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6:16pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Mitt Romney

Romney Shifts Gears On Auto Industry Bailout

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 6:52 pm

Credit Jae C. Hong / AP
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney arrives for a town hall-style meeting at Stamco Industries, a truck parts supplier, in Euclid, Ohio, on Monday.

5:56pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Mountain Stage

Randall Bramblett On Mountain Stage

Originally published on Thu January 17, 2013 10:00 am

Credit Brian Blauser/Mountain Stage
Randall Bramblett.

Randall Bramblett makes his second appearance on Mountain Stage, recorded live on the campus of the University of Georgia in Athens. Bramblett does many things well, both in this concert and on his albums.

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5:48pm

Fri May 11, 2012
The Two-Way

William Balfour Found Guilty In Murder Of Jennifer Hudson's Family

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 5:56 pm

Credit HO / AFP/Getty Images
William Balfour.

A jury has found William Balfour guilty of killing three members of Grammy-award winning singer Jennifer Hudson's family.

Balfour, Hudson's ex-brother in law, was found guilty on all three counts of first-degree murder for the 2008 shooting deaths of Hudson's mother, brother and 7-year-old nephew. The Chicago Sun-Times adds that he was also convicted of "home invasion, aggravated kidnapping, residential burglary and possession of a stolen motor vehicle."

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5:43pm

Fri May 11, 2012
All Songs Considered Blog

Song Premiere: Neil Young Sets 'Americana' On Fire

Originally published on Sat May 12, 2012 5:43 pm

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Americana's cover art.

You've never heard "She'll Be Coming Round the Mountain" quite like this. For their first album together in nine years, Neil Young and Crazy Horse have taken classic American folk music and reinvigorated these songs with muscle, radiance and a whole lot of electric guitar. Some songs from the 19th century include "Oh Susanna" (no banjo here) and "Tom Dula" (you may know it better as "Tom Dooley").

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5:14pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Sports

Red Sox Slump Threatens Home Sellout Streak

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 6:52 pm

Credit Jim Rogash / Getty Images
Boston Red Sox left fielder Cody Ross looks down during a seven-run third inning against the Baltimore Orioles at Fenway Park on May 5. The Red Sox trail their division, losing 11 of their last 12 home games.

It was supposed to be a banner season at Fenway Park — the ballpark's 100th anniversary. But the Boston Red Sox are stuck in the basement of their division, having lost 11 of their last 12 home games.

It's putting Major League Baseball's record sellout streak in jeopardy. Ever since 2003, the Sox have sold out Fenway Park for every game — 727 consecutive games.

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5:14pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Election 2012

For Evangelicals, Romney Is The Lesser Of Two Evils

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 6:52 pm

Credit Charles Krupa / AP
Experts say that in order to win this year's election, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will not just have to satisfy evangelicals — he will have to thrill them.

On Saturday, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney will deliver the commencement address at Liberty University, the nation's largest evangelical university. The speech will be attended by nearly 35,000 people, and it will give him a chance to win over a huge constituency that, up until recently, has been lukewarm about his campaign.

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4:42pm

Fri May 11, 2012
It's All Politics

On Citizenship Question, Bachmann Not So Neutral

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 5:24 pm

Credit Steve Pope / Getty Images
Minnesota Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann and her husband, Marcus, recite the Pledge of Allegiance before announcing her candidacy for president last June in Waterloo, Iowa.

4:36pm

Fri May 11, 2012
The Two-Way

Carroll Shelby, Race Driver And Designer Of The Shelby Cobra, Dies

Carroll Shelby was a race car driver; he was a racing team owner, a chili entrepreneur. He survived a liver transplant and a heart transplant. But perhaps the thing that most people will remember him for is his automotive creations, especially the Shelby Cobra.

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4:15pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Europe

Who Needs Marriage? Not France's New President

Originally published on Sat May 12, 2012 2:42 am

Credit Francois Mori / AP
French President-elect Francois Hollande waves to supporters with his companion, Valerie Trierweiler, as he celebrates his election victory in Bastille Square in Paris, May 6. Hollande and Trierweiler will be the first unmarried couple to move into the French presidential palace.

The French are known for being more tolerant than Americans about their politicians' private lives. One former French president even fathered a child with a mistress while in office.

But every French leader in history has been married — until now.

Next week, after Socialist Francois Hollande is sworn into office, he and his longtime companion, journalist Valerie Trierweiler, will become the first unmarried couple to move into the Elysee presidential palace.

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4:15pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Business

Massive JP Morgan Loss The Talk Of Wall Street

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 6:52 pm

Credit Mario Tama / Getty Images
JPMorgan Chase Chief Executive Officer Jamie Dimon cited "many errors, sloppiness and bad judgment" in announcing a $2 billion loss due to a hedging strategy.

JPMorgan Chase is licking its wounds after announcing that it lost at least $2 billion in a hedging strategy that went terribly wrong. The announcement late Thursday sent the bank's shares tumbling more than 9 percent on Friday.

Meanwhile, regulators on both sides of the Atlantic have begun looking into what happened. And there were calls Friday for tighter restrictions on the kind of trades the bank engaged in.

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4:15pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Middle East

Egyptian Families Finding New Interest In Politics

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 7:34 pm

The first truly competitive presidential election in Egypt's history is just two weeks away. The campaign has sparked lively interest around the country, as the candidates appear at campaign rallies and on televised talk shows. The election is also the major topic of conversation in many Egyptian living rooms.

