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The Record
1:59 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

Jason Molina, A Folksinger Who Embodied The Best Of The Blues, Has Died

Credit Steve Gullick / Courtesy of the artist

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 3:04 pm

The Two-Way
1:28 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

Tiger Woods, Lindsay Vonn Make It Official: 'We Are Now Dating'

Credit Photos courtesy of: Tiger Woods/Lindsey Vonn
Lindsey Vonn and Tiger Woods.

Originally published on Mon March 25, 2013 12:51 pm

We promise, we'll get back to real news in a little bit. But first: After weeks of rumors, the sports icons Tiger Woods and Lindsey Vonn have made it official: They are dating.

"I guess it wasn't a well-kept secret but yes, I am dating Tiger Woods," Vonn, the Olympic gold medalist ski racer, tweeted.

Both Vonn and Woods, who is a 14-time major golf champion, also posted photographs of themselves on their Facebook pages.

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Shots - Health News
1:28 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

Doctors: Bench Athletes At First Concussion Sign

Credit Patrick Tehan / San Jose Mercury News/MCT/Landov
Robert Monges, a coach for James Lick High School, checks tight end Dominic Brewster for a concussion during a football game played in Morgan Hill, Calif., in 2006.

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 9:34 am

Figuring out whether a child who might have a concussion should stay in the game just got easier, thanks to this one-word answer from the nation's neurologists: No.

Today the American Academy of Neurology chucked 15-year-old rules that confused pretty much everybody, from parents and coaches to kids and doctors.

Instead of talking about various symptoms and concussion grades, the neurologists now say that the best offense is defense.

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Latin America
1:20 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

Three Decades On, Ex-Guatemalan Leader Faces Genocide Charges

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 7:44 pm

In a Guatemalan courtroom Tuesday, prosecutors will present their case against a former military dictator who ruled during one of the bloodiest periods in the Central American nation's 36-year civil war.

Efrain Rios Montt is accused of genocide in the murder of tens of thousands of Guatemala's Indians. Human rights advocates and the families of victims have struggled for years to bring him before the court, and they say it is the first trial in Latin America of a former president in the country where he ruled.

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The Checkout: Live
1:11 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

Tiny Resistors + Rosetta Trio: Live From 92Y Tribeca

Originally published on Thu March 21, 2013 3:48 pm

Bassist Todd Sickafoose is heard often in two cities — his native San Francisco Bay Area and his adopted New York City. Ani DiFranco fans know his sound, too, as he worked with the singer-songwriter for the better part of a decade. In 2008, he released Tiny Resistors, a lushly textured record that put him on the map as a composer and bandleader. Swamped in horns and violin and twin guitars and rock rhythms, Tiny Resistors the band has become an expansive compositional outlet for Sickafoose.

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Political Junkie
12:32 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

It's ScuttleButton Time!

Credit Ken Rudin collection

An absolute pleasure running into so many old friends on Saturday at the meeting of the American Political Items Collectors in Tyson's Corner, Va.

Yes, such an organization exists. No, I was not the craziest person there. But the best part was learning that so many people there are diehard ScuttleButton fans!

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Media
12:21 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

As Consumers Jump Ship, News Outlets Shift Priorities

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 12:44 pm

Americans are abandoning their long-trusted news outlets in high numbers. According to a Pew Research Center report, 31 percent of Americans say they have deserted a particular news outlet because it no longer provides the information they want.

Iraq
12:16 pm
Mon March 18, 2013

A Decade Later, What Was Accomplished In Iraq

Transcript

TOM GJELTEN, HOST:

Ten years after the U.S. invasion of Iraq. This is an NPR news special. I'm Tom Gjelten. Neal Conan is away. March 2003, U.S. troops sped up across the desert from Kuwait into Iraq. The goal was to topple Saddam Hussein, a brutal dictator. Resistance to the invasion was light. Within weeks, the Hussein regime had fallen.

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Television
11:56 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Two New TV Dramas Look Below The Surface

Top of the Lake, a new seven-part miniseries premiering tonight on the Sundance Channel, was co-created and co-directed by Jane Campion, who teamed with Holly Hunter 20 years ago on the movie The Piano. Hunter is back for this new project, playing a mysterious New Agey guru of sorts. She's started a small commune for emotionally damaged women, on a remote strip of land in New Zealand.

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The Two-Way
11:55 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Indonesian Zoo Breeds Rare Komodo Dragons

Credit AFP/Getty Images
Four of seven baby Komodos born at the Surabaya Zoo in Indonesia last week.

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 12:26 pm

A zoo in Indonesia is now home to seven bouncing baby Komodo dragons. Before you recoil in disgust, have a look at this video from the BBC — "cute" may not be the operative word, but the hatchlings do exude a certain endearing quality.

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It's All Politics
11:53 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Republicans' Secret To Success? Sound And Act More Like Democrats

Credit Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP
Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus speaks at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., on Monday.

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 5:17 pm

Updated at 3:40 p.m. ET

If Republicans hope to recapture the White House in the foreseeable future, they basically need to sound and campaign more like Democrats.

