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World
5:16 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Cardboard To Be Used In Temporary Cathedral

The New Zealand town of Christchurch is rebuilding after an earthquake left its 19th century cathedral in ruins. Its replacement has been dubbed "the cardboard cathedral." It's a temporary fix while the permanent building is under construction.

The Two-Way
5:10 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Space Shuttle Discovery Is On Its Last Flight

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 8:51 am

Around the Nation
5:06 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Couple Charges Rental Property Is Haunted

Jose Chinchilla and Michele Callan said they hear strange noises, and something tugs on their bed sheets. They sued the landlord to get the security deposit back. They called in paranormal researchers, but he landlord countersued saying the tenants just don't want to pay the rent.

Africa
3:09 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Crisis Between Sudan, South Sudan Intensifies

The crisis between Sudan and South Sudan is heating up, with the north branding its recently-independent southern neighbor "the enemy." This follows two weeks of bitter fighting in the disputed, oil-producing border area between the two Sudans.

NPR Story
2:00 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Congressional Panels Probe Lavish GSA Spending

House Republicans took the Obama administration to task Monday, this time for a 2010 Las Vegas convention for General Services Administration employees that cost more than $800,000. The convention is the subject of congressional hearings this week.

NPR Story
2:00 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Dalia Lama Attends Spiritual Conference

Originally published on Tue April 17, 2012 4:46 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We're going to hear now from a religious leader revered by Tibetan Buddhists and admired by countless others - the 14th Dalai Lama. A year ago he stepped down as the political leader of Tibet's government in exile to devote himself to spreading a spiritual message of compassion and peace. Still, he's been drawn into talking about violence since a wave of deadly protests swept through the Tibetan areas of China.

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Business
2:00 am
Tue April 17, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Over the weekend, Tupac Shakur made his first appearance on stage since he was shot dead 15 years ago. Shakur was resurrected for a performance with rappers Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre in the form a realistic looking two dimensional computer image.

Business
2:00 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Tax Day Isn't Bad If You're Getting A Refund

The day that many dread is here: It's Tax Day. Of the 143 million federal tax returns filed last year, more than 80 percent qualified for a refund. Steve Inskeep talks to David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about the economics of tax refunds.

Politics
2:00 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Senate Republicans Block Debate On Buffet Rule

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 5:48 pm

Transcript

LYNN NEARY, HOST:

President Obama's so-called Buffett rule has slammed into a wall of GOP opposition. On the eve of tax day, Senate Republicans voted yesterday to block a measure that would have made mega-investor Warren Buffett and billionaires and millionaires like him pay at least a 30 percent tax rate. Although Buffett endorses such a rule, Senate Republicans call it an election year gimmick. Their Democratic counterparts insist it's all about fairness. NPR's David Welna has our story.

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Arts & Life
2:00 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Alec Baldwin Campaigns For More Arts Funding

Credit Paul Morigi / Getty Images
Actor Alec Baldwin speaks at the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 6:52 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The actor Alec Baldwin is in Washington, speaking in favor of the National Endowment for the Arts. The government-funded arts organization long ago supported the Sundance Film Festival and the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. In more recent years, the NEA has supported writers, arts education for kids, and everything from jazz musicians to urban design. It has also faced political controversy; most notably in the 1990s, when its funding was slashed.

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Around the Nation
1:01 am
Tue April 17, 2012

A Poem Store Open For Business, In The Open Air

Zach Houston runs his Poem Store (on any given sidewalk) with these items: a manual typewriter, a wooden folding chair, scraps of paper, and a white poster board that reads: "POEMS — Your Topic, Your Price."

Houston usually gets from $2 to $20 for a poem, he says. He's received a $100 bill more than once. The Oakland, Calif., resident has been composing spontaneous street poems in the San Francisco Bay Area since 2005. Five years ago, it became his main source of income.

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Presidential Race
1:01 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Did Obama's Policies Help, Or Hinder, The Economy?

Credit Darin McGregor / AP
President Obama signs the economic stimulus bill in February 2009, as Vice President Biden looks on. Experts disagree over the impact of the administration's economic policies on the recession.

The 2012 presidential election is approaching, and President Obama's fate may hinge on how well the economy fares over the coming months.

On the campaign trail, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has been highlighting the economy's weaknesses. The former Massachusetts governor has made a similar claim about the president, and the recession, at almost every campaign stop.

"I don't blame the president for the downturn," Romney told a crowd in New Hampshire earlier this year. "He didn't cause it. But he made it worse and made it last longer."

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Business
1:00 am
Tue April 17, 2012

U.S. Has A Natural Gas Problem: Too Much Of It

Credit Orlin Wagner / AP
Oil field workers drill into the Gypsum Hills near Medicine Lodge, Kan. Hydraulic fracturing, or "fracking," to coax out oil and gas has led to a natural gas boom that the U.S. market is having trouble absorbing.

