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4:48pm

Wed April 18, 2012
Remembrances

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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4:47pm

Wed April 18, 2012
NPR Story

Panetta Condemns Latest U.S. Troop Photo Scandal

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

Newly-published photos show U.S. troops in Afghanistan posing with the dead bodies of insurgents. The incident, first reported by The Los Angeles Times, occurred in 2010. It's the latest setback for the military's counterinsurgency strategy, which depends on winning the hearts and minds of the Afghan people.

4:17pm

Wed April 18, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

What We Can Learn From Warren Buffett's Prostate Cancer

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

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

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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4:16pm

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

Dick Clark, Legendary Producer, Has Died

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

Credit Danny Moloshok / AP
Dick Clark.

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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4:12pm

Wed April 18, 2012
Theater

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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4:12pm

Wed April 18, 2012
World Cafe

Emeli Sande On World Cafe

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Emeli Sande.

Emeli Sande is young, but she already has an enviable list of accomplishments under her belt. Along with a specialty in neuroscience from the University of Glasgow, she's become a global R&B phenomenon at just 23. The U.K. soul singer wrote her first song at 11 and began participating in music competitions in her teens. Given her powerful vocals and keen understanding of what makes a great song, there was little doubt that her debut would be a doozy — especially once her first single, the soulful "Heaven," became a worldwide hit.

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3:15pm

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

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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2:43pm

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

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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2:23pm

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

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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2:09pm

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

In Colorado, Frozen Cows Are A Conundrum In Conundrum

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

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

1:57pm

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

Poll: Most Americans Link Climate Change To Unusual Weather Events

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

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.

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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12:38pm

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

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.

12:29pm

Wed April 18, 2012
Movie Reviews

In 'Monsieur Lazhar,' Grief Lingers In The Classroom

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

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.

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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11:56am

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

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.

11:52am

Wed April 18, 2012
The Salt

Plan To Slaughter Horses For Human Consumption Is Met With Distaste

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

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.

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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11:45am

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

Retired Couple Bought Winning Mega Millions Ticket In Illinois

Credit Illinois Lottery
Merle and Patricia Butler (at right) accepting their ceremonial check earlier today.

The winning ticket in Illinois from last month's record $656 Mega Millions lottery has been turned in by a retired couple from the little town of Red Bud, Ill.

"Merle Butler, 65, and his wife Patricia, 62, accepted the giant check Wednesday morning," as Chicago's WLS-TV reports.

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11:42am

Wed April 18, 2012
National Security

Where's the Line Between Profiling, Policing?

Host Michel Martin speaks with Illinois Senator Dick Durbin, who chaired the first Senate hearing on Tuesday about racial profiling since before 9/11. The controversies surrounding the killing of Trayvon Martin and revelations that New York Police monitored Muslim groups served as the backdrop. Martin is also joined by NPR's Carrie Johnson.

11:42am

Wed April 18, 2012
Science

What Can We Learn From Video Games?

The White House is making what some would call an unconventional investment. It's studying the benefits of video games on those who play them. White House senior policy analyst Constance Steinkuehler is at the head of that research and she discusses the initiative with host Michel Martin.

11:22am

Wed April 18, 2012
The Two-Way

Take That, Kids: Jamie Moyer Is Oldest Pitcher To Win An MLB Game

Credit Doug Pensinger / Getty Images
Jamie Moyer of the Colorado Rockies after his record-setting win Tuesday night in Denver.

He's not as old as some bloggers (sigh!), but the Colorado Rockies' Jamie Moyer is now the holder of an impressive age-related record.

Tuesday night, at the age of 49 years, 150 days, he became the oldest pitcher to ever win a Major League Baseball game.

Playing in Denver, the Rockies beat the San Diego Padres 5-3. "Moyer worked seven innings, allowing no earned runs on six hits," The Denver Post reports.

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10:46am

Wed April 18, 2012
Music Reviews

Jenny Scheinman's 'Mayhem' Hard To Pin Down

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 12:24 pm

Credit Michael Gross
Jenny Scheinman's (left) quartet represents players raised on and used to playing all kinds of music.

Violinist Jenny Scheinman's band and new album are both called Mischief and Mayhem. The record was made just after her quartet played a week at the Village Vanguard, but despite the jazz cred of regular Vanguard appearances, their stylistically fluid music draws on a lot of traditions.

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