Election 2012
2:00 am
Fri February 17, 2012

Romney Campaigns In Michigan

Symbolically speaking, this month's Michigan's primary may be the most important of the GOP presidential race to date. It's the state where Mitt Romney grew up, and his father was a beloved government and business leader. And now, Romney seems to have a real chance of losing the state to Rick Santorum.

All Tech Considered
1:06 am
Fri February 17, 2012

When The Car Is The Driver

This week the state of Nevada finalized new rules that will make it possible for robotic self-driving cars to receive their own special driving permits. It's not quite driver's licenses for robots — but it's close.

The other day I went for a spin in a robotic car. This car has an $80,000 cone-shaped laser mounted on its roof. There are radars on the front, back and sides. Detailed maps help it navigate.

Do people notice it's a self-driving car and gawk?

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Shots - Health Blog
1:05 am
Fri February 17, 2012

Questions About Bird Flu Research Swirl Around Private WHO Meeting

Credit Cynthia Goldsmith / CDC
H5N1 avian flu viruses (seen in gold) grow inside canine kidney cells (seen in green).

Originally published on Fri February 17, 2012 8:37 am

A closed-door meeting to discuss controversial bird flu research is drawing to a close at the World Health Organization in Geneva, and the WHO plans to publicly report on what happened once it's officially over.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:59 am
Fri February 17, 2012

Weight-Loss Drugs Face High Hurdles At FDA

Credit M. Spencer Green / AP
The FDA hasn't approved a new weight-loss drug since 1999. In the meantime, Americans' waistlines have continued to grow.

Originally published on Tue February 21, 2012 3:52 pm

Tammy Wade knew she had to try something else to lose weight when she stepped on the scale and saw the number: 203 pounds.

Wade, 50, of McCalla, Ala., is only 5 feet 3 inches tall. She had tried everything. Nothing worked.

"I had problems with my feet and ankles, and they were saying I was borderline diabetic," Wade says. "I'm like, well, I gotta do something, you know. So, I needed, really did need to lose the weight."

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Money & Politics
10:01 pm
Thu February 16, 2012

White House And SuperPAC: How Close Is Too Close?

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Bill Burton, shown during a news briefing at the White House in January, is now with pro-Obama superPAC Priorities USA Action. He says the superPAC is "careful to make sure that we are in compliance with the rules."

President Obama's decision to have White House officials and Cabinet secretaries help raise money for a pro-Obama superPAC is raising questions.

The superPAC, Priorities USA Action — which is supposed to be independent of the president's re-election campaign — is launching a new effort to bring in six- and seven-figure contributions.

By law, it cannot coordinate its messaging with Obama's re-election campaign committee. But coordinating other things? That's possible.

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Planet Money
10:01 pm
Thu February 16, 2012

What It Feels Like In China When Europe Comes Asking For Help

Credit ED JONES / AFP/Getty Images
Help.

Jiang Shixue is describing to me one of the most exciting moments of his life: The moment earlier this month when one of the most important people in Europe — German Chancellor Angela Merkel — came to visit his workplace.

"She said that the EU would be happy to see if China can offer a kind of helping hand," says Jiang, an academic at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

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Business
10:01 pm
Thu February 16, 2012

Big Bucks Attract High School Grads To Mining

Originally published on Fri February 17, 2012 1:25 pm

This spring, some high school grads in Idaho, Montana, Alaska and Nevada may see some good job prospects.

The recent spike in metal prices, combined with a shortage of miners, means mining companies are hiring. So some teens are opting not to go to college, and instead are heading underground.

But these high-paying jobs also come at a high cost.

An Educator Questions His Own Path

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StoryCorps
8:00 pm
Thu February 16, 2012

Professor Hits A Wall And Falls In Love

Credit StoryCorps
Gwendolyn Diaz and her husband, Henry Flores, at StoryCorps in San Antonio.

Originally published on Fri February 17, 2012 7:34 am

Henry Flores was walking down the hallway at St. Mary's University in San Antonio when he noticed that the last office in the hallway's door was open.

"I just kind of looked inside to see who was in there, and I saw a flash of ankle, and I saw this blond hair, and I went smack-dab into the wall," says Flores, who is now a professor of political science and dean of the graduate school at St. Mary's.

It was the mid-1980s and Gwendolyn Diaz, who had just joined the university faculty, was sitting in the office.

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The Two-Way
4:00 pm
Thu February 16, 2012

Gary Carter, Hall Of Famer And Mets Hero, Dies Of Brain Cancer At 57

Gary Carter, the former Major League Baseball catcher who helped the New York Mets win the 1986 World Series, has died of brain cancer at 57. In a career marked by tenacity — and the ability to hit homeruns — Carter was chosen for 11 All Star teams.

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