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The Two-Way
10:01 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Cleveland Hero Charles Ramsey Rewarded With Burgers For Life

Credit Scott Shaw / The Plain Dealer /Landov
Charles Ramsey on the day three young women (and one of the women's daughters) were rescued from a Cleveland home. He gained fame for his accounts of what happened.

Charles Ramsey, the neighbor who helped rescue three young women from a Cleveland home where authorities say they had been held captive and brutalized for about a decade, "will enjoy free burgers for life" in honor of his actions, The Plain Dealer reports.

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Shots - Health News
9:32 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Antidepressant May Protect The Heart Against Mental Stress

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Researchers tested the antidepressant Lexapro, or escitalopram generically, to see if it would protect the heart against mental stress.

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 2:12 pm

Stress can be a bummer for your heart. And, it seems, antidepressants may help some people with heart disease better weather that stress.

That's the intriguing suggestion from a study that tested how people with heart disease reacted when faced with challenging mental and social tests.

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The Two-Way
9:02 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Jobless Claims Drop, But Stay In Recent Range

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 10:20 am

There were 340,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, down 23,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration reports.

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The Two-Way
7:45 am
Thu May 23, 2013

'We Will Never Give In To Terror,' Britain's Cameron Vows

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 1:38 pm

(Most recent update: 1:30 p.m. ET.)

One day after a British soldier was hacked to death on a busy southeast London street by two men who were heard claiming that they wanted to avenge the deaths of Muslims killed during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, Prime Minister David Cameron declared Thursday that "we will never give in to terror or terrorism in any of its forms."

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The Two-Way
7:39 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Book News: Lydia Davis Wins Man Booker International Prize

Credit Will Oliver / AFP/Getty Images
Lydia Davis poses during a photocall in May for the finalists of the 2013 Man Booker International literary prize in London.

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

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World
7:25 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Octogenarian Rivals Race To Top Of Mount Everest

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Five years ago, at the age of 75, a Japanese mountaineer raced a 76-year-old Nepalese climber to the top of Mount Everest. Japan's Yuichiro Miura lost. This morning, in an epic rematch, the now 80-year-old Miura won, becoming the oldest person ever to reach the summit. But that record may not last. Next week, his Nepalese rival, at 81, plans to make the ascent again. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Around the Nation
7:19 am
Thu May 23, 2013

New Jersey Officials Wrap Up 'Operation Swill'

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene with a story of mistaken identity - at the bar. New Jersey officials have wrapped up an operation called Operation Swill that target bars who are trying to pull a fast one. They'll charge for good booze but actually pour the cheap stuff in your glass. They've caught 29 bars red-faced; 13 of those TGI Fridays. The operation involved confidential informants, gizmos to test out liquor, and more than 100 agents. I would say this was some top shelf police work.

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The Two-Way
6:41 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Funerals Begin In Tornado-Ravaged Moore, Okla.

Credit Katie Hayes Luke / Katie Hayes Luke for NPR
Players, coaches and parents collected donations Wednesday in Oklahoma city for the Angle Family, who lost their daughter Sydney, and their home, in the tornado. Sydney was No. 35 on a softball team called 'Bring It'.

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 12:44 pm

Funerals began Thursday for the 24 people known to have been killed by the tornado that devastated Moore, Okla., on Monday.

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Education
6:00 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Chicago School Closing Battle Targets Elected Officials

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 9:40 am

A day after school officials approved shutting down 50 schools, the Chicago Teachers Union and community activists say they'll hold a voter registration and education campaign. The union is agitated that Mayor Rahm Emanuel, school board members and some lawmakers failed to listen to parents, teachers and others who called for the schools to remain open.

Before they voted yes on the sweeping school closure plan, school board members faced a torrent of criticism Wednesday. Protesters tried to conduct a sit-in at the front of the boardroom, but security officers escorted them out.

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Europe
5:16 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Attackers Hack To Death Man On London Street

Authorities in London are investigating what British Prime Minister David Cameron says is likely a terrorist attack. On Wednesday, two suspects brutally attacked a man near a London military barracks.

Business
4:48 am
Thu May 23, 2013

When Will Fed Officials Ease Off The Accelerator?

