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11:15am

Mon April 16, 2012
The Two-Way

At Boston Marathon: Hot Temps And New Wheelchair Race Record

Credit Stew Milne / AP
Before the start of the Boston Marathon this morning, a runner grabbed a bottle of water from among the hundreds lined up on a table in Hopkinton, Mass.

The big story at today's Boston Marathon is the weather — in particular the bright, sunny skies and temperatures in the 80s that have race officials worried about how well some of the 27,000 registered runners will cope with the heat for 26.2 miles.

As the Boston Globe says, the medical tents are likely going to be quite busy today. And the Globe says that:

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7:38am

Mon April 16, 2012
The Two-Way

Prosecutor Who Led Ill-Fated Ted Stevens Case To Leave Justice Department

A federal prosecutor who led the elite public integrity unit when the case against the late Alaska Sen. Ted Stevens collapsed has told associates he will leave the Justice Department.

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7:08am

Mon April 16, 2012
Around the Nation

Phish Organizes 'More Cowbell' Weekend In Vermont

In Burlington, Vt., hundreds of people showed up to try to break the record for world's largest cowbell ensemble. The jam band Phish organized the event to raise money for flood relief in Vermont.

6:53am

Mon April 16, 2012
Around the Nation

NRA Gets In On The Zombie Craze

The National Rifle Association's annual convention featured a display of shooting targets featuring zombies. Firing ranges across the country are offering zombie-themed shooting events. Sales of zombie targets are booming.

4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
NPR Story

Politics In The News

Originally published on Mon April 16, 2012 6:25 am

Transcript

LYNN NEARY, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Lynn Neary.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning.

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4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
NPR Story

Tornado Hits Wichita's Ailing Aviation Industry

Over the weekend, tornadoes ripped through several states, killing at least five people in Oklahoma and causing millions in damage to communities. Among the hardest hit areas was Wichita, Kan., which has seen its share of hardship over the past several years.

4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
NPR Story

Egypt's Election Commission Disqualifies 10 Presidential Candidates

The Egyptian elections were thrown an unexpected curve when 10 presidential candidates were disqualified from the ballot. They include hopefuls from the Muslim Brotherhood and the old guard.

4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
Business

The Last Word In Business

It's in a ritzy section of town, so the company is hoping to appeal to high end customers with a retro farmhouse style decor. This includes Ottomans covered in vinyl cowhide fabric and the front of a 1960s van mounted on the wall.

4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
Latin America

Sex Scandal, Cuba' Absence Distract From Summit

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Lynn Neary is in for Renee this week. Lynn, welcome to the program.

LYNN NEARY, HOST:

Good to be here.

President Obama is back in Washington this morning, after a weekend summit in Colombia. The gathering with leaders from throughout the Americas produced some agreement on trade and some disagreement on drug policy in Cuba.

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4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
Europe

Confessed Killer Of 77 Goes On Trial In Norway

Originally published on Mon April 16, 2012 7:00 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, the man who has confessed to carrying out Norway's worst peacetime atrocity goes on trial today. Anders Behring Breivik, a right-wing extremist, raised his fist in a Nazi-style salute after bailiffs removed his handcuffs in the courtroom. Breivik has told authorities he acted to protect Norway from Muslims. The rampage in Oslo and at a youth camp left 77 people dead and dozens injured. NPR's Eric Westervelt is in Oslo and reports that the central issue for judges will be Breivik's mental health.

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4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
Business

China Loosens Yuan's Daily Trading Limits

The action by China's central bank widens the range at which the currency can be traded on the international market. The move is seen as seen a step toward addressing foreign complaints that China was suppressing the value of its money to boost Chinese exports, and hurt foreign imports.

4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
Afghanistan

Taliban Claims Responsibility For Afghan Attacks

Transcript

LYNN NEARY, HOST:

What the Taliban are calling the start of their spring offensive kept security forces across Afghanistan fighting throughout Sunday and into this morning. Officials say 36 insurgents were killed in Kabul and three other eastern provinces. Three civilians died in the attacks, and eight members of the police and army were killed. American officials are praising Afghan forces, but questions remain about how the insurgents were able to infiltrate the most secure parts of the capital. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF CROWD CHATTER)

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4:00am

Mon April 16, 2012
Business

'New Rules For Everyday Foodies'

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Let's turn now, to the economics of a good meal. Tyler Cowen is an economist, author of the blog Marginal Revolution, and a serious eater. He seeks to use his understanding of economics to zero in on the best food and best restaurants, and he shares what he's learned in a book called "An Economist Gets Lunch." Cowen is a fan of local food. But for the taste, not because he thinks it will save the world.

