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It's All Politics
3:21 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Rice Controversy Raising Ayotte's Profile

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 4:44 pm

Freshman Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire has been standing side by side with colleagues John McCain of Arizona and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina in questioning the Obama administration's version of events about the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, in September.

It is just the latest in a series of high-profile moments for Ayotte, who is seen as a rising star in a party struggling to win female voters.

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The Two-Way
3:16 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

On Second Day On Stand, WikiLeaks Suspect Manning Admits He Made Noose

Bradley Manning, the Army private accused in the biggest leak of classified information in U.S. history, took the stand for a second day in a row, today.

Politico reports that in one more dramatic moments of the Article 13 hearing, Army Capt. Ashden Fein, the military prosecutor, pulled out a noose from a paper bag.

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Law
3:02 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

DOJ Sues Gallup For Overcharging On Contracts

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 4:44 pm

The Justice Department has accused the Gallup Organization of cheating federal agencies out of millions of dollars by inflating the price of federal contracts. Gallup says in a statement that the case is "based on false allegations of a former disgruntled employee."

U.S.
3:00 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

U.N. Ambassador Rice Not The Typical Diplomat

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 6:24 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice has had a tough week. At the U.N., Rice had to explain to the world why the Obama administration was part of a small minority voting against the Palestinian statehood bid. She's also been under attack as a potential secretary of state. And as NPR's Michele Kelemen reports, her critics seem to be growing in number.

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Latin America
2:59 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Far From Mexico, Students Try Saving Aztec Language

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 4:44 pm

The descendant of the ancient Aztec language is one of many endangered indigenous languages. Although there may still be a million speakers of Nahuatl, it is not being transmitted to a new generation. But there is an attempt to revive Nahuatl in New York City, and students eager to connect to their heritage are taking classes.

Politics
2:55 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Boehner: Fiscal Cliff Negotiations At A 'Stalemate'

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 4:44 pm

President Obama traveled to the the Philadelphia suburbs on Friday. He visited the maker of Tinker Toys and talked about the impact of tax hikes on consumers this Christmas season.

Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
2:52 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Jake Tapper Of ABC News Plays Not My Job

Credit Ely Brown / Little, Brown and Company

Originally published on Sat December 1, 2012 9:31 am

Jake Tapper is the longtime chief White House correspondent for ABC News and has just written a new book called The Outpost: An Untold Story of American Valor.

We've invited him to play a game called "It's Mr. Bojangles to you." Three questions for a guy named Tapper about an actual tapper: Bill "Bojangles" Robinson, who some say was one of the greatest tap dancers of all time.

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
2:52 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Opening Panel Round

Originally published on Sat December 1, 2012 9:31 am

Transcript

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

We want to remind everybody they can join us here most weeks at the Chase Bank Auditorium, or in just a few days, this Thursday, at the Nokia Theater in downtown Los Angeles. For tickets and more information go to our website waitwait.npr.org.

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
2:52 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Panel Round Two

Originally published on Sat December 1, 2012 9:31 am

Transcript

CARL KASELL: From NPR and WBEZ-Chicago, this is WAIT WAIT...DON'T TELL ME!, the NPR News quiz. I'm Carl Kasell. We're playing this week with Adam Felber, Amy Dickinson, and Brian Babylon. And here again is your host, at the Chase Bank Auditorium in downtown Chicago, Peter Sagal.

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Thank you so much.

(APPLAUSE)

SAGAL: Thank you, Carl. In just a minute, Carl finally beats his favorite Nintendo 64 game: The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Rhyme.

(LAUGHTER)

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Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me!
2:52 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Prediction

Originally published on Sat December 1, 2012 9:31 am

Transcript

PETER SAGAL, HOST:

Now, panel, what will Mr. Obama and Mr. Romney do on their next big date? Brian Babylon.

BRIAN BABYLON: One word: Yahtzee.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: Amy Dickinson.

AMY DICKINSON: They'll go for a drive, only things will go terribly wrong when Mitt Romney tries to strap the president to the roof of the car.

(LAUGHTER)

SAGAL: And Adam Felber.

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Election 2012
2:43 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

2012 Election The Most Expensive In History

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 4:44 pm

Robert Siegel talks to Tom Hamburger of The Washington Post, and Melanie Mason of The Los Angeles Times about how much money campaign consultants made from the presidential election this year.

Health Care
2:43 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Immigrants Key To Looming Health Aide Shortage

Credit iStockphoto.com
Senior woman in wheelchair holding hands with caretaker

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 4:44 pm

In the shadow of the Capitol on a recent sunny morning, about 50 home care workers from around the country gather to lobby their legislators for basic labor rights. Most are native-born Americans, but about a quarter are documented immigrants from Africa, Latin America, India and the Caribbean.

