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Asia
5:21 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Pakistan's Prime Minister Refuses To Step Down

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 7:41 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Pakistan's Supreme Court has issued a judgment against the country's prime minister - again. The court had already ruled against Prime Minister Yusuf Reza Gilani for blocking a corruption investigation. Now, the judges have released details of their ruling, giving 77 pages worth of reasons why they found the prime minister in contempt of court. Let's remember this conflict is taking place in a vital, if troubled, U.S. ally.

NPR's Julie McCarthy joins us on the line from Islamabad, as she has so many times over the years. Hi, Julie.

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Economy
5:21 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Germany Stays The Course On Austerity Measures

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 7:41 am

The elections in France and Greece signaled a resounding popular rejection of the tough austerity measures being pushed by Germany, Europe's largest economy. But Berlin doesn't appear to be changing course.

NPR Story
5:19 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Mortgage Update

Credit Chuck Burton / AP
Bank of America is offering to reduce an average $150,000 in principal for borrowers who qualify, a bank official says.

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 10:03 am

Bank of America is offering about 200,000 homeowners a chance to wipe out a big chunk of their mortgage debt. The offers are part of the settlement Bank of America and other major banks reached with state and federal regulators earlier this year, and it's one of the biggest principal forgiveness opportunities so far.

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NPR Story
5:19 am
Tue May 8, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 7:41 am

Beatles tunes are very hard to license — the surviving band members and heirs have been choosy about who can play their songs. AMC's Mad Men made the cut. For a reported $250,000, the show was allowed to pay "Tomorrow Never Knows."

NPR Story
5:19 am
Tue May 8, 2012

What Hollande's Anti-Austerity Rhetoric Means

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 7:41 am

Socialist Francois Hollande won the French presidency over the weekend, in large part due to his pledge to push for growth and battle the German-led austerity approach to Europe's fiscal problems. But what does that pledge mean in practical terms?

Europe
3:17 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Why The Markets Shrugged Off French Vote

Credit Thomas Coex / AFP/Getty Images
A supporter of French President-elect Francois Hollande wears a mask of outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy.

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 7:41 am

The arguments for growth policies as opposed to austerity are taking center stage in Europe after the French and Greek elections.

His rhetoric aside, France's President-elect Francois Hollande is not rejecting austerity. In fact, he pledged to balance France's budget by the end of his five-year term, just one year later than his opponent, outgoing President Nicolas Sarkozy.

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Theater
3:16 am
Tue May 8, 2012

A Test Of Hearts, Minds And 'Hands On A Hardbody'

Originally published on Wed May 9, 2012 4:04 pm

About 20 years ago, a Texas car dealership started a competition: Contestants had to keep one hand on a brand-new, fully loaded truck; the last person standing got to keep it.

It may not seem like a gripping drama, but it was the subject of a 1997 documentary. And now, it's the basis of a musical.

It's called Hands on a Hardbody, and that hardbody is, yes, the truck. At a rehearsal at the La Jolla Playhouse in California, it's on casters so the actors can spin it around the stage.

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Family Matters: The Money Squeeze
3:14 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Long-Term-Care Insurance: Who Needs It?

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:50 am

Americans routinely buy all sorts of insurance — for cars, homes, health and even pets and boats.

But when it comes to long-term-care insurance, relatively few sign up. Out of more than 313 million Americans, only about 8 million have any such protection, according to the American Association for Long-Term Care Insurance. The low participation rate largely reflects the high cost of long-term-care insurance.

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Business
2:29 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Shhhh! (Facebook's About To Go Public)

Credit Timur Emek / AP
The world's biggest social network is expected to go public on May 18. And like all companies facing an initial public offering, Facebook is staying quiet about its financials and stock potential.

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 10:07 am

Facebook started what's called a "road show" this week, pitching itself to potential big investors across the country. It's one of the last steps before a company goes public — which Facebook reportedly plans to do next Friday.

But that pitch has to be very carefully calibrated — as you can tell from all the warning language that precedes it on Facebook's road show website.

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Africa
2:28 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Desperate Sudanese Flee Bombing In Nuba Mountains

Credit Adriane Ohanesian / AFP/Getty Images
A displaced woman and her child from the Nuba Mountains in Sudan wait outside the Yida refugee camp registration center in Yida, South Sudan April 26. Thousands of people from the Nuba Mountains in South Kordofan, Sudan have fled to Yida to escape recent fighting and airstrikes by Sudan's Armed Forces.

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 7:41 am

The two Sudans appear to be complying with a U.N. ceasefire ultimatum, which came into force on Friday — ending weeks of bitter border fighting over oil.

But there remains a separate conflict in the Nuba Mountains region of Sudan that has forced thousands to flee bombardment and hunger for newly independent neighbor South Sudan.

Those refugees are streaming into the Yida camp in South Sudan, across the border from the Nuba Mountains in the South Kordofan area, Sudan's last remaining oil-producing state.

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National Security
2:27 am
Tue May 8, 2012

Bill Would Have Businesses Foot Cost Of Cyber War

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 10:20 am

Business executives and national security leaders are of one mind over the need to improve the security of the computers that control the U.S. power grid, the financial system, water treatment facilities and other elements of critical U.S. infrastructure. But they divide over the question of who bears responsibility for that effort.