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3:23am

Mon April 16, 2012
Crisis In The Housing Market

Hoping For Payout, Investors Become Landlords

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Renzo Salazar maintains the yard around a foreclosed house in Miami after the bank hired him to keep the home from falling into complete dilapidation.

The housing market has a new frontier — turning foreclosed homes into rental properties. Some big-time investors are starting to buy up thousands of homes to turn into rentals. That might help shore up home prices. But some housing advocates are nervous.

For decades, most single-family homes available for rent have been owned by mom-and-pop landlords. Sometimes it's the nice old guy up the street who owns a couple of rental homes, and some even offer advice on the Internet.

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3:22am

Mon April 16, 2012
Religion

Christians Debate: Was Jesus For Small Government?

Originally published on Mon April 16, 2012 9:45 am

Credit Jacquelyn Martin / AP
House Budget Committee Chairman Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., with his 2012 budget plan. Ryan cites his Catholic faith in justifying his proposed cuts to social safety-net programs.

What would Jesus do with the U.S. economy?

That's a matter of fierce debate among Christians — with conservatives promoting a small-government Jesus and liberals seeing Jesus as an advocate for the poor.

After the House passed its budget last month, liberal religious leaders said the Republican plan, which lowered taxes and cut services to the poor, was an affront to the Gospel — and particularly Jesus' command to care for the poor.

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3:20am

Mon April 16, 2012
Law

Clemens Faces Trial (Again) Over Doping Testimony

Originally published on Mon April 16, 2012 9:06 am

Credit Jonathan Ernst / Reuters /Landov
Former Major League Baseball pitcher Roger Clemens stops to sign a baseball as he leaves the federal courthouse in Washington, D.C., on July 14, 2011, after a judge declared a mistrial in his perjury trial.

Baseball star Roger Clemens goes on trial for a second time Monday on charges that he lied to a congressional committee about using steroids and human growth hormone. His trial on perjury and obstruction charges last summer ended abruptly when prosecutors mistakenly showed the jury evidence that the judge had ruled inadmissible.

Clemens won a record seven Cy Young awards during his storied pitching career, but prosecutors contend that he used steroids and human growth hormone to prolong that career.

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3:20am

Mon April 16, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

Deadly 'Choking Game' Comes With Big Risks

Originally published on Wed April 18, 2012 8:48 am

Michele Galloway went looking for her son, Connor, one morning in their Webster, N.C., home to make sure the seventh-grader hadn't overslept.

"I opened the door and I found him," Galloway said. "And he looked like he was standing up beside his bed. And I just said, 'Connor, you're awake.' And then I realized he was not awake."

She looked more closely. "There was a little gap between his feet and the floor," she said. "And I realized, you know, he had a belt around his neck."

The other end of Connor's belt was looped around the top of his bunk bed.

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3:19am

Mon April 16, 2012
Around the Nation

A Push To Help U.S. Veterans Fight Homelessness

Originally published on Mon April 16, 2012 9:54 am

Last year, the number of homeless U.S. veterans on a given night dropped 12 percent from the year before. But tens of thousands were still on the streets, and more could be joining them as troops return from Afghanistan and Iraq. President Obama has vowed to end veterans' homelessness by 2015.

Homeless No More

James Brown left the Army in 1979. And for most of the next 32 years, he lived on the streets in and around Los Angeles. You might have seen him: the dirty, disheveled guy trying to keep warm in a cardboard box.

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3:18am

Mon April 16, 2012
The Two-Way

Americans Do Not Walk The Walk, And That's A Growing Problem

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Americans walk less than the citizens of any other industrialized nation, says Tom Vanderbilt. In this file photo from last summer, pedestrians and a cyclist cross the Brooklyn Bridge in New York City.

"Americans now walk the least of any industrialized nation in the world," says writer Tom Vanderbilt. To find out why that is, Vanderbilt has been exploring how towns are built, how Americans view walking — and what might be done to get them moving around on their own two feet.

Talking with Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep about what is wrong with Americans' relationship with walking, Vanderbilt says, "The main thing is, we're just not doing enough of it."

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3:17am

Mon April 16, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

Why Women Suffer More Migraines Than Men

One in four women has had a migraine. And, it turns out, the debilitating headaches affect three times more women than men.

But why?

Decades ago, these headaches were attributed to women's inability to cope with stress, a sort of hysteria. Now experts are starting to figure out the factors that really make a difference.

Today scientists know a migraine is all in your head — but not in that old-fashioned sense. Migraines are biologically based, and they play themselves out as a wave of electrical activity traveling across the brain.

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