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6:37am

Sat May 5, 2012
NPR Story

'Bring Up The Bodies': Taking Down Anne Boleyn

Originally published on Sat May 5, 2012 1:01 pm

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This is WEEKEND EDITION from NPR News. I'm Scott Simon.

When Hilary Mantel's new book opens, the spark has gone out of Henry the VIII's marriage; second marriage, in fact. Anne Boleyn hasn't given him a son. Now, he finds the sharp remarks she makes that used to charm sometimes come at his expense. His roving eye begins to settle on Jane Seymour, another woman at court. But in Henry's time, a monarch doesn't go to a marriage counselor or divorce lawyer, not when Thomas Cromwell is the king's chief advisor.

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6:37am

Sat May 5, 2012
NPR Story

The Race Is On: Obama Heads To Battleground States

Originally published on Sun May 6, 2012 10:26 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

President Obama tried to best the face on yesterday's jobs report. He told students at a Virginia high school that private employers have added more than four million jobs over the last two years, but he acknowledge recovery is not happening fast enough.

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6:37am

Sat May 5, 2012
NPR Story

News Corp. Fallout: The Implication Of Being 'Unfit'

Originally published on Sun May 6, 2012 10:26 am

Transcript

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

This week, the British Parliamentary committee that was convened to investigate accusations of phone hacking and executive misconduct at Rupert Murdoch's News Corp., delivered its findings. And the headlines it created make uncomfortable reading for a media magnate who has been under the microscope for 18 months now.

MPs accused News Corp. as a whole of what they call willful blindness. And they went on to make some further damning observations on Rupert Murdoch's own competency.

Here's Labour Member of Parliament Tom Watson.

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6:29am

Sat May 5, 2012
Economy

On Jobs, Bad News Is Bad. The Good News Is Bad, Too

Originally published on Sun May 6, 2012 10:26 am

For the second month in a row, weak job growth numbers unsettled nerves in the White House and on Wall Street.

It's obvious why the number of jobs added to the economy in April was disappointing. Employment grew by just 115,000. That followed a disappointing job gain in March. Together, the March and April average was only about half the 250,000 jobs added monthly in December, January and February.

Again, economists suggested the warm winter weather might have boosted job growth during the winter months, which left fewer jobs to be added in the spring.

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6:28am

Sat May 5, 2012
Europe

With Greek Elections, 'A Period Of Great Confusion'?

Originally published on Sun May 6, 2012 10:26 am

Credit Nikolas Giakoumidis / AP
Antonis Samaras, leader of the conservative New Democracy Party, addresses an election rally in Thessaloniki Wednesday. One of two dominant parties in Greek politics, New Democracy has lost support to a new nationalist party.

It's anyone's guess what the Greek government will look like on Monday, but analysts predict a fragile coalition that must still stick to austerity to keep getting international bailout loans.

The country's early parliamentary elections Sunday are set to be the most divisive in recent history. Voters who are tired of austerity measures are rejecting mainstream politics and turning instead to fringe parties.

The conservative New Democracy Party and the Socialist Party, PASOK, have dominated Greek politics for three decades. This election, enthusiasm is waning.

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5:03am

Sat May 5, 2012
Sports

Called To The Post, Derby Starters Pack 'Em In

Originally published on Sun May 6, 2012 10:26 am

When the gates fly open at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Ky., on Saturday, all eyes will be on the 20 racehorses that launch themselves into the 138th Kentucky Derby. That's a lot of horses, and a special challenge for the men charged with getting them into the starting gate safely.

Caleb Hayes, 24, has been part of the 12-man start crew for the past six years. The 9-to-5 life isn't for him, he says — he loves his job and likes working the gate side by side with the older guys.

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3:13am

Sat May 5, 2012
Fresh Air Weekend

Fresh Air Weekend: Sissy Spacek, Julia Louis-Dreyfus

Originally published on Sat May 5, 2012 11:32 am

Credit Courtesy of the author
Sissy Spacek received the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Loretta Lynn in Coal Miner's Daughter.

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

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6:53pm

Fri May 4, 2012
The Two-Way

Vogue Says It Will Only Work With 'Healthy' Models

Credit Richard Drew / AP
In this Feb. 15, 2012, file photo, models have their make-up finalized under runway light before the J. Mendel Fall 2012 collection is modeled during Fashion Week, in New York.

In an effort to promote a healthy body image among its readers, the editors of 19 global editions of Vogue magazine agreed to some changes.

NPR's David Folkenflik filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"From June on, no models will appear in Vogue's pages who are under 16 or who appear to suffer from any eating disorder

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6:29pm

Fri May 4, 2012
Pop Culture

Alcoholidays in America: ¡Viva El Tequila Julep!

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 10:20 pm

Credit Matt Slocum / AP
The infield at Churchill Downs can get pretty beer-soaked, as this scene from the 2011 Kentucky Derby proves. But this year, things could get even more crazy: The Derby falls on another of America's favorite "alcoholidays," Cinco de Mayo.

America is not a two-party country — it's a multiparty extravaganza.

We turn every possible pause from work into a party: New Year's Day, the Super Bowl, Mardi Gras, St. Patrick's Day, Memorial Day, the Fourth of July, Labor Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Eve.

And on Saturday, many Americans will play overtime by reveling in a pair of nationwide celebrations — Cinco de Mayo and the Kentucky Derby. Establishments everywhere will be mashing up Mexico and the Bluegrass State.

