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Music Reviews
3:51 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

How Jan Garbarek Came To Epitomize Nordic Jazz

Originally published on Wed August 22, 2012 3:22 pm

Saxophonist Jan Garbarek was a teenage protege of American composer George Russell in Norway in the 1960s and later played in Keith Jarrett's Scandinavian quartet. More recently, he has collaborated with the vocal quartet the Hilliard Ensemble, improvising as they sing medieval music.

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It's All Politics
3:45 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

Ryan Role In Thompson Win Debated

Credit Jeffrey Phelps / AP
Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson at his primary election night party Tuesday in Waukesha, Wis.

Originally published on Wed August 15, 2012 4:47 pm

The question of whether GOP vice presidential pick Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin will ultimately help or hurt Mitt Romney's quest for the White House is the subject of fierce debate.

But some politicos are calling Ryan a kingmaker following former longtime Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson's slim victory Tuesday in the hotly contested, four-way Republican U.S Senate primary.

Why? Ryan gave Thompson a shout-out at a Badger State homecoming rally Sunday, and the former governor quickly incorporated the veep pick's endorsement-of-sorts into a campaign ad.

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The Salt
3:34 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

Saving Lives In Africa With The Humble Sweet Potato

Originally published on Mon October 22, 2012 11:26 am

A regular old orange-colored sweet potato might not seem too exciting to many of us.

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Middle East
3:30 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

From All Sides, Iran Under Siege

Originally published on Thu August 16, 2012 6:19 pm

Iran appears to be facing a crisis more serious than anything it has experienced since its war with Iraq in the 1980s.

Diplomatically, President Bashar Assad's regime is under threat from the widening war in Syria, Iran's sole ally in the Arab world. Domestically, the European oil embargo and U.S. banking sanctions are undermining the Iranian economy, bringing inflation, food shortages and unemployment.

Iran is trying to maintain a defiant posture, without much success.

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Politics
3:23 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

Do Voter ID Laws Prevent Fraud, Or Dampen Turnout?

Credit Jessica Kourkounis / Getty Images
Pennsylvania voters show identification as they sign in to vote during the Republican primary in Philadelphia in April.

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 1:36 pm

Ahead of the 2012 presidential election, key states have adopted voter ID laws and other measures that could affect voter turnout. It's created a national controversy about who will be most affected.

According to the New York Times, 33 states now have laws requiring identification for voting, and five require specific kinds of photo IDs to vote.

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The Two-Way
3:02 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

Giants' Melky Cabrera Suspended 50 Games For Failed Drug Test

Credit David Goldman / AP
San Francisco Giants' Melky Cabrera high-fives teammates after scoring off a single by teammate Buster Posey in the third inning of a baseball game against the Atlanta Braves in July.

Originally published on Wed August 15, 2012 3:36 pm

The most valuable player of this year's All Star Game has been suspended for 50 games, Major League Baseball announced today.

Melky Cabrera, MLB tweeted, tested positive for testosterone and the suspension knocks him out for the rest of the season.

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The Two-Way
2:58 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

Hypersonic 'WaveRider' Failed

Credit Pratt & Whitney
An artist's rendition of an X-51A WaveRider (in white) attached to the wing of a B-52.

An experimental aircraft that designers hoped would hit 3,600 mph in a test flight over the Pacific on Tuesday "suffered a control failure" and failed in its attempt to go hypersonic, The Associated Press writes.

Its report follows earlier word from Wired magazine's Danger Room blog that it had been told by an "insider familiar with the test" that:

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Planet Money
2:51 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

Everybody Always Thinks Inflation Is Higher Than It Really Is

Originally published on Thu August 16, 2012 10:30 am

The world is going to hell, and prices are going through the roof. This, more or less, seems to be the perpetual conventional wisdom.

The first half of the statement is debatable. But the second half is clearly wrong at the moment: Prices are not going through the roof.

Prices for U.S. consumers rose by just 1.4 percent over the past year, according to the consumer price index numbers released this morning. In other words, inflation is very low.

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Politics
2:27 pm
Wed August 15, 2012

How Ryan Will Shift Campaign Strategy In Florida

The Republican ticket is complete now that Mitt Romney chose Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan as his running mate. NPR's Ken Rudin and Sergio Bustos, of The Miami Herald, discuss what the Ryan pick means for the presidential race.

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