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Energy
5:04 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

New Rules To Curb Pollution From Oil, Gas Drilling

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 7:34 pm

The Environmental Protection Agency announced new rules Wednesday to control the problem of air pollution coming from wells being drilled by the booming oil and natural gas drilling industry.

Currently, waste products from the drilling operations, which include a mix of chemicals, sand and water, can be pumped into open enclosures or pits, where toxic substances can make their way into the air. The new rules will require this fluid to be captured by 2015, and flared — or burned off — in the meantime.

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Energy
5:04 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

As Gasoline Goes Up, Natural Gas Cheaper Than Ever

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 5:54 pm

At the same time gasoline prices are soaring, the cost of electricity is falling. The reason? Cheap and plentiful natural gas. A utility in Massachusetts has just sliced rates by 34 percent. Coming out of a recession, the lower electricity prices are quietly boosting the economy and providing some welcome savings to businesses and families.

Remembrances
4:49 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Dick Clark, 'Bandstand' Host, Dead at 82

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 2:59 pm

Dick Clark, affectionately known as the "world's oldest teenager," has died. He was 82, and had suffered a heart attack while in a Santa Monica hospital for an outpatient procedure.

Richard Wagstaff Clark became a national icon with American Bandstand in the 1950s, hosting the show for more than 30 years. Clark also hosted the annual New Year's Eve special for ABC for decades. He weathered scandals, hosted game shows and renewed his Bandstand fame with a new generation by producing the nostalgic TV drama American Dreams.

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NPR Story
4:49 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

NBC To Live-Stream Most Summer Olympic Events

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 5:54 pm

NBC has announced it plans to live-stream every event at the Summer Olympics where it has cameras.

Shots - Health Blog
4:17 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

What We Can Learn From Warren Buffett's Prostate Cancer

Credit Shuji Kajiyama / AP
Billionaire Warren Buffett, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, will be treated for prostate cancer starting in July.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 4:25 pm

Benjamin Davies, a urologic cancer specialist, doesn't mince words.

On Twitter today, the good doctor said he would fire on the spot any medical resident who biopsied the prostate of an 81-year-old man.

And that would include Warren Buffett, the 81-year-old CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, who disclosed Tuesday that he had been diagnosed with prostate cancer.

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Theater
4:12 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

London Smash 'Two Guvnors' Comes To Broadway

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 5:54 pm

If you weren't a college theater major, you can be forgiven for not knowing much about commedia dell'arte, the 500-year-old theatrical tradition that Carlo Goldoni used for his comedy The Servant of Two Masters in 1743. Contemporary playwright Richard Bean has adapted that play into the decidedly British laugh riot One Man, Two Guvnors -- and he says all you really need to know about commedia is ... well, it's funny.

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The Two-Way
3:56 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Dick Clark, Legendary Producer, Is Dead

Credit Danny Moloshok / AP
Dick Clark.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 9:24 pm

Dick Clark, the legendary television producer who became a national icon with American Bandstand in 1950s, has died. He was 82.

Clark, known as the the "world's oldest teenager," produced American Bandstand for over 30 years.

"The original American Bandstand was one of network TV's longest-running series as part of ABC's daytime lineup from 1957 to 1987. Over the years, it introduced stars ranging from Buddy Holly to Michael Jackson to Madonna," the AP writes.

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The Two-Way
3:15 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Organizations Can't Be Sued For Torture, High Court Rules

The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled unanimously that organizations cannot be sued for the torture under the Torture Victim Protection Act.

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The Two-Way
2:43 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Escort Says She Told Secret Service Agent: 'Baby My Cash Money'

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 4:25 pm

The New York Times just posted what it says are the first public comments from the Colombian woman whose argument with a U.S. Secret Service agent last week revealed the so-called summit scandal.

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The Two-Way
2:23 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Pat Summitt Steps Down As Tennessee's Basketball Coach

Pat Summitt, college basketball's winningest coach, has stepped down as coach of the University of Tennessee women's basketball team.

In a press release, the university said she will now hold the title of head coach emeritus and Associate Head Coach Holly Warlick will take her place.

In that release Summitt said:

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Latin America
2:21 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Columnist Says Invite Cuba To Future Summits

At the sixth Summit of the Americas, tensions flared over Cuba's absence, and continued U.S. efforts to isolate the country. Syndicated Miami Herald columnist Andres Oppenhemier believes the first step to bringing Cuba back into the diplomatic community is to invite them to observe future summits.