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The Two-Way
2:00 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Israel OKs Plans For New Settlements In East Jerusalem, West Bank

Originally published on Thu December 13, 2012 6:41 am

A day after the United Nations General Assembly voted to upgrade Palestinians to a non-member observer state, Israel announced it had plans to expand existing settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank.

The New York Times has the lay of the land:

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The Salt
1:38 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Some Restaurants In Israel Declare A Kosher Rebellion

Credit David Silverman / Getty Images
Israelis eat at a kosher McDonald's restaurant in Tel Aviv.

Originally published on Thu December 13, 2012 6:41 am

The Carousela cafe in West Jerusalem is one of a handful of restaurants and cafes in Israel staging a bit of a rebellion by defying Jewish religious authorities who claim they are the only ones who can certify restaurants as kosher, or in compliance with Jewish dietary laws.

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Middle East
1:28 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

In Istanbul, A Byzantine-Era Fleet Surfaces Again

Originally published on Mon December 3, 2012 6:24 pm

In Istanbul, major public transit projects are back under way after years of paralysis. The problem wasn't a lack of financing, but the layer upon layer of ancient artifacts that turned up every time the earthmovers started their work.

The excavation began eight years ago on projects intended to ease Istanbul's notoriously clogged traffic.

The job included building a tunnel under the Bosphorus Strait and linking it to a rail and subway network. When the dig was stopped several years ago, eyes rolled and shoulders shrugged.

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Pop Culture
1:22 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

That's So Random: The Evolution Of An Odd Word

Credit Paramount/The Kobal Collection
The use of the word random as slang found its way into Amy Heckerling's 1995 hit film, Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone.

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 4:44 pm

Random is a fighting word for young Spencer Thompson. The comedian posted a video to a Facebook page entitled I Hate When People Misuse the Word Random.

"The word random is the most misused word of our generation — by far," he proclaims to a tittering audience of 20-somethings. "Like, girls will say, 'Oh, God, I met this random on the way home.' First of all, it's not a noun."

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The Two-Way
1:07 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Say It Ain't So, Joe: Bazooka Bubble Gum Is Killing Its Tiny Comics

Credit Bazooka Bubble Gum
The latest "comic of the week" on Bazooka Bubble Gum's Facebook page.

Many of us are still not over the demise of Twinkies. Now there's this.

Bazooka Bubble Gum is redoing is packaging and, says The New York Times:

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The Two-Way
12:54 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Free-Speech Debate In India Heats Up

Credit Julie McCarthy / NPR
The case against Shaheen Dhada has set off a free-speech debate in India. Her father, Farooq Dhada, shown here with her, says in India, freedom of speech "exists only on paper."

Originally published on Sat December 1, 2012 10:37 am

It looks like the case in India against two young female Facebook users has been dropped. But the debate over free speech in India is still heating up.

As we've reported, two young women were arrested last week for a Facebook comment that criticized the shutdown of the city of Mumbai for the cremation of a controversial political leader.

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It's All Politics
12:50 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Kerry: In the Shadow of Rice's Firestorm

Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
Committe Chairman John Kerry , D-MA, speaks during the Senate Foreign Relations Committee hearing on the nomination of Robert Beecroft to be ambassador to Iraq Sept. 19 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC.

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 2:19 pm

President Obama has yet to make known his choice to replace Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, but plenty of Republicans have made theirs: John Kerry.

And that puts the Massachusetts senator and former Democratic presidential nominee in a bit of a bind. As chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, he'd normally be one of the loudest voices defending U.N. Ambassador Susan Rice against GOP attacks that she mishandled her role in explaining an attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi. But she's the other top contender for the Cabinet post.

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Author Interviews
12:24 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

'Times' Advice Guru Answers Your Social Q's

This interview was originally broadcast on Dec. 5, 2011. Social Q's is now out in paperback.

Need advice on when it's appropriate to break up with someone over email? Want to know how to react if your dinner companion whips out a cellphone midway through a meal? What about how to deal with your annoying relatives during the holidays?

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Science
12:17 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

SciFri Book Club Has 'The Right Stuff'

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 2:15 pm

This month the book club takes to the skies with the Tom Wolfe classic The Right Stuff, a behind-the-curtain look at the 20th century's most famous test pilots--including Chuck Yeager. Yeager joins the club to talk about his long career, and what he considers "the right stuff."