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All Songs Considered
11:44 am
Mon March 18, 2013

SXSW 2013: Day Five Highlights

Credit Sean Mathis / Getty Images
50 years after the band was founded, The Zombies still count as a discovery for many attendees of SXSW. Here, Rod Argent (left) and Jim Rodford play to a warm reception on the festival's final night at Brazos Hall in Austin, Texas.

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 11:34 am

As the 2013 South by Southwest festival was winding to a noisy end — sirens, car horns and even a helicopter passed could be heard on the streets of Austin, Texas — there were plenty of smaller, quieter moments worth singling out. On the festival's final night, the All Songs Considered gang gathered to talk about what they saw, heard and felt during their last few hours in Austin.

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The Two-Way
11:43 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Steve Davis, Oklahoma Star QB In The '70s, Killed In Crash Of Small Plane

Credit / AP
Oklahoma quarterback Steve Davis, left, and coach Barry Switzer celebrate the team's No. 1 ranking after the Orange Bowl in 1976. Davis, 60, died Sunday in the crash of a small plane. Switzer called Davis a "great role model for young people."

One of the two men killed Sunday when a small plane crashed into a house near South Bend, Ind., was former University of Oklahoma star quarterback Steve Davis, the St. Joseph County (Ind.) coroner's office says.

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Shots - Health News
11:29 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Worried Parents Balk At HPV Vaccine For Daughters

Credit John Amis / AP
Lauren Fant winces as she receives her third and final shot of HPV vaccine from nurse Stephanie Pearson in Marietta, Ga., in 2007.

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 8:35 am

More parents are worried about getting their daughters vaccinated against cervical cancer, despite more doctors saying the shots are a good idea.

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The Salt
11:29 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Synesthetes Really Can Taste The Rainbow

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 9:23 am

Plenty of us got our fill of green-colored food on St. Patrick's Day. (Green beer, anyone?) But for some people, associating taste with color is more than just a once-a-year experience.

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Author Interviews
11:26 am
Mon March 18, 2013

'Still Point': A Meditation On Mothering A Dying Child

Credit Anne Staveley / Penguin Press
Emily Rapp is also the author of Poster Child, about a congenital birth defect that led to the amputation of her leg when she was a child, and about how she subsequently became a poster child for the March of Dimes.

In January 2011, writer Emily Rapp was a happy new mother when she and her husband found themselves in a pediatric ophthalmologist's office with their 9-month-old son, Ronan. They were worried about Ronan's development and had gone to the eye doctor to rule out vision problems as the culprit. Checking Ronan's retinas, the doctor saw "cherry-red spots on the backs of his retinas," Rapp writes in her new memoir, The Still Point of the Turning World. Ronan's diagnosis that day was Tay-Sachs disease, a genetic and degenerative condition that is always fatal. There is no cure.

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The Two-Way
11:23 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Supreme Court Lets $222,000 Verdict In File-Sharing Case Stand

Credit Julia Cheng / AP
Jammie Thomas-Rasset of Brainerd, Minn., in 2007.

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 1:01 pm

The first person to challenge a file-sharing lawsuit brought by the Recording Industry Association of America has reached the end of the line.

Without comment, the Supreme Court refused to hear Jammie Thomas-Rasset's appeal, which means the $222,000 verdict against her stands.

Thomas-Rasset was convicted of sharing 24 songs on the peer-to-peer service Kazaa. She was arguing that the amount in question was excessive.

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The Picture Show
10:52 am
Mon March 18, 2013

10 Years Ago, A Night Vision Of The Iraq Invasion

Credit David P. Gilkey / Detroit Free Press/MCT
A soldier with the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division on March 20, 2003, among the first troops to set foot in Iraq in that year's invasion.

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 11:14 am

Ten years ago this week, U.S. troops invaded Iraq. NPR's David Gilkey was there and shares his memory of a photograph he made that first night.

The photos that David Gilkey took the night of the Iraq invasion were among the first pictures of U.S. troops in combat to come out of Iraq. And among the images he captured was one of a soldier running through an abandoned Iraqi army post that had, just minutes before, been hit by U.S. rocket fire.

Those photos would not have been possible without a night vision optic for his camera.

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Monkey See
10:41 am
Mon March 18, 2013

'The Simpsons' Better Than 'Cheers'? It Is To Laugh

Credit Mark Terrill / AP
Ted Danson, playing the role of bartender Sam Malone, keeps Rhea Perlman, playing waitress Carla Tortelli, under control as Shelley Long, portraying Diane Chambers, left, returns to the set of Cheers during taping of the final episode in 1993.

For the last couple of weeks, Vulture has been running a "Sitcom Smackdown," a contest between 16 sitcoms of the last 30 years to determine an eventual champion.

