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2:12 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

The 'Alchemists' Who Control The Purse Strings Of The Economy

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 3:03 pm

As the U.S. economy struggles to recover from the financial crash, and Europe is buffeted by a series of banking crises, attention has focused on the presidents and prime ministers who've tried to cope with it all. Journalist Neil Irwin, an economics writer for The Washington Post, says there's an elite group of policymakers who can make enormously important decisions on their own, often deliberating in secret, and in many ways unaccountable to voters.

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The Two-Way
2:05 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

Annette Funicello, 'America's Sweet Heart', Has Died

Credit Hulton Archive / Getty Images
Headshot portrait of American actor and singer Annette Funicello.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 6:23 pm

The Two-Way
2:04 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

Louisville Basketball Has A Rare Chance At A Double

Credit Chris Graythen / Getty Images
In New Orleans on Sunday, the women from Louisville (in red) defeated California to reach the championship game against Connecticut on Tuesday.

Around midnight ET Monday, we should know whether something that's only happened once might happen again.

If the University of Louisville's men win the Division I basketball championship — they play Michigan in a game set to start at 9:23 p.m. ET on CBS TV — then there's a chance that this year both the men's and women's trophies will go to the same school.

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Remembrances
2:04 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

How Margaret Thatcher Changed The World

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 4:06 pm

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Margaret Thatcher spoke with utter conviction in her principles and absolute certainty in her actions. If she inspired passionate opposition, she couldn't care less. She reveled in her enemies and made them easily.

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Opinion
2:04 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

Op-Ed: The Nonexistent Line Between Justice And Revenge

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 3:51 pm

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

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NPR Story
2:04 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

North Korea's Threats: Predicable Pattern Or Provocation?

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 4:05 pm

The North Korean government officially suspended operations at the Kaesong industrial complex, withdrawing all of its more than 50,000 workers. Many see the complex as the last remaining symbol of North and South Korean unity and fear that tensions may be nearing a dangerous tipping point.

The Two-Way
1:57 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

Britain's Thatcher An Unlikely Icon For American Conservatives

Credit AFP/Getty Images
U.S. President Ronald Reagan and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in 1987.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 3:47 pm

As an icon of the American conservative movement in the 1980s, it would have been difficult to find a more unlikely figure than Britain's Margaret Thatcher, who died Monday following a stroke.

Thatcher became prime minister in 1979, a full year and a half before Ronald Reagan became president. She hailed from a country seen as a hopeless bastion of socialism by conservatives, many of whom, like Reagan himself, were strongly invested in the idea of American exceptionalism.

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The Two-Way
1:30 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

Deadly Blast In Damascus Reflects Growing Danger In Capital

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 2:18 pm

Editor's note: The author is a Syrian citizen living in Damascus and is not being further identified for safety concerns.

The major blast that rocked Damascus at midday Monday took place in what has come to be called the "Square of Security," an area of about a dozen urban neighborhoods or so that are under tight government security.

It's also home to major government buildings, including the Parliament, various ministries, major intelligence branches and foreign embassies, now mostly closed.

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Krulwich Wonders...
1:18 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

The Big Squeeze: Can Cities Save The Earth?

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 4:04 pm

Let's get dense. If we take all the atoms inside you, all roughly 70,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 of them, and squeeze away all the space inside, then, says physicist Brian Greene:

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The Two-Way
1:09 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

'I Liked It,' Putin Says Of Protest By Topless Women

Credit Jochen Luebke / EPA /LANDOV
Russian President Vladimir Putin (far left) looks on Monday in Hanover, Germany, as one of three women who stripped off their tops protests his appearance at a trade fair. German Chancellor Angela Merkel is in the green jacket.
  • From the NPR Newscast: Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson on the protest in Hanover

At a trade fair in Hanover, Germany, on Monday, three women protesters got quite close to Russian President Vladimir Putin before stripping off their blouses and shouting expletives at the Russian leader.

Putin, who was joined at the fair by German Chancellor Angela Merkel, later sarcastically thanked the women for calling the news media's attention to the gathering.

"As to this action, I liked it," Putin said, according to a German translator. The Russian leader added that the protesters were "pretty girls" and said he couldn't hear what they were screaming.

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Law
12:00 pm
Mon April 8, 2013

How Powerful Are White Supremacist Prison Gangs?

Investigators are exploring a possible link between white supremacist prison gangs and the murders of law enforcement officers in Texas and Colorado. Host Michel Martin explores how these gangs operate in and outside of prison with NPR investigative correspondent Laura Sullivan.

Race
11:54 am
Mon April 8, 2013

From Dishwashers To Head Chefs

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 2:52 pm

Chef John Besh wanted to help minorities in the New Orleans restaurant industry move up the ladder in the city's top kitchens. So he co-founded Chefs Move, which provides scholarships to students for culinary school and career opportunities.

NPR Story
11:54 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Getting Over Rejection, From College

Most colleges and universities recently let anxious students know who is getting in --and who is not-- for the next academic year. And many applicants are dealing with rejection from their dream school. Host Michel Martin talks with psychotherapist Diane Barth about what students are going through, and how parents can help them move on.

Shots - Health News
11:29 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Dengue Fever Cases Have Been Seriously Underestimated

Credit Norberto Duarte / AFP/Getty Images
Dengue fever patients are treated in a hospital in Asuncion, Paraguay on January 16, 2013.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 11:38 am

A new paper in the journal Nature says scientists have been seriously underestimating the amount of dengue around the globe.

The study says there could be as many as 400 million dengue infections worldwide each year making it more prevalent than malaria. This is four times higher than the current dengue prevalence estimate of the World Health Organization.