Science
12:14 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Glacier Photographer James Balog on 'Chasing Ice'

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 2:15 pm

Photographer James Balog on Climate Change and 'Chasing Ice' — In the new documentary "Chasing Ice," photographer James Balog attempts to capture how the world's glaciers are being affected by climate change. As the film debuts across the country, Balog discusses the project, and what needs to be done to save Earth's shrinking glaciers.

JazzSet with Dee Dee Bridgewater
12:12 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

Mulgrew Miller Trio On JazzSet

Credit Jean Francois Laberine
Mulgrew Miller.

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 2:02 pm

In the fall of 2002, with an epic series of concerts, pianist Mulgrew Miller opened the Kennedy Center Jazz Club. Those great nights are documented on two CDs from the MaxJazz label. Since then, the Jazz Club (transforming a room that was once a music library) has hosted hundreds of artists and countless Washington, D.C., jazz fans. In the fall of 2012, Mulgrew made a triumphant return before a sold-out house — performances captured in this edition of JazzSet.

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Health Care
12:05 pm
Fri November 30, 2012

What Obamacare Means For Patients

Originally published on Thu December 6, 2012 3:02 pm

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY, I'm Ira Flatow. Now that President Obama's been re-elected, it's clear that at least the president won't try to repeal Obamacare. But with all the political mud-slinging about the Affordable Care Act, the details sort of got lost, didn't they? Do you actually know what the law does for you, and just as importantly what it doesn't do, what changes to your health care kick in on January 1, what major changes kick in in 2014 and thereafter?

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The Two-Way
11:56 am
Fri November 30, 2012

Police Say Three Are Dead At Casper College In Wyoming

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 2:18 pm

Three people are dead from apparent homicide at Casper College in Casper, Wyoming, The Casper Tribune reports.

On its website, the college, which has a population of about 4,000, said it had put the campus on lockdown. At this time, students and faculty are being allowed to travel through the campus.

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Music Reviews
11:17 am
Fri November 30, 2012

Tracey Thorn: 'Secular Carols' For The Holidays

Credit Edward Bishop / Courtesy of the artist
Tracey Thorn, famous for her work in Everything but the Girl, has a new solo album of seasonal tunes called Tinsel and Lights.

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 12:24 pm

Tracey Thorn's interpretation of "Maybe This Christmas," by the Canadian singer-songwriter Ron Sexsmith, is typical of her new holiday album, Tinsel and Lights: It's simply arranged, emphasizing Thorn's lovely, delicate voice and bolstered by a firm intelligence; it avoids the fatty treacle that weighs down lots of Christmas albums. Tinsel and Lights mixes familiar songs with new ones, such as the title song written by Thorn.

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The Two-Way
11:12 am
Fri November 30, 2012

Badminton Takes Swing At Avoiding Repeat Of London Scandal

Credit Adek Berry / AFP/Getty Images
Referee Torsten Berg tried to get players from Indonesia (near court) and South Korea to try their hardest during this match at the London Olympics. The format gave some teams an incentive to lose — in order to get easier opponents in upcoming matches. That format's being changed.

The biggest scandal at the summer Olympics in London didn't involve doping, or boorish behavior by athletes or judges tipping the results.

No, the biggest scandal came out of the badminton competition, shocking the sport's fanatic followers in Asia and leaving the rest of the world snickering at cheating in badminton, of all things.

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'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup
10:53 am
Fri November 30, 2012

It's All Politics, Nov. 29, 2012

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
  • Listen to the Roundup

NPR's Ron Elving and Ken Rudin take you over the cliff in the latest podcast.

This week: a less-than-friendly reception for Susan Rice among Senate Republicans; some in the GOP declare their independence from the no-tax pledge; an update in the battle to succeed Jesse Jackson Jr. in Congress; and the 2013 gubernatorial races in Virginia and New Jersey begin to take shape.

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The Two-Way
10:45 am
Fri November 30, 2012

An Overture To Latinos, GOP-Controlled House Passes Immigration Bill

Credit Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Rep. Raul Labrador (R-ID), speaks at the Conservative Political Action conference in February.

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 11:44 am

One of the big questions that arose out of the November general election is how Republicans would pivot to close the astonishing gap in the Latino vote.

Hispanics voted for President Obama instead of Gov. Mitt Romney by a 71-to-27 percent margin. That kind of lopsided result immeditately changed the minds of many Republicans on immigration reform.

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The Salt
10:32 am
Fri November 30, 2012

Booches' Famous Burgers Seek New Buns After Hostess Plant Closes

Originally published on Fri November 30, 2012 12:57 pm

Twinkie hoarders, artists, and Ding Dong enthusiasts weren't the only consumers affected when Hostess started shutting down plants across America just a few weeks ago.

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