There's a boom in natural gas production in the United States, a boom so big the market is having trouble absorbing it all.

The unusually warm weather this winter is one reason for the excess, since it reduced the need for people to burn gas to heat their homes. A bigger reason, however, is the huge increase in gas production made possible by new methods of coaxing gas out of shale rock formations.

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Afghanistan
12:59 am
Tue April 17, 2012

After The U.S. Leaves, Who Pays For Afghan Forces?

Credit S. Sabawoon / AP
Afghan Army soldiers stand during a security transition ceremony in Mazar-e-Sharif, north of Kabul, Afghanistan, on July 23, 2011. The Afghan government officially took control of security in the capital of the peaceful northern province of Balkh on July 23, as part of an effort to begin handing over all security responsibilities to Afghan forces by 2014.

This week, NATO Cabinet ministers, including U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, will try to tackle the problem of Afghan security. The basic plan for bringing American troops home from Afghanistan is to let Afghan security forces fight for their own country. But there's a hitch — finding a way to pay for the Afghan army.

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Election 2012
12:53 am
Tue April 17, 2012

Democrat Bob Kerrey Faces Uphill Race In Nebraska

Credit Clay Masters for NPR
Former Nebraska Sen. Bob Kerrey campaigns at a Democratic caucus site on April 14 at Bellevue University in Bellevue, Neb. Kerrey has decided to run again for his old seat in the U.S. Senate.

Originally published on Tue April 17, 2012 4:15 pm

Former Nebraska Gov. and two-term Sen. Bob Kerrey, who faces long odds in reclaiming the seat left open by retiring Democratic Sen. Ben Nelson, is in his home state trying to get his old job back.

After a full of morning of shaking hands, smiling and trying to win over voters, Kerrey settles on lunch at the Taqueria Tijuana in south Omaha.

After lunch, he takes off walking down 24th Street, telling his staffers to catch up with him. He says things are different now from when he first sought public office in 1982.

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Family Matters: The Money Squeeze
10:02 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

One Roof, Three Generations, Many Decisions

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 8:52 am

Part of the Family Matters series

The Great Recession slammed into all age groups, flattening the career dreams of young people and squeezing the retirement accounts of middle-aged savers. It financially crippled many elderly people who had thought they could stand on their own.

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The Two-Way
4:42 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Still Mail Your Tax Returns? So Do Some Other Die-Hards

As we've reminded everyone, April 17 (Tuesday) is the deadline for filing federal income tax returns. It's also the deadline for filing income tax returns in most states. Our friend Alan Greenblatt tells about something he finds surprising:

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Research News
4:08 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Bigger, Taller, Stronger: Guns Change What You See

Credit Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images
Survey participants in a UCLA study were asked to look at pictures of a hand holding different items and guess how tall, how big and how muscular the person connected to that hand actually was.

A new study out of UCLA suggests that when people wield a gun, they don't just feel bigger and stronger — it makes others think they are bigger and stronger.

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The Two-Way
4:05 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Last Mega Millions Jackpot Ticket Turned In

Lottery officials in Illinois say the third of the three winning tickets in last month's record $656 million Mega Millions jackpot has been turned in.

We'll learn who the winner is on Wednesday, The Associated Press says.

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Politics
3:55 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

House Investigator Issa Has Faced Allegations As Well

Credit Kevin LaMarque / Reuters/Landov
Rep. Darrell Issa, R-Calif., chairman of the House oversight committee, made news recently for going after the Justice Department's botched gun operation, known as Fast and Furious. Here, Issa listens during Attorney General Eric Holder's testimony in February.

The man driving the investigation into the General Services Administration, California Republican Rep. Darrell Issa, took the top seat on the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee after the GOP won a majority in 2010.

Issa has led several splashy investigations since. But he's also been dogged by allegations of his own.

Issa has made news in recent months by threatening to subpoena Attorney General Eric Holder, and by calling a panel of only men to talk about women's contraception.

The Car Alarm Voice

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The Two-Way
3:40 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

7 'Great Locations' To See Space Shuttle Discovery Fly By On Tuesday

Credit Roberto Gonzalez / Getty Images
Discovery is sitting atop NASA's 747 Shuttle Carrier Aircraft, which will fly the shuttle from Florida to Virginia.

For those who will be in the Washington, D.C., area Tuesday morning and would like to see space shuttle Discovery on the "fly-in" to its retirement home outside the nation's capital, the Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum recommends being in one of these seven "great locations" before 10 a.m. ET:

District of Columbia

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It's All Politics
3:35 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Michelle Obama: 'I Don't Have Stressful Job. He Does'

Credit Alex Brandon / AP
First lady Michelle Obama at a "Joining Forces" event at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, Wednesday, April 11, 2012.