The disagreement stands as an obstacle to passage of major cybersecurity legislation backed by Sens. Joe Lieberman of Connecticut and Susan Collins of Maine, among others.

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London 2012: The Summer Olympics
7:11 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

Soccer Star With Soap Opera Roots Aims At Olympics

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 8:26 am

Indiana University soccer star Orianica Velasquez is on a mission — to get to the London Olympics with Colombia's women's soccer team. And she wants to send a message about the country where she was born.

"My dream is to get a medal for Colombia," she says, adding that she wants to show the world "it's just not violence, it's just not drugs — we can play soccer and we can do great things because we have great people there."

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It's All Politics
7:03 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

Romney Town Hall Shows Risks Of Handing Voters The Mic

Credit Jae C. Hong / AP
Mitt Romney poses with a group of supporters at a Euclid, OH town hall-style meeting where some voters didn't exactly help him keep to his themes.

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 7:07 pm

In an age when presidential campaigns are typically heavily scripted, town-hall style meetings are anything but.

The upside is that you get the informality of the candidate interacting with regular voters as he or she fields their questions and seems accessible. The downside is you never know what a voter handed the microphone will say.

Mitt Romney, who appears well on his way to becoming the 2012 Republican presidential nominee, got a taste of that risk at a Monday event at a Euclid, OH manufacturing company.

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The Two-Way
6:32 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

Univision, ABC News Team Up To Launch New Cable News Channel

Credit Lorenzo Bevilaqua / ABC
Ben Sherwood, ABC News president; Cesar Conde, Univision Networks president, and Isaac Lee, Univision News president, announced a new joint venture.

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 6:41 pm

ABC News and Univision are teaming up to create an English-language news network for Hispanics in the United States.

The network doesn't have a name yet but it is expected to launch in 2013, with its digital offerings coming later this summer.

The Los Angeles Times reports:

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Shots - Health Blog
6:09 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

Moms Often Overlook Toddlers' Weight Problems

Credit iStockphoto.com
Overweight, too thin or just right?

A roly-poly toddler strikes many mothers as the picture of health.

But the road to obesity can start early in life, so it's important to know whether the baby fat that lingers on a toddling child is a healthy cushion or a sign of too much food too soon.

How good are mothers at recognizing whether their toddlers are overweight, underweight or just right? Not very.

More than two-thirds of the mothers participating in a recent study were inaccurate in their assessments. And the biggest problem was moms who thought their overweight toddlers were just fine.

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NPR Story
5:59 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

U.S. Foils Terrorist Plot To Target Airplane

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 8:26 am

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

U.S. authorities say they have foiled a terrorist plot to target an airliner. A suicide bomber was planning to bring down a plane headed to the United States. The Associated Press first reported the story. Al-Qaida's affiliate group in Yemen is believed to be behind the plot, which national security officials say had not advanced far enough, that the suspect bought plane tickets or tried to board a plane.

NPR's Carrie Johnson has been reporting on this story. She joins me now. And, Carrie, what else have you found out?

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Election 2012
5:26 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

Uphill Climb For Veteran Lugar In Tuesday Primary

Credit Darron Cummings / AP
Republican Sen. Richard Lugar (right) and state Treasurer Richard Mourdock participate in an April 11 debate in Indianapolis.

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 8:26 am

In Indiana, Republican primary voters Tuesday will decide whether to give GOP Sen. Richard Lugar the opportunity to seek a seventh term in November's general election. A recent independent poll shows him in trouble in his own party, with his Tea Party-backed opponent, Richard Mourdock, in the lead.

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The Two-Way
5:04 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

CIA Thwarts New, More Sophisticated Underwear Bomber

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 11:05 am

The CIA has thwarted a new plot that sought to blow up an American airliner using a new, more sophisticated underwear bomb. The plot was hatched by an al-Qaida affiliate in Yemen.

The Associated Press was the first to report the story and Reuters, CNN and NPR are now confirming. Both CNN and Reuters are running the story quoting unnamed government officials.

Here's the AP with the meat of it:

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The Two-Way
4:33 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

Scientists Estimate Dinosaurs Passed Enough Gas To Warm Up The Planet

Credit Dr. Brian Choo / Nature
An artist's impression of a group of Yutyrannus. The 30-foot-long dinosaurs were covered with downy feathers — likely to keep the animals warm.

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 5:16 pm

The early reporting of the story had a undeniably alluring narrative: Scientists say dinosaurs passed so much gas, they affected climate enough to cause their demise. That's how Fox News and the Daily Mail, one of the first to move the story, framed this latest research.

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The Two-Way
4:23 pm
Mon May 7, 2012

Soccer Stars Are Paid The Best, And Indian Cricketers Out-Earn NFL Players

Credit David Ramos / Getty Images
Lionel Messi of Barcelona during a match Saturday against RCD Espanyol.

Originally published on Tue May 8, 2012 8:26 am

Think the players on your favorite team are the most overpaid in the world?

Well, American sports fans, you may not be able to brag (or complain?) about that.

As the number crunchers at Sporting Intelligence reported earlier this month, European soccer teams hold the top four spots when it comes to average pay per player.

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