thought she was doing a good thing. A 19th century fresco by painter Elias Garcia Martinez had slowly been battered by time. The masterpiece portrait of Jesus had faded. His tunic was splashed by bare wall and half his face had gone missing.

Giménez, a member of the church where the fresco is located, took it upon herself to restore it to its former glory. Except, well, her artistic skills weren't up to the task.

The pictures tell the story, so we'll just show you.

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Asia
1:34 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

With A Girl Jailed, Pakistan Law Again Under Scrutiny

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 4:47 pm

Until last week, Pakistani Christians and Muslims on the outskirts of Islamabad lived side-by-side in peace — and in the tight quarters that come with extreme poverty.

Then an Islamic cleric heard a rumor: A Christian girl named Rimsha Masih may have set fire to pages of Quranic verse.

The girl's priest, Father Boota, says a Muslim neighbor claims to have witnessed it.

"He was the one who raised the alarm, and then there was a shopkeeper — he also started shouting, and he also started making calls, 'Get the Christians! Wage a jihad against them!' " the priest says.

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Megafires: The New Normal In The Southwest
1:30 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Why Forest-Killing Megafires Are The New Normal

Originally published on Sun August 26, 2012 8:46 am

Second of a five-part series

Fire scientists are calling it "the new normal": a time of fires so big and hot that no one can remember anything like it.

One of the scientists who coined that term is Craig Allen. I drive with him to New Mexico's Bandelier National Monument, where he works for the U.S. Geological Survey. We take a dirt road up into the Jemez Mountains, into a landscape of black poles as far as you can see.

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The Salt
1:09 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

So, Who Sent Those Sick Cows To The Slaughterhouse?

Credit Gosia Wozniacka / AP
A security guard opens the gate at the Central Valley Meat Co., the California slaughterhouse recently shut down by federal regulators after they received a graphic video of cows being mistreated.

Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 10:00 am

Federal regulators and fast-food companies reacted with unprecedented speed this week to the release of an undercover video that animal-rights activists shot inside a California slaughterhouse. The video — which, we'll warn you, is pretty graphic — shows employees of Central Valley Meat Co. using electric prods repeatedly on cattle that appeared unable to get to their feet.

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Participation Nation
1:03 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Group Gardening In San Antonio, Texas

Credit Courtesy of Jason Winn
Angela Hartsell, community gardener.

My significant other, Angela Hartsell, is the Community Gardens Program Manager of Green Spaces Alliance Of South Texas. She builds public and private coalitions to help communities and their gardens in San Antonio. So far her efforts have helped create 33 gardens.

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It's All Politics
12:50 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Will Tropical Storm Isaac Blow The GOP Convention Off Course?

Credit Tim Boyles / Getty Images
Republican National Committee officials unveiled the stage inside the Tampa Bay Times Forum this week ahead of the Republican National Convention, which may or may not begin Monday.

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 2:05 pm

Hurricanes and politics don't mix. That's why next week's gathering in Tampa, Fla., might be the second-consecutive Republican National Convention to be delayed by a storm.

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture
12:10 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Ivan Dies At 50: A Gorilla Life, Remembered

Credit John Bazemore / AP
Ivan chews on his finger at Zoo Atlanta in 1996.

Originally published on Fri August 24, 2012 1:11 pm

I've written before in this space about how an animal obituary may help mark a life of significance. Here is my obituary for Ivan the gorilla.

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The Two-Way
12:02 pm
Thu August 23, 2012

Drought's Still Deep In Nation's Midsection

Originally published on Thu August 23, 2012 2:04 pm

Though there were "a few notable improvements" in places such as Indiana, where beneficial rains fell, the deep drought that has dug in across much of the nation's midsection continued in the past week, according to the statisticians at the National Drought Mitigation Center.

Their maps from the past three weeks tell the story.

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The Two-Way
11:55 am
Thu August 23, 2012

One Poll Finds Zero Percent Of Blacks Support Romney

Credit Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney addresses the NAACP annual convention in Houston, Texas in July.

Over at The Washington Post, Jonathan Capehart writes that few poll numbers "make me gasp."

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Election 2012
10:28 am
Thu August 23, 2012

Is Tampa Ready For 2 Oncoming Storms?

The Republican National Convention is being held in Tampa, Florida, and it's expected to bring the city tens of millions of dollars. But many are wondering if Tampa is ready for two oncoming storms — the whirlwind of people descending on the city, and brewing tropical storm Isaac. Guest host Viviana Hurtado talks with Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn.

Around the Nation
10:28 am
Thu August 23, 2012

Cop Car Death Ruled Suicide, But Doubts Remain

Questions are swirling around the death of a 21-year-old Arkansas man who died in police custody in July. An autopsy report lists Chavis Carter's death as a suicide. But his family is asking how he could have shot himself in the head while handcuffed in a police car. Guest host Viviana Hurtado speaks with Associated Press reporter Jeannie Nuss.

Africa
10:28 am
Thu August 23, 2012

South Africa Mine Shooting Hints At Deep Divisions

Memorial services are being held for miners shot dead recently by police at a South African mine. The violent images were compared to the darkest days of apartheid. Guest host Viviana Hurtado speaks with prominent Johannesburg radio host John Robbie to gauge the mood in the country.

The Two-Way
10:04 am
Thu August 23, 2012

Former Penn State President Launches 'Full-Throttle Defense'

Credit Gene J. Puskar / AP
Then-Penn State President Graham Spanier and then-head football coach Joe Paterno last fall, before the Jerry Sandusky scandal cost them both their jobs.

Graham Spanier, who lost his job as president of Penn State University for allegedly not doing enough to investigate whether former assistant football coach Jerry Sandusky was molesting young boys, has "launched a full-throttle defense" against charges that he cared more about the university's reputation than Sandusky's victims, Harrisburg's

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Participation Nation
10:03 am
Thu August 23, 2012

Saving Landmarks In Eldon, Iowa

Credit Courtesy of TAGHC
Volunteers in Eldon.

From a volunteer pool of more than 30 — most past retirement age – friendly folks greet visitors at the American Gothic House Center.

Unpaid guides provide pitchforks so tourists can pose in front of the house that inspired Grant Wood's recognizable painting. And they dispense information about one of America's most celebrated artists.

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