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7:32 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Carlos Fuentes Was A 'Renaissance Man'

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

One of Mexico's greatest writers has died: Carlos Fuentes. He was 83. Fuentes was a central figure in the Latin American literary boom of the 1960s and '70s. And he was publishing fiction and essays until the end, including an essay published today in the Mexican newspaper Reforma. I'm joined by Ilan Stavans, professor of Latino Studies at Amherst College. And, Professor Stavans, give us a sense of the broad sweep of Fuentes' career and what made his work so important.

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The Two-Way
6:35 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Report: GM Will No Longer Buy Ads On Facebook

Credit Paul Sakuma / AP
The Facebook thumb.

According to The Wall Street Journal and CBS News, General Motors is planning to pull its ads from Facebook.

That would be a big move because GM has spent about $10 million in Facebook ads and the news comes just days before Facebook goes public on Friday.

The Journal reports:

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Shots - Health Blog
6:10 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

U.S. Funding Of HIV/AIDS Fight Overseas Carries Other Benefits

Credit Shashank Bengali / MCT/Landov
A mother and child wait to receive treatment at the HIV clinic in Nyagasambu, Rwanda, in Feb. 2008. The clinic was built by the Washington-based Elizabeth Glaser Pediatric AIDS Foundation with a grant from the PEPFAR program.

U.S. government spending to fight HIV/AIDS in developing countries is also preventing death from other diseases, a new study finds.

Some experts worry the billions of dollars the United States spends to treat people with HIV in poor countries may crowd out prevention and treatment of other illnesses.

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Business
5:46 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Shareholders Press JPMorgan Over Risk-Taking

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Protesters are seen behind a banner with a picture of JPMorgan Chairman and CEO Jamie Dimon outside a shareholders meeting Tuesday in Tampa, Fla.

JPMorgan Chase faced more critics Tuesday, this time from some of its own shareholders at its annual meeting in Tampa, Fla. This comes after the bank disclosed it lost at least $2 billion last week in a bungled trading strategy.

The Securities and Exchange Commission is looking into the surprise loss, and the Justice Department has now reportedly opened a preliminary probe.

JPMorgan executives let shareholders do some venting at Tuesday's meeting.

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Remembrances
5:46 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Remembering Mexican Writer Carlos Fuentes

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

One of Mexico's greatest writers has died: Carlos Fuentes. He was 83. Fuentes was a central figure in the Latin American literary boom of the 1960s and '70s. And he was publishing fiction and essays until the end, including an essay published today in the Mexican newspaper Reforma. Our own book critic Alan Cheuse knew Fuentes and reviewed many of his novels. Hi, Alan.

ALAN CHEUSE, BYLINE: Hi, Robert.

SIEGEL: And first, give us a sense of the broad sweep of Carlos Fuentes' career, and what made his work so important?

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The Two-Way
5:11 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

PHOTO: David Beckham Takes A Ribbing At The White House

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
President Obama gets a laugh after mentioning soccer superstar David Beckham's (right) line of underwear while congratulationg the Major League Soccer champions Los Angeles Galaxy in the East Room of the White House.

President Obama welcomed the Los Angeles Galaxy to the White House today in celebration of their Major League Soccer title.

The team, which has won three cups, is star studded. But there is no one bigger than David Beckham and president Obama took advantage of the opportunity to give the international soccer star a ribbing.

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It's All Politics
5:02 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Court Action May Lift Anonymity For Some Campaign Donors

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 5:46 pm

Nonprofit groups that want to run campaign ads within two months of the general election have to reveal the names of their donors. That's the result of a federal appeals court action on campaign finance law.

Several weeks ago, a federal court in Washington told the Federal Election Commission it could not allow the buyers of tens of millions of dollars' worth of ads to remain anonymous.

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Europe
4:43 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

For New French President, Germany Is First Stop

Credit Regis Duvignau / AP
Francois Hollande stands up in his car Tuesday as he rides up the Champs-Elysees after taking the oath of office as the new president of France. Shortly afterward, he flew to Germany to meet with Chancellor Angela Merkel and discuss the continent's economic woes.

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 5:46 pm

As soon as new French President Francois Hollande was sworn in on Tuesday, he observed a postwar custom and reached out to Germany, in a move intended to underscore European solidarity and the importance of the alliance.

But it wasn't a relaxing social visit. Hollande's plane was struck by lightning en route to Berlin and had to return to Paris as a precaution. He then took another plane.

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Monkey See
4:16 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Home Video Picks: 'Being John Malkovich'

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 5:46 pm

Time now for a home viewing recommendation from our film critic Bob Mondello. This time Bob urges taking the plunge from the seven-and-a-half-th floor into the Criterion Collection's Blu-ray release of Being John Malkovich.

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Planet Money
4:01 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Is Facebook Worth $100 Billion?

Credit Paul Sakuma / AP

Originally published on Thu May 17, 2012 12:56 pm

When Facebook goes public this week, the company will be valued at roughly $100 billion.

It will be the highest valuation ever for an initial public offering of a tech company. Is Facebook really worth this much money?

