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The Two-Way
7:11 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Female Volleyball Players Can Cover Up For Olympics

Shorts and long-sleeved tops will be OK at the London Olympics' beach volleyball tournament.

That's what the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has decided: Women won't have to wear the bikinis and bodysuits that have been the norm at previous Olympics.

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The Two-Way
6:33 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

FBI Pulls Offensive Counterterrorism Training Materials

The FBI has completed a review of offensive training material and has purged 876 pages and 392 presentations, according to a briefing provided to lawmakers.

The office of Sen. Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, made the briefing public when it sent a letter addressed to Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI.

According to the letter (pdf), which is dated March 27, the FBI gave the senator an opportunity to review a "handful" of the material.

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Music News
6:20 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

From London, Rock Hall Inductees 'Looked To America'

Originally published on Thu March 29, 2012 12:01 am

Today, Morning Edition begins a series of stories profiling the six new inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's a diverse bunch, including two acts that originated in 1960s London: The Small Faces and Donovan.

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It's All Politics
6:09 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

White House Aide To Skeptical Journalists: No Contingency Plan On Health Law

Credit Susan Walsh / AP
White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest in February 2012.

No matter how many times he said it Wednesday, the White House press corps just didn't seem to be buying deputy press secretary Josh Earnest's assertion that Obama administration officials weren't working on contingency plans just in case the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act.

They also weren't taking at face value Earnest's defense of Solicitor General Donald Verrilli's performance on behalf of the administration Tuesday which has been widely criticized as nervous, halting and all-around less-than-inspiring.

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Middle East
6:03 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Still Wounded, Baghdad Hosts Arab Summit

Originally published on Wed March 28, 2012 6:03 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Melissa Block. Here's another milestone for Iraq. For the first time in more than two decades, the Arab League is meeting in Baghdad. Little in the way of major policy is expected to come out of tomorrow's summit, but as NPR's Kelly McEvers reports, after years of violence and war, it's a marvel the gathering is happening at all.

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Monkey See
5:42 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

DVD Picks: 70 Years of 'Casablanca'

Credit Warner Home Video

Time now for a home viewing recommendation from NPR's movie critic, Bob Mondello. He's found himself swept up this week by the 70th Anniversary edition boxed set of Casablanca.

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Africa
5:21 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

For The Two Sudans, The Threat Of War Looms

Less than a year after they formally split, Sudan and South Sudan appear to be in danger of going to war.

Fighting spilled over the disputed border this week, scuttling a planned summit intended to resolve issues lingering from South Sudan's independence last July.

International diplomats are trying to get that summit back on track and deal with a humanitarian crisis that is looming in the region.

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Law
5:11 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Trayvon's Father: We Don't Want 'An Eye For An Eye'

Credit Doriane Raiman / NPR
Tracy Martin says of his son, "We're not saying that Trayvon was perfect. But what we are saying is, he was our child. He was a good kid. And he didn't deserve death."

The death of Trayvon Martin, the unarmed 17-year-old shot to death by a neighborhood watch volunteer in Sanford, Fla., has sparked headlines around the country, along with many discussions about race, the law, and the media.

Martin was killed as he returned from a trip to a convenience store. The man who shot him, George Zimmerman, has not been arrested; he says he acted in self-defense.

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It's All Politics
5:10 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Supreme Court Limits Damage Payments To Whistle-Blowers

Credit Mark Wilson / Reuters/Landov
Under Wednesday's Supreme Court ruling, whistle-blowers like Linda Tripp (seen here in 1998) have few options in suing the government for damages.

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 2:14 pm

The Supreme Court has dealt privacy advocates a huge setback. By a 5-3 majority, the court ruled that people who sue the government for invading their privacy can only recover out-of-pocket damages. And whistle-blower lawyers say that leaves victims who suffer emotional trouble and smeared reputations with few if any options.

Justice Samuel Alito and all four of his conservative colleagues turned back a challenge from a pilot named Stan Cooper. (Justice Elena Kagan did not participate in the case.)

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It's All Politics
5:06 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Oral Arguments Outside The Supreme Court, As Well ...

What happens when impassioned demonstrators come this close to each other?

Opponents and defenders of the new national health care law found out this week, sometimes facing off outside the U.S. Supreme Court as the justices inside heard three days of oral arguments on the law's constitutionality.

NPR discussed the experience with demonstrators from both sides of the debate, who traveled from other states or nearby cities to bring their voices to the steps of the high court.

Carolyn Weller, secretary:

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The Salt
5:06 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Scientists Map Algae To Prevent Shellfish Poisoning Outbreaks

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP
An oyster shucker on Samish Island, Wash. on Puget Sound. The state is frequently forced to close beaches to oyster gatherers because of the risks of harmful algae blooms.

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 2:14 pm

Public health officials have their hands full keeping your clam chowder and raw oysters safe. That's due, in part, to red tides.

