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History
10:02 am
Wed June 19, 2013

Exhibit Explores US History of 'Rights' Versus 'Privileges'

The National Archives' upcoming exhibit, 'The Record of Rights,' is about the human rights struggles faced by women, African-Americans, and immigrants in the U.S. Guest host Celeste Headlee talks with one of the exhibit's curators about some of the more unique items on display.

Race
10:02 am
Wed June 19, 2013

Hair Touching Is A No-No

Two black sisters were fed up with people asking to touch their hair. To create a public dialogue, they asked models to hold signs encouraging strangers to touch their hair. But what they saw as an educational moment quickly became controversial. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with the sisters about where their conversation is now.

Around the Nation
10:02 am
Wed June 19, 2013

'Teenpreneur' Makes Money Off Great-Grandma's Hair Recipe

Leanna Archer was just nine-years-old she began using her Haitian great-grandmother's recipe to sell homemade hair care products. Today, she's the CEO of a six-figure business. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with the now 17-year-old CEO about being a 'teenpreneur.'

It's All Politics
7:34 am
Wed June 19, 2013

IRS Staffer: "What I Did Was Not Targeting"

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 9:18 am

Another interview with a key IRS employee, another oblique connection to Washington, D.C., and yet still no explosive revelations in the scandal surrounding the agency's targeting of Tea Party groups.

That, it seems, was precisely the point of Rep. Elijah Cummings' decision to release 205 pages of redacted interview transcripts Tuesday (here and here).

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Middle East
3:14 am
Wed June 19, 2013

U.S. To Test The Waters With Iran's New President Rohani

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 4:12 am

Iran's newly elected president is signaling he might take a more pragmatic, moderate approach to nuclear negotiations with major world powers. But there's a lot of debate in Washington policy circles about what Hassan Rohani's election might mean for the U.S.

Business
1:21 am
Wed June 19, 2013

U.S. Automakers Are On A Roll, But Hiring Is Slow And Steady

Credit Geoff Robins / AFP/Getty Images
A worker installs parts on a Chrysler SUV engine at the Jefferson North Assembly Plant in Detroit. Plants in the U.S. are now operating above 90 percent capacity, but automakers are wary of adding large numbers of new workers.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 7:40 am

There is one basic question that keeps being asked about the U.S. auto industry: Is it on the rebound?

"People ask a lot, is the auto industry back?" says Kristin Dziczek, a director at the Center for Automotive Research. "And it depends on what scale you want to look at."

So if we're looking at scales, let's start with productivity. In this case, how many work hours it takes to build a car. Productivity in U.S. plants is 39 percent higher than it was in 2000. "Productivity has never been this high," Dziczek says.

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Politics
1:19 am
Wed June 19, 2013

How A Merger Could Affect Congress' Favorite Airport

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
A jet takes off from Reagan National Airport, near the Capitol.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 7:40 am

If the US Airways-American Airlines merger announced earlier this year is approved, the combined airline would control two-thirds of the takeoff and landing slots at Reagan National Airport, outside Washington, D.C.

The government could force the airline to give up some of those slots as a condition of the merger. But lawmakers warn that could have consequences for some small- and medium-sized cities. And, not coincidentally, it could affect flight plans for lawmakers themselves.

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The Two-Way
5:13 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Google Files First-Amendment Request With FISA Court

Google has filed a legal motion asserting its "First Amendment right to publish aggregate information about FISA orders," asking the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to remove the gag order that keeps the company from issuing that information. Google and other big U.S. tech companies have been under fire after it was reported that they allowed the National Security Agency to mine customer data, in a government program called PRISM.

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It's All Politics
4:50 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Boehner Seeks To Reassure House GOP On Immigration

Credit Susan Walsh / AP
House Speaker John Boehner is getting flak from fellow Republicans over immigration legislation.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 8:29 pm

Faced with the threat of mutiny for what seems like the umpteenth time during his speakership, John Boehner moved to mollify fellow Republicans on Tuesday, saying immigration legislation would need the support of a majority of the House GOP before it could be brought to a floor vote.

After emerging from a meeting with House Republicans, following days of warnings by conservatives that the Ohio Republican had better not try to pass an immigration bill with mostly Democratic votes, Boehner sought to calm the roiling Republican waters.