One way to frame the question is to consider a single fraction.

The number on top of the fraction is the total value of the company. The number on the bottom is the company's profits over the past year. This fraction is called the price-to-earnings ratio. It's widely used by investors in stocks.

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The Two-Way
3:51 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Carlos Fuentes, Legendary Mexican Writer, Dies

Credit Alfredo Estrella / AFP/Getty Images
Mexican writer Carlos Fuentes takes part in a tribute to Mexican writer and anthropologist Fernando Benitez in December 2011.

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 5:36 pm

Carlos Fuentes, one of the most prolific and best known Spanish-language authors, has died. His death was reported on Twitter by Mexican president Felipe Calderon. The Mexican daily Reforma, which Fuentes often wrote for, reports the author died after experiencing heart problems.

He was 83.

"I am profoundly sorry for the death our loved and admired Carlos Fuentes, writer and universal Mexican. Rest in peace," Calderon wrote on Twitter.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:49 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

You May Be Among The Things That Go Bump In The Night

Credit iStockphoto.com
She's not alone.
The Fracking Boom: Missing Answers
3:33 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

'Close Encounters' With Gas Well Pollution

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:54 am

Living in the middle of a natural gas boom can be pretty unsettling. The area around the town of Silt, Colo., used to be the kind of sleepy rural place where the tweet of birds was the most you would hear. Now it's hard to make out the birds because of the rumbling of natural gas drilling rigs.

The land here is steep cliffs and valleys. But bare splotches of earth called well pads are all over the place.

"That's the one I'm worried about because it just went in," says Tim Ray.

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National Security
3:30 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Why Do Terrorists So Often Go For Planes?

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 4:22 pm

Ever since the Sept. 11 attacks, airports have probably been the most heavily guarded sites when it comes to preventing terrorist attacks.

And yet the most recent terrorism plot in Yemen involved an attempt to blow up a U.S. airliner with a bomber wearing a difficult-to-detect explosive bomb in his underwear, according to U.S. officials.

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The Salt
3:16 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Vermont Beer Makers Bring Back Old-Time Maple Sap Brews

Originally published on Wed May 16, 2012 8:33 am

In Vermont, the last sap in the spring maple sugaring season isn't considered good for much. It's too dark and strong to use for commercial maple syrup — people tend to like the light and clear stuff.

But long ago, that late season sap was used in a potent dark beer that offered some cool relief to farmers when the hay was cut in the heat of summer.

Now some local microbreweries are bringing the historic drink back from extinction.

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Music Reviews
3:15 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Lisa Marie Presley: Rock's Princess Finds Her Voice

Credit Troy Paul
Lisa Marie Presley has weathered personal storms with grace. On her new album, she establishes her own distinct identity.

Originally published on Mon May 21, 2012 8:21 pm

Lisa Marie Presley is a curiosity. Famous from birth, she is rock's only real princess. Her face is a stunning combination of her parents' best features. Her marriages have been, well, unusual. Who could forget her awkward television kiss with then-husband Michael Jackson? Or the few months of wedded bliss to actor and Elvis fanatic Nicolas Cage? She has led a colorful life — one that overshadowed her music career when she started making records in 2003.

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The Two-Way
1:55 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

She's 100 (Almost) And Still Swimming: Another Centenarian To Admire

Credit U.S. Masters Swimming
Marie Kelleher.

We have a fondness for stories about centenarians, we have to admit.

There was Fauja Singh, the 100-year-old "Turbaned Tornado," who finished the Toronto Marathon last year.

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The Two-Way
1:53 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

NATO Invites Pakistani President To Chicago Summit

NATO has just asked the Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari to attend the May 20-21 summit in Chicago. The AP says the overture signals that the rift between NATO and Islamabad may be coming to a resolution.

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The Two-Way
1:34 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Bomb In Bogotá Kills At Least Two In Assassination Attempt

Credit Guillermo Legaria / AFP/Getty Images
Police officers inspect the remains of vehicles on Tuesday after an explosion ripped through a crowded area of Bogotá injuring at least 10 people according to the mayor's office.

Originally published on Tue May 15, 2012 5:36 pm

Colombian President Juan Manuel Santos said a bomb detonated in the middle of Bogotá, the country's capital and largest city, was intended to kill former interior minister Ferdnando Londoño Hoyos.

El País reports that Santos condemned the attack, saying the bomb exploded next to the armored vehicle Londoño was travelling in.

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It's All Politics
1:02 pm
Tue May 15, 2012

Ron Paul Spokesman: Candidate Unlikely To Ever Endorse Romney

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas (right), talks with chief strategist Jesse Benton in Ames, Iowa, on Aug. 13.

Originally published on Thu May 17, 2012 1:31 pm

Presidential candidate Ron Paul is not expected to ultimately endorse presumptive GOP nominee Mitt Romney, Paul's chief strategist said Tuesday.

"Never say never, but I don't believe that's likely," said Jesse Benton, during a half-hour-plus give-and-take with reporters.

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