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with some of the shine off the stock market.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

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Politics
4:38 am
Thu May 23, 2013

IRS Official's Silence Riles House Committee Members

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The IRS has admitted to targeting conservative groups seeking tax exempt status. And yesterday at a House hearing the IRS director of exempt organizations said, quote: "I have not done anything wrong." She then declined to testify. Lois Lerner's brief appearance at the committee was just the beginning of a stormy, five-hour session filled with angry outbursts and allegations of political motives.

NPR's Peter Overby reports.

PETER OVERBY, BYLINE: Lois Lerner did read a statement that she had done her job properly.

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It's All Politics
3:06 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Obama Group's Climate Push Puts President Under Scrutiny

Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
President Obama speaks at Ellicott Dredges in Baltimore on May 17. The trip followed a visit by the company's president to Capitol Hill to testify in support of the Keystone XL pipeline. The White House says Obama's speech had nothing to do with Keystone, but environmental groups have been frustrated with his stance on the issue.

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 4:38 am

Law
3:05 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Sick Inmates Dying Behind Bars Despite Release Program

Credit iStockphoto.com
Nearly 30 years ago, Congress gave terminally ill inmates and prisoners with extraordinary family circumstances an early way out, known as compassionate release.

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 4:38 am

Prison is a tough place, but Congress made an exception nearly 30 years ago, giving terminally ill inmates and prisoners with extraordinary family circumstances an early way out. It's called compassionate release.

But a recent investigation found that many federal inmates actually die while their requests drift through the system.

One of them was Clarence Allen Rice.

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The Race Card Project: Six-Word Essays
3:05 am
Thu May 23, 2013

Living In Two Worlds, But With Just One Language

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 8:25 pm

NPR continues its conversations about The Race Card Project, where NPR Host/Special Correspondent Michele Norris asks people to send in six-word stories about race and culture. The submissions are personal, provocative and often quite candid.

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Shots - Health News
7:47 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Scientific Tooth Fairies Investigate Neanderthal Breast-Feeding

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 10:43 am

When it comes to weaning, humans are weird.

Our closest relatives, chimpanzees and gorillas, breast-feed their offspring for several years. Some baby orangutans nurse until they are 7 years old.

But modern humans wean much earlier. In preindustrial societies, babies stop nursing after about two years. Which raises the question: How did we get that way? When did we make the evolutionary shift from apelike parenting to the short breast-feeding period of humans?

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It's All Politics
7:09 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Lois Lerner's Brief and Awful Day on Capitol Hill

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Lois Lerner, head of the IRS unit that decides whether to grant tax-exempt status to groups, leaves after being dismissed from a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee hearing on Wednesday.

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 11:11 am

The public got its first look Thursday at Lois Lerner, who has gone from faceless IRS bureaucrat to the face that launched what feels like 1,000 congressional hearings and conspiracy theories.

But it was only a brief sighting since she didn't stay long at a House hearing to further probe her role in how some IRS workers came to target conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status.

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The Two-Way
6:47 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Teachers In Moore Gather For 'Sharing And Healing'

Originally published on Thu May 23, 2013 11:06 am

What was billed as an informational meeting for teachers turned into a session of sharing and healing.

"A lot of people in this district will need grief counseling, including myself," said Susan Pierce, the superintendent of public schools in Moore, Okla.

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From Our Listeners
6:40 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

Letters: Stories From Moore, Okla.

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

It's time now for your letters, and we got many about our coverage of the tornado that devastated Moore, Oklahoma. Several were praise for our story yesterday about survivors who lost most of their possessions but considered themselves lucky.

CHRISTINE PARRISH: They were digging her out while we were looking through our stuff. And we thought they were looking for their dogs, and it was her. And they found her, and she was passed.

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Law
6:40 pm
Wed May 22, 2013

FBI Shoots And Kills Man Tied To Boston Bombing Suspect

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

There has been an unexpected turn in the Boston Marathon bombing case. A man who was thought to have ties with one of the bombing suspects was shot dead early this morning by authorities in Florida. He allegedly tried to attack an FBI agent who was interviewing him. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston has been following the story and is here with the latest. Hi, Dina.

DINA TEMPLE-RASTON, BYLINE: Hi there.

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