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12:00pm

Thu March 8, 2012
World

Senator Blumenthal Pushes President On Iran

The Associated Press reports that International Atomic Energy Agency officials are concerned that Iran may be trying to cover up evidence related to nuclear weapons. That could fuel the debate over U.S. options for addressing Iran. Host Michel Martin talks with Democratic Senator Richard Blumenthal, who is on the Senate Armed Services Committee.

12:00pm

Thu March 8, 2012
The Salt

Hundreds Battle For International Cheese Glory In Wisconsin

Credit Wisconsin Cheese Makers Association
A judge smells a block of cheese at the World Championship Cheese Contest in Madison, Wis. Judges carefully appraise a cheese's look, smell and texture before they taste it and spit it out.

When over 50,000 pounds of cheese rolled this week into Wisconsin, a state clearly not suffering from cheese shortages, it could only mean one thing: The World Championship Cheese Contest was in town.

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11:39am

Thu March 8, 2012
Television

Is 'Game Change' Fair To Sarah Palin? You Betcha

There are times when TV dramas about national politics and politicians deserve criticism, even ridicule, for their fast-and-loose narratives and characterizations. Recent miniseries about the Reagans and the Kennedys, loaded with unsubstantiated dialogue and action, are only two very fresh examples.

But Game Change — HBO's new take on the John McCain-Sarah Palin campaign — is entertaining, and commendable, precisely because it stays so close to the facts, not because it strays from them.

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11:34am

Thu March 8, 2012
The Two-Way

Inside Bin Laden's House, 'A Fading Splash Of Blood'

Credit Getty Images
The compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, where al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden was found and killed. (May 3, 2011, file photo.)

The New York Times writes this morning about a retired Pakistani Army brigadier's attempt to reconstruct what happened last May when U.S. Navy Seals killed Osama bin Laden at the al-Qaida leader's hideout in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

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10:00am

Thu March 8, 2012
The Two-Way

Report: 'Explosive' Growth Of 'Patriot Movement' And Militias Continues

Credit Southern Poverty Law Center
"Patriot movement groups" in red. Militias — armed wings of such organizations — in gray.

An enormous surge in the number of groups that "see the federal government as their primary enemy" and in some cases have militias as their "armed wings" continues, the Southern Poverty Law Center reports today.

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9:49am

Thu March 8, 2012
The Salt

The Secret To Glowing (Yellow) Skin? Eat Your Fruits And Veggies

Originally published on Thu March 8, 2012 11:01 am

Credit iStockphoto.com
Carrots and other veggies give skin a slight yellow tone that people think looks healthy and attractive.

We know that fruits and vegetables do us all kinds of good. But evidently they also give us a healthful glow — by tinting our skin yellow and red.

People's skin color changed in just six weeks when they increased their fruit and vegetable consumption, according to researchers in Scotland who compared eating habits to skin tone.

And while the cosmetics industry might have you believe that rouge is the ideal cheek color, this study found that another hue rated more healthful and attractive: yellow.

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8:55am

Thu March 8, 2012

8:35am

Thu March 8, 2012
The Two-Way

Jobless Claims Rise By 8,000

There were 362,000 first-time clams for unemployment insurance last week, up 8,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration just reported.

That means the number of claims has moved up slightly, but remains around the lowest level since this time four years ago.

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7:45am

Thu March 8, 2012

7:15am

Thu March 8, 2012
Around the Nation

California Teacher Moonlights As Porn Star

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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7:08am

Thu March 8, 2012
Around the Nation

Indiana Legislature Votes On Official State Gun

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

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7:00am

Thu March 8, 2012
The Two-Way

House Expected To OK Jobs Bill In 'Rare Agreement' With Obama

Originally published on Thu March 8, 2012 2:01 pm

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Sometimes bipartisanship does shine down on the Capitol.

Update at 1:55 p.m. ET. The House Passes JOBS Act:

Saying that it shows the federal legislature can work in a bipartisan fashion, the Republican-controlled House passed the JOBS Act, which was supported by President Obama.