3:47pm

Fri May 11, 2012
The Two-Way

In Greece, Third Bid For Coalition Government Fails

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 4:12 pm

Credit Louisa Gouliamaki / AFP/Getty Images
Greece's radical leftist party Syriza chief Alexis Tsipras (L) shakes hands with Socialists leader Evangelos Venizelos before their meeting at the Greek parliament in Athens on Friday. Venizelos admitted that he had failed in a last-ditch bid to form a government after Syriza key leftist party ruled out joining a pro-austerity coalition.

Evangelos Venizelos was the third politician mandated by the Greek president to form a coalition government.

Today, reports the BBC, after meeting with the leaders of different parties, Venizelos emerged empty-handed.

"I am going to inform the president of the republic tomorrow and I hope that, during the meeting with Carolos Papoulias, each party will assume its responsibilities," Venizelos told the BBC.

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3:42pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Million-Dollar Donors

Head Of Shrek's Studio Puts Millions Behind Obama

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 6:52 pm

Some two dozen Americans have given $1 million or more to superPACs in the 2012 presidential campaign. The vast majority of them have been Republicans, but one movie mogul has chipped in $2 million to help out the superPAC supporting President Obama.

Jeffrey Katzenberg, the head of DreamWorks Animation studios, was also the co-host of Obama's sellout event Thursday night at the home of actor George Clooney. Katzenberg told the crowd the event raised nearly $15 million, which would make it the most profitable presidential fundraiser ever.

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1:35pm

Fri May 11, 2012
'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup

It's All Politics, May 10, 2012

Credit KRISTOPHER SKINNER / MCT /Landov

Gay marriage gets an advocate in the White House, but only after Vice President Joe Biden has his say. President Obama's announcement comes a day after North Carolina voters overwhelmingly rejected the concept. And Dick Lugar's 36-year Senate career comes to an end in Indiana. Meanwhile, in the West Virginia primary, Obama defeats a jailed felon from Texas, 59 percent to 41 percent.

Listen to the latest political roundup with NPR's Ken Rudin and Ron Elving.

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1:22pm

Fri May 11, 2012
The Two-Way

Catholic Bishops Are Investigating The Girl Scouts

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 1:48 pm

Credit Francis Miller / Time
The first girl scout, Daisy Gordon Lawrence (left), demonstrates techniques like rope-tying and fire-making to young scouts in the late 1940s.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent an "official inquiry" to the Girl Scouts of the USA. NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports the bishops will investigate whether the iconic group has ties or views that conflict with Catholic teaching.

Barbara filed this report for our Newscast unit:

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1:18pm

Fri May 11, 2012
The Two-Way

'Mama Bird' Evelyn Johnson Dies At 102; Logged 7 Years Of Flight Time

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 2:12 pm

Evelyn Bryan Johnson, a record-setting pilot who was born just six years after the Wright brothers made their historic flight, has died at the age of 102. Johnson, who began flying in 1944, holds the Guinness world record for the most hours logged by a female pilot — more than 57,000.

In addition to her accomplished flying record, Johnson also helped many other pilots earn their wings. After one student called her Mama Bird, the nickname stuck with Johnson, as she gave lessons and FAA flight exams to thousands of pilots.

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12:55pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Election 2012

Gay Marriage Stand Could Help Obama In Suburbia

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 2:00 pm

Credit Elaine Thompson / AP
Marriage equality supporters Teri McClain (left) and Mary Beth Brotski demonstrate Thursday in Seattle.

Republicans rule rural areas, while any Democrat can count on running up big margins in most of the large cities in the country. That has left the suburbs as the main partisan battleground.

For several election cycles now, the presidency has been won or lost based on the vote among suburbanites in a few key states. That's likely to be true again this November.

And some political observers believe that President Obama took the calculated risk that his newfound support for gay marriage rights will boost his campaign in these all-important counties.

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12:20pm

Fri May 11, 2012
Latin America

Art In A Neon Cage: Welcome To The Havana Biennial

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 7:35 pm

In Cuba's socialist economy, if you want a well-paid career, you probably won't find it as a lawyer or engineer. You may do much better as an artist. Successful Cuban artists travel abroad, benefit from state support and can earn huge sums selling their work to foreign buyers.

And every two years, they get a shot at a breakthrough at the Havana Biennial, which has become one of the most important art events in Latin America.

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12:18pm

Fri May 11, 2012
The Two-Way

Mother On 'Time' Cover: Breastfeeding Photo Doesn't Show 'Nurturing Side'

Originally published on Sat May 12, 2012 4:18 am

Credit AP
The cover of the May 21, 2012 issue of Time.

The latest cover of Time was obviously meant to spark conversation — and that it has.

The photo on the cover shows a 26-year-old mother breastfeeding her almost 4-year-old son. The reaction has been explosive and visceral and a lot of the more thoughtful commentary revolves around a philosophy by Dr. William Sears called attachment parenting, which encourages co-sleeping and carrying your baby everywhere and breast-feeding sometimes into toddlerhood.

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11:25am

Fri May 11, 2012
Religion

What Will Black Pastors Preach This Sunday?

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 4:04 pm

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News.

Coming up, this is the month when we acknowledge the contributions of Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders to the history and ongoing life of this country. We decided to observe it by speaking with people who have changed the game in their respective fields. Today, we are talking with Hikaru Nakamura. At the ripe old age of 24, he has already won the U.S. Championships twice and he's working on his third, as we speak. We'll have that conversation in just a few minutes.

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