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Education
4:42 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Home-Schooled Students Fight To Play On Public School Teams

Credit Stephen Brashear / AP
Advocates of allowing home-schooled students to play on public school teams have dubbed legislation allowing it "Tim Tebow bills," after the former NFL quarterback who was home-schooled in Florida.

Legislative battles are being fought around the country over whether or not to let home-schooled students play on public high school teams.

Roughly half of U.S. states have passed laws making them eligible to play on the teams. Advocates have dubbed them "Tim Tebow bills," after the NFL quarterback who was home-schooled when he played on a high school team.

But an attempt by Indiana to find a middle ground may not have solved the problem in that state.

Somewhere In The Middle

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The Two-Way
4:32 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

A Field Guide To Jimmy Hoffa Searches

Credit Carlos Osorio / AP
Law enforcement officials search an area in Oakland Township, Mich., on Tuesday for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. The former Teamsters president was last seen at a Detroit-area restaurant in 1975.

The mystery of Jimmy Hoffa's final resting place was opened yet again Monday, when the FBI began digging up a field near Detroit in the hopes of finding the former Teamsters president, who was last seen on July 30, 1975.

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History
4:18 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

A Look Back At How Newspapers Covered The Civil Rights Movement

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

I'm Melissa Block.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

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The Two-Way
3:34 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Perk Backlash: Do Surprise Upgrades Make Us Uneasy?

Credit iStockphoto.com
A new study finds that while "receiving unearned preferential treatment does generate positive reactions, it is not always an entirely pleasurable experience." Examples include getting a free upgrade on a hotel room.

Whether it's a free upgrade on a hotel room or skipping ahead in the check-in line, many businesses give preferential treatment to some customers, hoping to make them more loyal. The practice often works — but a new study suggests that when we get perks we didn't earn, negative feelings can result. And they can make a surprise deal a little less sweet.

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Shots - Health News
3:06 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Patients Lead The Way As Medicine Grapples With Apps

Credit Heather Rousseau / NPR
How many calories in that bite? My Fitness Pal and other fitness and nutrition apps can help find the answer.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 8:39 pm

Christine Porter is hooked on the MyFitnessPal app. In October, after deciding to lose 50 pounds, Porter started typing in everything she eats, drinks and any exercise she gets.

"This is my main page here," says Porter. "It's telling me I have about 1,200 calories remaining for the day. When I want to record something I just click the 'add to diary' button. I'm on it all day either through my phone or through the computer."

She says she's lost 42 pounds in nine months.

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It's All Politics
2:58 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Obama's Unplanned NSA Discussion

Credit Evan Vucci / AP
President Obama listens to French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday.

You have to wonder if President Obama ever thought, when he first ran for the White House, that he would need to defend himself from accusations his presidency would be a mere extension of his Republican predecessor.

But there he was with journalist Charlie Rose having to explain why his approach to national security wasn't really like that of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

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The Two-Way
2:22 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

'Days Of Rambo Are Over': Pentagon Details Women's Move To Combat

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
Women in the U.S. military will be integrated into front-line combat units by 2016, the Pentagon says. Here, female Marine recruits stand in formation during pugil stick training in boot camp earlier this year at Parris Island, S.C.

Women in America's armed services will have new options for what units they can join in coming years, the Pentagon says. The military said in January that it will end its combat exclusion that set a minimum size for units in which women could be deployed; the limit kept many women away from front-line combat units. The shift means women could join elite forces such as the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs.

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Shots - Health News
1:08 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

FDA Backs Off On Regulation Of Fecal Transplants

Credit Janice Carr / CDC/dapd
Bad bug: The bacterium Clostridium difficile kills 14,000 people in the United States each year.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 10:34 am

Federal regulators are dropping plans to tightly control a procedure that is becoming increasingly popular for treating people stricken by life-threatening infections of the digestive system.

The Food and Drug Administration says the agency will exercise enforcement discretion and no longer require doctors to get the agency's approval before using "fecal microbiota for transplantation."

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Shots - Health News
11:00 am
Tue June 18, 2013

How To Make Museums More Inviting For Kids With Autism

Credit Courtesy of Noelle Murphy
Dylan Murphy, 3, plays with a swan at the Please Touch Museum in Philadelphia. It was his first trip to a museum that didn't overwhelm him.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 10:33 am

Last January, Noelle Murphy and her family were on their way to the Please Touch Museum for children in Philadelphia. Right before they arrived, 3-year-old Dylan had an accident.