The Two-Way
2:09 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

In Colorado, Frozen Cows Are A Conundrum In Conundrum

Credit Brian Porter / AP
The Conundrum Creek Cabin where the cows met their unfortunate end. Photo taken on April 6.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 6:45 pm

Politics
2:00 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

What Their Bases Want From Obama And Romney

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 2:08 pm

Guest Political Junkie Matt Bai of The New York Times and Andy Stern, former president of the Service Employees International Union, talk about the state of the Democratic and Republican bases and what voters on each side are looking for in their candidates in the months ahead.

NPR Story
2:00 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

The Byrds' Roger McGuinn Works To Preserve Folk

Credit John Chiasson
Each week, Talk of the Nation plays The Byrds' song "I Wanna Grow Up to Be a Politician" during the Political Junkie segment. McGuinn recorded a version just for the show. You can hear it in the last three minutes of this story.

Originally published on Thu April 19, 2012 10:30 am

Singer-guitarist Roger McGuinn, best known as leader of The Byrds, is a folk-rock pioneer. The Byrds blended traditional folk songs with a rock beat and scored major hits in the 1960s, including "Turn, Turn, Turn" and "Mr. Tambourine Man." The group disbanded in 1973, and McGuinn pursued a solo career, in which he performed acoustically and returned to his folk roots.

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Technology
2:00 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Author Vernor Vinge Predicted Google Glasses

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 2:45 pm

In his 2006 thriller, Rainbow's End, author Vernor Vinge imagined a near future when people use high-tech contact lenses to interface with computers in their clothes. Google plans to make at least some of it a reality later in 2012 with the launch of what are known as augmented reality glasses.

The Two-Way
1:57 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

Poll: Most Americans Link Climate Change To Unusual Weather Events

Credit Tony Gutierrez / AP
In this Aug 3, 2011 file photo, Texas State Park police officer Thomas Bigham walks across the cracked lake bed of O.C. Fisher Lake, in San Angelo, Texas.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 2:25 pm

Most Americans believe that global warming has played a role in a series of unusual weather events during the past year.

A poll released today by the Yale Project on Climate Change Communication and the George Mason University Center for Climate Change Communication found that 72 percent of Americas believe global warming played a role in the very warm winter the United States just experienced.

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The Two-Way
12:38 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

King Of Spain Issues 'Unprecedented' Apology For Elephant-Hunting Trip

Credit Paco Campos / AP
Spain's King Juan Carlos prepares to leave a hospital in Madrid on Wednesday. Spain's King Juan Carlos says he is sorry for having gone on African elephant-hunting trip.
Movie Reviews
12:29 pm
Wed April 18, 2012

In 'Monsieur Lazhar,' Grief Lingers In The Classroom

Credit Music Box Films
Fellag, an Algerian comedian, plays the title character in the Oscar-nominated Monsieur Lazhar, who steps in to teach a class of middle school students after tragedy has struck their classroom.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 12:36 pm

Teacher movies tend to be more alike than unalike, but Monsieur Lazhar makes the familiar unusually strange. The note on which it opens is shocking, tragic: A Montreal middle school student, Simon, enters his classroom ahead of the other kids and finds his teacher hanging from a pipe, dead by her own hand.

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The Two-Way
11:56 am
Wed April 18, 2012

Drinking On The Job: Is 2012 The New 1966?

Credit Ron Jaffe/AMC / AP
Actor Jon Hamm in a scene from AMC's Mad Men. The show is set in the 1960s — but today, many companies provide their employees with ready access to alcohol.
The Salt
11:52 am
Wed April 18, 2012

Plan To Slaughter Horses For Human Consumption Is Met With Distaste

Credit Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images
No, that's not beef — it's horse meat, at a butcher shop in France. Horse remains a popular food in many countries, but often makes Americans squeamish.

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 1:25 pm

When the ban on slaughtering horses for human consumption was lifted in the U.S. last November, it was only a matter of time before someone applied to start the practice up again.

That person is Rick De Los Santos, a New Mexico rancher and owner of Valley Meat Co. If the USDA approves his application to have a former beef slaughterhouse inspected, it would allow the first slaughter of horses in the U.S. since 2007.

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