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5:48pm

Fri May 4, 2012
The Two-Way

5 Pa. Priests Ousted After Sex Abuse Inquiry

Originally published on Fri May 11, 2012 12:39 pm

Credit Matt Rourke / AP
Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles Chaput listens during a news conference on Friday in Philadelphia.

The archbishop of Philadelphia announced that five priests were "not suitable for ministry." It was the Catholic Church's first action since it suspended 27 priests last year when a grand jury report accused church officials of ignoring allegations of sex abuse.

The AP reports that Archbishop Charles J. Chaput said three other priests would return to the ministry and that one priest died in the process of the investigation. Chaput did not immediately announce the fate of the 17 others investigated.

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5:33pm

Fri May 4, 2012
The Picture Show

The Power Of Flower Photos

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 10:39 am

I can't remember exactly when I received the first flower email, but I do remember it was sometime in 2005.

At the time, I had no idea why my old friend Darryl Pitt had sent it, but I didn't think too much about it. A flower. OK. That's nice. But then the flowers continued to arrive day after day after day — and soon a modest digital bouquet turned into a meadow, and that meadow into a hillside of, as always, flowers.

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5:10pm

Fri May 4, 2012
London 2012: The Summer Olympics

A Need For Speed: Inside Jamaica's Sprint Factory

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 10:09 pm

When it comes to sprinting, Jamaica reigns supreme.

At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, a Jamaican man — Usain Bolt — and a woman — Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce — took home the golds in the 100-meter race, and at this summer's London games, they're hoping to do it again.

If you visit the Caribbean island nation, you'll hear a lot of explanations for why they're so good, but let's start with the obvious: In Jamaica, kids really like to run.

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5:10pm

Fri May 4, 2012
Africa

Political Rift Widens Between Egyptian Islamists

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 6:31 pm

The two top Islamists running in Egypt's first real presidential race share a common history.

Abdel Moneim Aboul Fotouh, a physician, is a former senior leader in the Muslim Brotherhood whose moderate stance has made him popular not only with Islamists, but with liberal and secular Egyptians.

Mohammed Morsi, an engineer, heads the Brotherhood's political party, which holds nearly half the seats in parliament.

Yet despite their common political background, the two men are bitter rivals.

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4:58pm

Fri May 4, 2012
World Cafe

Bonnie Raitt On World Cafe

Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 5:11 pm

Credit Marina Chavez
Bonnie Raitt's new album is titled Slipstream.

Bonnie Raitt is a blues-rock legend with nine Grammys and five platinum albums under her belt. Her rootsy and passionate take on everything blues — combined with her intimate understanding of composition, deft slide-guitar skills and soulful vocals — helped Raitt become an icon.

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4:45pm

Fri May 4, 2012
Sports

Churchill Downs Supervisor Beginning His Last Lap

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 6:04 pm

The surface on which Kentucky Derby horses will race Saturday is a special piece of real estate, built for high performance and safety. The track is generically described as dirt, but is actually a careful mixture of river sand, silt and clay.

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4:32pm

Fri May 4, 2012
The Two-Way

23 Dead, 9 Hanged From Bridge In Nuevo Laredo, Mexico

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 6:24 pm

It has been a bloody day for the Mexican border-town of Nuevo Laredo. It started at dawn when 9 bodies were found hanging from a bridge of a major thoroughfare that connects Nuevo Laredo to Monterrey.

And as the day went by, the mutilated bodies of 14 others were found across the city.

El Universal, one of Mexico's largest dailies, reports:

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4:22pm

Fri May 4, 2012
National Security

At Sept. 11 Trial, Military Commissions Face Scrutiny

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 6:04 pm

Credit Janet Hamlin / AP
In this photograph of a courtroom sketch, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, charged with orchestrating the Sept. 11 attacks, attends a court hearing at Guantanamo in 2008. He's expected to appear in a military court Saturday.

Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men charged in the Sept. 11 attacks were supposed to be tried six years ago in a military tribunal created by the Bush administration.

But that system — which allowed hearsay evidence, among other things — faced questions about its fundamental fairness. When President Obama came into office, he put all the proceedings at Guantanamo on hold and asked that the commission system be revamped.

Since then, there has been an effort to make sure the trials at Guantanamo are credible, with both Congress and the Supreme Court weighing in.

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4:16pm

Fri May 4, 2012
Asia

U.S. Supports Chinese Activist's Bid To Study Abroad

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 6:04 pm

News of a possible way out of the diplomatic impasse over Chinese dissident Chen Guangcheng has again overshadowed other events in Beijing. The Chinese Foreign ministry says Chen might be allowed to leave China to study abroad. Meanwhile about 200 U.S. officials from the State Department and the U.S. Treasury are in China to discuss other matters vital to the U.S.-China relationship.

4:15pm

Fri May 4, 2012
Religion

Five Philly Priests Removed For Sex Abuse Allegations

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 6:04 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The Catholic Archbishop of Philadelphia announced today that he is removing five priests from ministry. Charles Chaput said investigations into other priests accused of abuse will continue.

But as NPR's Barbara Bradley Hagerty reports, victims' advocates are not satisfied.

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4:13pm

Fri May 4, 2012
Economy

Jobs Report: More Are Dropping Out Of Workforce

Originally published on Fri May 4, 2012 6:04 pm

The Labor Department issued its monthly employment report on Friday and the news wasn't good. Payrolls did increase with 115,000 positions but that was less than the month before and far less than what most economists were expecting.

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