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Politics
10:38 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Justice Department's Tom Perez Tapped For Labor Secretary

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a new labor secretary.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

MONTAGNE: President Obama has chosen justice department lawyer Thomas Perez for the post. Perez is the son of immigrants from the Dominican Republic. He ran the labor department in his home state of Maryland and he will add a high profile Latino voice to the cabinet. But, NPR's Carrie Johnson reports, his nomination is not without controversy.

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The Two-Way
10:36 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Syrian Opposition Poised To Vote On Interim Government

Credit Osman Orsal / Reuters /Landov
Demonstrators wave Syrian opposition flags during a protest in Istanbul against the government of Syria's President Bashar Assad, on March 15.

As Syria's revolt enters a third year, Syria's political opposition is meeting in Istanbul this week to choose a rebel government, despite opposition from the Obama administration.

Twelve candidates are in the running to lead the efforts, including an economist, a former agriculture minister and an IT specialist who is overseeing the Syrian National Coalition's aid operation on the Turkish border.

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Planet Money
10:35 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Where The Bank Really Keeps Your Money

Credit Petros Karadjias / AP
People queue to use an ATM outside of a Laiki Bank branch in Larnaca, Cyprus, on Saturday. Many rushed to cooperative banks after learning that the terms of a bailout deal with international lenders includes a one-time levy on bank deposits.

Originally published on Thu March 21, 2013 8:37 am

Cyprus has about as many residents as the Bronx. All Cypriot banks combined are smaller than the 30th-largest U.S. bank. So why is the country's financial system front-page news today?

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New In Paperback
10:11 am
Mon March 18, 2013

March 18-24: True Tales From Haiti, Paris, Early Christendom And Hitler's Germany

Credit /

Originally published on Mon March 25, 2013 1:40 pm

* Some of the language in the summaries above has been provided by publishers.

Copyright 2013 NPR. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

Arts & Life
10:11 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Tracing Latino Roots Via Sound

Sonic Trace is a multimedia project that follows Latinos living in Los Angeles travelling back to their families' native lands. Led by radio producer Anyansi Diaz-Cortes, it examines the link between what some Latinos consider home – before and after they or their families came to the U.S.

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Music
10:11 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Musician Brian McKnight Uses 'More Than Words'

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 3:40 pm

Rhythm and Blues musician Brian McKnight has sold more than 20 million albums worldwide. He's earned 16 Grammy nominations and worked on projects with Justin Timberlake and Mary J. Blige. He's also an actor, father and has an arts education foundation. Host Michel Martin talks to McKnight about his life and new album, More Than Words.

Governing
10:11 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Break Down In Motor City Over New Manager?

Detroit's emergency fiscal manager is tasked with turning around the city's troubled finances. But some residents say they've been robbed of the right to pick their own leaders. Host Michel Martin speaks with Detroit Free Press columnist Rochelle Riley, about future of the Motor City.

Around the Nation
10:11 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Tensions In Brooklyn Over Teen Shot By Police

The fatal police shooting of teenager Kimani Gray in East Flatbush, Brooklyn led to days of protests and some violence; it also heightened tensions in a community already distrustful of the police. Host Michel Martin discusses the shooting, and its aftermath, with WNYC talk show host Brian Lehrer and community activist Shanduke McPhatter.

The Two-Way
10:06 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Obama Nominates Thomas Perez For Labor Secretary

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division Thomas Perez.

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 10:30 am

President Obama announced today he is nominating Thomas Perez, currently in charge of civil rights at the Justice Department, to be the country's next Labor secretary.

Introducing him in the East Room of the White House, Obama said Perez "knows what it's like to climb the ladder of opportunity," and has been "consensus builder."

Perez worked to become the first lawyer in his family. He knows first hand, Obama said, that if you work hard in United States, you can accomplish great things.

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The Two-Way
9:50 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Stalker Who Inspired 'The Natural' Dies; Lived Real Life In Obscurity

Credit / AP
Ruth Ann Steinhagen, then-19, in the Cook County Jail after she shot Philadelphia Phillies first baseman Eddie Waitkus in 1949. On the table: a photo of Waitkus taken in the hospital where he was recovering from his bullet wound. The story of his shooting was the inspiration for Bernard Malamud's novel The Natural. Steinhagen died this past December.

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 3:54 pm

  • NPR's Robert Siegel and Bob Goldsborough of the Chicago Tribune: What happened to Ruth Ann Steinhagen?
  • Bob Goldsborough on Ruth Ann Steinhagen's quiet life

Though we've seen The Natural many times, we have to confess we didn't know that a real woman shot a real baseball player in 1949 and that their story inspired Bernard Malamud's 1952 book and Robert Redford's 1984 movie.

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The Two-Way
9:50 am
Mon March 18, 2013

Hillary Clinton Announces Her Support Of Gay Marriage

Originally published on Mon March 18, 2013 10:57 am

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton has announced that she supports same-sex marriage, saying gays and lesbians are "full and equal citizens and deserve the rights of citizenship."

"That includes marriage," Clinton says in an online video released Monday by the gay rights advocacy group Human Rights Campaign. Clinton adds that she backs gay marriage both "personally and as a matter of policy and law."

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