"It is a welcome sign that we can put our differences aside and work together to produce results to help boost the economy and get people back to work," House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., said, according to the AP.

The bill was passed with a vote of 390-23.

Our Original Post Continues:

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4:00am

Thu March 8, 2012
Asia

Japanese Businesses Post Tsunami

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Here's a stunning fact we came across as the anniversary of Japan's tsunami and nuclear disaster approaches. Of Japan's nuclear plants, only two of 54 reactors are currently active one year after the disaster. To talk about the implications of this, we've called Kenneth Cukier. He is Tokyo correspondent for The Economist magazine. He's on the line.

Welcome to the program.

KENNETH CUKIER: Hi, there.

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4:00am

Thu March 8, 2012
Business

Business News

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with allegations of price fixing on e-books.

The Justice Department is threatening to sue Apple and five major U.S. publishers for allegedly colluding to raise the price of digital books. The Wall Street Journal reports that Apple persuaded publishers, including Harper Collins, Penguin and Simon and Schuster, to change how they price their e-books before the launch of the first iPad in 2010.

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4:00am

Thu March 8, 2012
Europe

Creditors Face Deadline In Greek Bond Swap

Originally published on Fri March 9, 2012 4:00 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Private creditors holding Greek bonds have until the end of today to participate in the largest sovereign debt restructuring in history. This means creditors must exchange the Greek government bonds they now hold for new ones that are worth far less. Some creditors are balking, since it means up to a 70 percent loss on their returns.

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4:00am

Thu March 8, 2012
Middle East

Syrian Rebels Regroup After Army Gains Upper Hand

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

Western governments are still debating whether to help Syria's rebels. But as they debate, the rebels are finding ways to help themselves.

INSKEEP: Syrians continue arming themselves, even after they retreated from the battered city of Homs. This week, the United Nations' humanitarian chief finally toured that city, including a rebel neighborhood, now mostly abandoned.

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4:00am

Thu March 8, 2012
Business

Spanx Founder Makes 'Forbes' Billionaire List

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And we turn now to a group of people worth almost as much as a small country. Today's last word in business goes to Forbes magazine, which has released its 25th annual billionaires list.

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3:05am

Thu March 8, 2012
Middle East

Egypt's Moves Leave Democracy Advocate Bewildered

Credit Courtesy IRI
Sam LaHood of the International Republican Institute is one of 19 American democracy promoters who face charges of fomenting unrest in Egypt. Here, he is shown last month at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo.

Sam LaHood, the son of U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray Lahood, spent four weeks holed up at the U.S. Embassy in Cairo, sleeping on an air mattress part of the time and trying to fathom why the Egyptians wanted to prosecute him and his pro-democracy colleagues.

Eventually, LaHood's organization and others with employees facing prosecution paid more than $300,000 a person in bail to get them off the Egyptian travel ban, and the U.S. government flew most of them home.

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12:01am

Thu March 8, 2012
Monkey See

On HBO, A Bestselling Book Becomes A Movie About A 'Dynamic Moment'

Credit Phillip V. Caruso / HBO
Ed Harris as John McCain and Julianne Moore as Sarah Palin in the HBO film Game Change.

There were a lot of good stories from the 2008 presidential election, including Hillary Clinton's serious run for the Democratic nomination, not to mention the election of the first African-American president. The whole story was covered in the bestselling — and controversial — book by John Heilemann and Mark Halperin, Game Change.

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12:01am

Thu March 8, 2012
Around the Nation

In Denver Taxis, Extra Eyes On The Street For Police

Some days, it would be easy to mistake the Metro Taxi dispatch center in Denver for a police station. Traffic and crime incidents are recorded in a special logbook, as drivers call in descriptions and locations to police.

It's part of a program called Taxis on Patrol. Just a day after the program began, a cab driver helped police make an arrest for a fatal hit-and-run. In the months since, eyewitness calls from cabbies using a bulletin system similar to an Amber Alert have led to hundreds of arrests.

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