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The Two-Way
10:53 am
Mon April 8, 2013

'Independent Adviser' To Review Rutgers' Actions

Credit David Pokress / Ai Wire /Landov
Mike Rice, who was then Rutgers' men's basketball coach, during a game last season.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 11:36 am

Rutgers University says it plans to have an "independent adviser ... conduct a review of the circumstances surrounding the men's basketball program as well as the procedures used to investigate allegations related to former head coach Mike Rice."

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Remembrances
9:03 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Margaret Thatcher's Life And Legacy In Britain

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:09 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

On a Monday, it is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

Britain and the world are reflecting this morning on the life of Margaret Thatcher. The former British prime minister has died at the age of 87. Britain's current Prime Minister David Cameron remembered her this way.

(SOUNDBITE OF SPEECH)

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Remembrances
8:57 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Britain's Iron Lady, Former Prime Minister Thatcher, Dies

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 1:14 pm

Former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher died Monday following a stroke. She was 87. Despite many accomplishments during her 11 years in office, she was a divisive figure, and there is still much bitterness surrounding the woman who was dubbed the Iron Lady.

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The Two-Way
8:08 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Former British Prime Minister Thatcher Dies

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 12:12 pm

Margaret Thatcher, who as British prime minister in the 1980s became known as the "Iron Lady" for her tough economic policies, her partnership with President Reagan in standing up to communism and the short war with Argentina over the Falklands, has died.

Her spokesman, Lord Bell, tells the British Press Association that Baroness Thatcher died Monday following a stroke. She was 87.

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The Record
7:42 am
Mon April 8, 2013

The Wu-Tang Clan's 20-Year Plan

Originally published on Fri April 12, 2013 6:21 pm

The Two-Way
7:39 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Blocked Or Breaking Through? Mixed Signals On Gun Bills

Credit Joshua Lott / Reuters /Landov
This AR-15 style weapon was on display in March at the 7th annual Border Security Expo in Phoenix, Ariz. It's among the type of weapons that advocates of new gun laws want to see banned.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 8:05 am

If this is President Obama's "make-or-break week on guns," as Politico declares, then it starts with considerable confusion about where things stand regarding the likelihood of passing new gun control laws.

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Animals
7:39 am
Mon April 8, 2013

African Leopard Tortoise Cashew Was Never Stolen

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:09 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

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Business
7:32 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Target Apologizes For Poor Choice Of Words

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:09 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene.

Target has apologized for a poor choice of words. Susan Clemens was looking at a grey dress on the company's Web site, when she noticed how the color described. Regular sizes were Dark Heather Gray. Plus sizes, in the exact color, became Manatee Gray. Manatees are walrus-like animals. They're also known as sea cows. Clemens tweeted her disgust and it went viral. The company says from now on they're just going to go with gray.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

The Two-Way
7:29 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Book News: Chile Prepares To Exhume Pablo Neruda's Remains

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

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The Two-Way
7:04 am
Mon April 8, 2013

North Korea To Shut Jointly Run Factories, May Test Missile

Credit Jeon Heon-kyun / EPA /LANDOV
Do not enter: Barriers, including spikes, at the Military Demarcation Line (MDL) near the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) in the Gyeonggi province, South Korea.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 11:28 am

  • Louisa Lim, reporting on the NPR Newscast

Monday's developments on the Korean Peninsula, where tensions have been running even higher than usual in recent weeks:

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NPR Story
5:01 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Religious Tensions Escalate In Egypt

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:09 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Steve Inskeep is reporting from Venezuela this week as that nation holds a presidential election. I'm David Greene in Washington. Over the weekend, Egypt suffered the worse religious violence it has seen since President Mohamed Morsi came to power last year. At least six people were killed, including five Coptic Christians. More than 80 others were wounded.

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NPR Story
5:01 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Smedinghoff Died Doing What She Loved

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:09 am

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Now, over the weekend in Afghanistan a suicide bomber took the life of five Americans. They were on a mission to deliver books to an Afghan school. They were military personnel, a Defense Department civilian, and the first State Department Foreign Service officer to be killed in Afghanistan. She was 25-year-old Anne Smedinghoff. NPR's Sean Carberry in Kabul sent this remembrance.

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NPR Story
5:01 am
Mon April 8, 2013

The Last Word In Business

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:09 am

Lilly Pulitzer married into the famous Pulitzer media family but her own fame came from her line of screaming pink, lime and fluorescent yellow shift dresses.

Law
3:24 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Osama Bin Laden's Son-In-Law Set To Appear In N.Y. Court

Credit Elizabeth Williams / AP
Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (center), pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to kill Americans on March 8. He is set to appear in a federal court Monday.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:32 am

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and former al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is expected to appear in a New York courtroom Monday afternoon.

Abu Ghaith was captured by U.S. officials in February, and his arrest is considered important not just because he was so close to bin Laden, but also because the Obama administration has decided to try him in a federal court instead of using a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

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It's All Politics
3:23 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Fears Of Government Tyranny Push Some To Reject Gun Control

Credit Rick Hartford / MCT/Landov
Hundreds of gun owners and enthusiasts attend a rally at the Connecticut Capitol in Hartford on Jan. 19.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 10:09 am

As the Senate returns from a two-week spring recess Monday, topping its agenda is legislation to try to curb the kind of gun violence that took the lives of 20 first-graders in Connecticut last December.

Recent polls show broad popular support for enhanced background checks and bans on military-style guns and ammunition. But many members of Congress side with gun-rights advocates who oppose such measures.

And those advocates are increasingly making the case that Americans need guns to fight government tyranny.

'A Fringe Idea' Goes Mainstream

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