"He wet himself," Murphy said, "And we were thinking, 'Oh no, how are we going to deal with this?' "

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Education
9:58 am
Tue June 18, 2013

New Report Finds Many Teachers Aren't Ready To Teach

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. If you are a parent, you might be breathing a sigh of relief or already tearing your hair out trying to find things for the kids to do. Yes, it's that time. It's summer. One thing you'll probably want them to do, though, is keep reading. So our moms roundtable will pass on some of their tried and true methods for getting even reluctant readers to keep reading through the summer. That's coming up later in the program.

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Education
12:56 am
Tue June 18, 2013

Study: Teacher Prep Programs Get Failing Marks

Credit iStockphoto.com
Teachers are not coming out of the nation's colleges of education ready, according to a study released Tuesday by U.S.News & World Report and the National Council on Teacher Quality.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 11:52 am

The U.S. spends more than $7 billion a year preparing classroom teachers, but teachers are not coming out of the nation's colleges of education ready, according to a study released Tuesday by U.S.News & World Report and the National Council on Teacher Quality.

The study says most schools of education are in disarray.

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It's All Politics
5:15 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Voting Rights Groups Get High Court Win As Bigger Case Looms

Credit Jonathan Gibby / Getty Images
Election Day volunteer Vicki Groff places a sign to direct voters to a polling station at Kenilworth School in Phoenix in 2012.

Advocates of tougher voter registration standards have racked up wins in recent years — voter ID laws have taken hold across the nation, for example.

But those who believe that government should make voting as easy as possible just gained a significant victory with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision slapping down an Arizona law that required potential voters to prove their citizenship.

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The Two-Way
4:15 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Woman Freed In Indiana Was A Convict On Death Row At 16

Credit Lake County PD / AP
Paula Cooper was freed from prison Monday, nearly three decades after being sentenced to death for murder. She's seen here in a 1985 police photo.

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 4:46 pm

Paula Cooper, 43, left prison Monday morning, decades after she became America's youngest resident of death row at age 16. She had confessed to the 1985 murder of Bible studies teacher Ruth Pelke, 78, in Gary, Ind. Cooper's death sentence was commuted in 1989, after widespread appeals for mercy.

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National Security
3:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

NSA Leaker Snowden Defends Actions In Live Web Chat

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

The man who leaked secret National Security Agency documents, Edward Snowden, defended his decision to reveal details of U.S. surveillance programs in a web chat on Monday. Snowden said he's still in Hong Kong and claims he wouldn't get a fair trial in the U.S. He also said he has not been in contact with the Chinese government and that there are more disclosures to come.

Energy
3:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Calif. Wonders About Energy Future After Nuclear Plant Closes

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

In Southern California, the power grid is always a hot topic. It's a part of the country that is all too familiar with the rolling blackouts. And now there is more reason for concern about the region's capacity to generate electricity. The San Onofre nuclear power plant is shutting down for good, thanks to worn-out parts. It's been off-line for more than a year after a pipe was found leaking radioactive steam. At its peak, San Onofre provided power for 1.4 million homes.

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Around the Nation
3:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Collection Of Kids' Shoes Carries Message About Gun Violence

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

Old shoes can tell a story. A mother in New Jersey is hoping her exhibit of old shoes will help young people avoid violence. She's trying to collect a pair of shoes connected to every young person killed by gun violence in the U.S. in 1998 — the year her son was shot to death.

Sports
3:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

San Antonio Spurs One Game From Winning Fifth NBA Title

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

Every time you think you got a handle on this year's NBA Finals, you realize, you have no idea what's going to happen next. Case in point: Before last night's game five against the Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs guard Manu Ginobili was slumping and supposedly washed up. Instead he put on a vintage performance and led the Spurs to a ten-point victory over the defending champs.

Around the Nation
3:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Some Colorado Wildfire Evacuees Briefly Allowed Back Into Homes

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

The Black Forest Fire near Colorado Springs, Colo., has pushed about 4,500 evacuees out of their homes. Police are escorting some of them back in to pick up critical medications or rescue pets.

Law
3:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

High Court Sides With Regulators In Drug Patent Case

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

The Supreme Court sided with government regulators in an important case involving the pharmaceutical industry and patent law. At issue were contracts between "brand-name" pharmaceutical companies and "generic" producers in which the brand-name company paid the generic not to compete. The court said the Federal Trade Commission could challenge such contracts.

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