Red tides happen nearly every year as coastal waters warm, killing fish and poisoning shellfish along U.S. coasts. They're not actually tides; they're huge blooms of naturally occurring toxic algae.

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The Two-Way
4:55 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Despite Losses, Bank Of America CEO Receives Huge Raise

Credit Chuck Burton / AP
Bank of America CEO Brian Moynihan.

Despite the fact that Bank of America lost 58 percent of its value in 2011, its CEO received a compensation package worth $7.5 million. That's a six fold increase from the year before. The AP reports that under Brian Moynihan, Bank of America also lost its title as the No. 1 bank by assets to JPMorgan Chase.

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Crisis In The Housing Market
4:50 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Spring Brings Some Green Shoots In Housing Market

Credit Paul Sakuma / AP
A recently sold home in Palo Alto, Calif. Home inventory is declining nationwide, and real estate agents say they are seeing more interest among would-be buyers.

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 2:14 pm

Housing prices are still declining, but many analysts see some signs for optimism in the housing market. The mild spring has brought buyers out earlier than usual, and real estate agents are busy.

Doug Azarian is one of them. One of his clients recently signed a deal on a $1.5 million house in Cape Cod, Mass. — a contemporary waterfront property with three bedrooms.

"The buyers came in, and they loved it from the minute they walked in the door," Azarian says.

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It's All Politics
4:48 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Rep. Bobby Rush's Hoodie Moment Recalls His Own Family Tragedy

Credit Anonymous / AP
Rep. Bobby Rush who, like Trayvon Martin's parents, lost a son to gun violence.
The Two-Way
4:15 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Prosecutor Says A Desire To Win Led To Misconduct In Sen. Stevens' Case

Credit Haraz N. Ghanbari / AP
Special federal prosecutor Henry F. Schuelke testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday.

Originally published on Wed March 28, 2012 4:26 pm

A special prosecutor who spent two years exploring Justice Department misconduct in the botched case against late Sen. Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) said "contest living" — the desire to win a big case — explained the failure to follow the rules in one of the biggest political corruption prosecutions in decades.

"[Lawyers] do not want to have to undermine our case if it can possibly be avoided," investigator Hank Schuelke told the Senate Judiciary Committee Wednesday. "That motive to win the case was the principal operative motive."

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The Two-Way
4:02 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Report: Student Loans For K-12 Are On The Rise

Anyone who watched Nursery University — a documentary about the trials and tribulations of getting your toddler in the "right" pre-school — won't be surprised by this story.

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Judging The Health Care Law
3:54 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

TRANSCRIPT & AUDIO: Supreme Court: The Health Care Law And Medicaid Expansion

Originally published on Wed April 11, 2012 5:17 pm

  • Listen to Wednesday Afternoon's Supreme Court arguments

The Supreme Court on Wednesday heard the last of three days of oral arguments on the fate of President Obama's health care law. A transcript of Wednesday afternoon's arguments, as prepared by the court, follows.


CHIEF JUSTICE ROBERTS: We will continue argument this afternoon in case 11-400 Florida v. Department of Health and Human Services.

Mr. Clement. ORAL ARGUMENT OF PAUL D. CLEMENT ON BEHALF OF THE PETITIONER MR. CLEMENT: Mr. Chief Justice, and may it please the Court:

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Latin America
3:40 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Pope Wraps Up Cuba Visit With Mass, Castro Meeting

In the last public event of his three-day visit to the island, Pope Benedict XVI called on Cuba, and the world, to change and choose a path of "love, reconciliation and brotherhood."

After the Mass, the pontiff met with Fidel Castro for a half-hour before departing for Rome, wrapping up a weeklong trip to Mexico and Cuba.

The pope did not meet with Cuban dissidents during his trip, however, drawing criticism from Castro opponents in Cuba and abroad.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:08 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Supreme Court Cheat Sheet Day 3: Scalia Unplugged

On the final morning of its three-day health care law extravaganza, the U.S. Supreme Court wrestled with the question of whether parts of the 2010 federal statute can survive if the justices strike down its central tenet: the individual insurance requirement.

In other words, if the nine justices find the insurance mandate unconstitutional when they rule by June, would that mean that the entire law also fails the constitutionality test?

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It's All Politics
3:02 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Sign Of The (Wisconsin) Times: Gov. Scott Walker For President

Credit Don Gonyea / NPR
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's future is a bigger deal to many in his state than Tuesday's presidential primary.

There's a Republican presidential primary next Tuesday in Wisconsin. But as the accompanying photo taken by NPR political correspondent Don Gonyea in Delafield, Wisc. suggests, a lot of Wisconsinites have other political matters on their minds.

As Don writes in an e-mail:

"Note that the recall coming up on June is the big political story here. Not Tuesdays presidential primary."

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