Originally published on Tue April 17, 2012 12:00 pm

To White House outsiders and maybe even more than a few insiders, the life of a first lady would seem to be a fairly anxiety-inducing one. After all, there is no greater fish bowl than 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.

So NPR's Michel Martin, host of Tell Me More, asked First Lady Michelle Obama during an interview scheduled to air Tuesday how she deals with the pressures of being both the president's wife and the mother of school-age children.

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All Tech Considered
3:35 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Another Tech Bubble? Maybe Not

It's beginning to feel frothy in Silicon Valley. Here are a few numbers:

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Latin America
3:06 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Panama Booms While Poor Watch From Afar

The Central American nation of Panama is booming. Fueled by a multibillion-dollar expansion of the Panama Canal, a thriving banking industry and capital flight from Venezuela, the tiny nation has the highest economic growth rate in the hemisphere.

But even as the government builds a subway system and markets the country as a tropical paradise for multinational corporations, not everyone is sharing in the prosperity.

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The Two-Way
3:05 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Why Did The Rooster Cross The Road? To Get To A Chicken Restaurant

Credit WREG-TV
Gus, who has picked an interesting place to hang out.

Thank goodness he doesn't know what's going on inside.

Candice Ludlow of member station WKNO today helps All Things Considered ketchup ... er catch up ... on a story that's been cooking for a week or so in Tennessee.

It seems that a big red rooster has been hanging out in front of a restaurant in Collierville, Tenn., for the past few months.

But it's not just any restaurant.

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The End Of The Space Shuttle Era
3:02 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Shuttle Discovery To Make Final Flight, Atop A 747

Credit Kim Shiflett / NASA
The space shuttle Discovery is loaded onto the back of a modified 747 at Kennedy Space Center on April 15. The plane will ferry the shuttle to Washington, D.C., on April 17, where it will be permanently installed at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum.

On Tuesday morning, space shuttle Discovery will become the first of NASA's three shuttles — plus a shuttle prototype — to travel to its new retirement home.

NASA flew its last shuttle flight in July. Since then, it's been prepping the spaceships to become museum displays. And even though the shuttles are headed to places like Los Angeles and New York rather than the space station, figuring out how to get them there has still been a major undertaking.

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Interviews
2:55 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

'Our Challenges Are Complex,' First Lady Says

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images
First lady Michelle Obama says raising her two daughters in the White House "has been less stressful than I would have imagined." Seen here at the White House in March, the first lady's new project aims to help military veterans and their families.

Originally published on Tue April 17, 2012 9:52 am

First lady Michelle Obama wears many hats in the White House. In addition to being President Obama's closest confidante, she's also a mother whose two daughters are growing up in one of the most public homes in America.

And as first lady, Mrs. Obama has taken on her own signature public issues, as well.

Her Let's Move campaign has brought attention to the growing epidemic of childhood obesity. She has encouraged children to eat right and get plenty of exercise.

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Shots - Health Blog
2:42 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Plastic Surgeons Say Demand Is Surging For Chin Enhancements

Credit Maciej Laska / iStockphoto.com
Plastic surgeons see a surge in demand from those of us without naturally chiseled chins.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 2:26 pm

Chin up. Literally.

A big group of plastic surgeons say that chin enhancement was the fastest growing surgical procedure they performed for cosmetic purposes in the U.S. last year — up 71 percent to 20,680 operations.

Now, it's still a small number, overall, compared with breast augmentation, the No. 1 procedure at 307,180. But those surgeries rose only 4 percent in 2011 compared with 2010.

Chin work was most popular out west, which is true for most cosmetic procedures. The Northeast came in second.

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Governing
2:40 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Expert: Proud Secret Service 'Furious' Over Incident

Credit Carolyn Kaster / AP
President Obama speaks at the San Pedro Claver church in Cartagena, Colombia, on Sunday. An expert on the Secret Service tells NPR that Obama's security was never breached in the incident that led to 11 U.S. Secret Service agents being sent home amid allegations that they hired prostitutes in Cartagena.

The Secret Service, which has been offering protection to presidents since 1902, has long enjoyed one of the most sterling reputations of any government agency.

That reputation has been tarnished by allegations that agents hired prostitutes in Colombia in advance of President Obama's trip there.

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The Record
2:00 pm
Mon April 16, 2012

Andrew Love Of The Memphis Horns Has Died

Credit Gilles Petard / Redferns
Andrew Love (left) and Wayne Jackson pose for a studio portrait in 1965.

Saxophonist Andrew Love of the Memphis Horns has died. Love, who had Alzheimer's disease, died on April 12 at his home in Memphis. He was 70 years old.

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