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The Two-Way
3:19 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Today's Distraction: A Moment Of Cute With Cheetah Cubs

Sometimes we all need a break from the serious news. There's no better way to accomplish that today than to tell you that two cheetah cubs are making their public debut at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C.

As the National Zoo reports, their journey is an improbable one. They were born April 23 by c-section and were abandoned by their mother. But they were hand-raised by zoo staff and today, they were out for world to see them.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:17 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

After Supreme Court Ruling, Health Law Will Cover Fewer And Cost Less

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
When the U.S. Supreme Court made a Medicaid expansion optional under the Affordable Care Act, the decision lowered the estimated cost of the law.

The Congressional Budget Office and Joint Tax Committee this afternoon issued their long-awaited analysis of the cost of the Affordable Care Act post-Supreme Court changes.

Their verdict? Making the expansion of Medicaid optional for states will result in fewer people (about 3 million fewer) getting coverage. But that will also reduce the overall price tag of the law over the next decade by about $84 billion.

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The Torch
2:53 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Olympic Sports We Don't See Any More, And Why

Credit Chicago History Museum/Library of Congress
Who needs two hands? At the 1904 Olympics in St. Louis, the events included All Around Dumbell, which comprised 10 one- and two-handed lifts.

Originally published on Tue July 24, 2012 3:14 pm

The Olympic Games are one of the most tradition-bound sporting events in the world. But that doesn't mean its sporting events are written in stone.

Since 1894, dozens of events have had their flash in the pan, and been dumped. Some have lasted only one Olympic cycle. The website Top End Sports has a nice collection of discontinued Olympic events.

Here are some of my favorite one-and-dones:

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Shots - Health Blog
2:46 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Tie My Shoes, Please: How Persuasion Works

Credit iStockphoto.com
Can You Help Me Tie My Shoe? Researchers found that when study participants were asked an unusual request, they were more likely later on to perform a favor.

Originally published on Tue July 24, 2012 3:23 pm

Marketers, managers and panhandlers all have something in common: They regularly want to make you do things they want. Marketers want you to buy stuff, managers want you to finish projects on time, and panhandlers want you to spare a buck, or three.

Over the years, psychologists have studied the techniques of manipulation and found several that seem to work. (Read on only if you agree to use these techniques for good and not for evil!)

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NPR Cities: Urban Life In The 21st Century
2:39 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

We Got The Beat: The 'Heart' Of Your City

Originally published on Tue October 9, 2012 2:46 pm

When you think about where you live, what sights and sounds come to mind? The coffee shop on the corner? The park down the street? We asked you to show us what makes your city thump and pulse, and here is some of what you shared. But we want to fill our heart with city love, so send us more! (Note: Captions have been edited for length, style and clarity.)

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AIDS: A Turning Point
2:25 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

D.C.'s Black Churches Take Steps In AIDS Fight

Originally published on Wed July 25, 2012 8:11 am

As thousands gather in Washington, D.C., for the International AIDS Conference, the city is battling disturbing levels of HIV/AIDS, particularly in the black community.

According to the D.C. Department of Health, 4.3 percent of the black population in the city is living with the disease, and some advocates argue that black churches should be doing more to fight it.

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World
2:08 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Whistleblower Law Unlikely To Help Italy's Migrants

Originally published on Tue July 24, 2012 4:19 pm

Italy recently approved a decree that would grant work and residence permits to migrants who blow the whistle on bosses who exploit them in the economy illegally.

But in places like the southern region of Calabria, the law has little chance of being applied at a time when the economic crisis increasingly fosters an illegal, underground economy.

The main activity in Calabria is agriculture. Thanks to vast citrus fields, it's one of the major stops for migratory workers, mostly Africans without legal documents.

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NPR Cities: Urban Life In The 21st Century
2:06 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

A City Faces Its 'Berlin Wall': An Interstate Highway

Originally published on Thu July 26, 2012 10:25 am

Interstate 81 runs through the heart of Syracuse, N.Y., where a 1.4-mile-long elevated stretch of the highway is known locally as "the viaduct." Like many road projects built in the middle of the last century, I-81 is bumping up against the end of its life span. While officials say it's still safe to drive on, the highway is crumbling in parts.

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World Cafe
1:59 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Archie Powell And The Exports On World Cafe

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Archie Powell & The Exports.

Originally published on Wed July 25, 2012 9:06 am

Archie Powell has been surrounded by music since he was little: His father was a violinist in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and Powell himself picked up the guitar at 11, so songwriting became a natural next step for the music prodigy. He joined up with his band The Exports — brothers Ryan, Adam and RJ Export play keyboards, bass and drums, respectively — soon after college. By 2010, the Chicago-based power-pop band was ready with its first full-length studio album, Skip Work.

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The Two-Way
1:29 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

CBO: Supreme Court Ruling On Healthcare Saves U.S. $84 Billion Over 11 Years

Credit Kris Connor / Getty Images
Susan Clark argues with another protester about the Affordable Care Act outside the U.S. Supreme Court.

Originally published on Tue July 24, 2012 10:23 pm

A new report from the Congressional Budget Office finds that the Supreme Court ruling on President Obama's health care law will save the government $84 billion over the next 11 years.

While the Supreme Court upheld the Affordable Healthcare Act, it also said it was up to states to choose whether to participate in an expansion of Medicaid.

That $84 billion in savings, the non-partisan CBO explained, comes from predictions that fewer states will enroll in the program.

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The Two-Way
12:57 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Waitress, There's A Spy In My Soup (Or At Least There's One Serving It)

Credit YouTube
You might want to watch what you say. A screen grab from one of many videos taken by diners at a North Korean restaurant. This one is in Phnom Penh, Cambodia.

Originally published on Tue July 24, 2012 1:02 pm

The Two-Way
12:55 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Woman, Who Was In Theater During Shooting, Gives Birth

A bit of sunshine from Colorado: Katie Medley, who was with her husband in the Aurora theater when a gunman opened fire, gave birth a to baby boy this morning.

Hugo Jackson Medley was born at 7:11 a.m., The Denver Post reports. Mom and baby are doing well.

The AP reports that Medley came out of the mass shooting OK, but her husband Caleb Medley was shot in the head and he remains in critical condition.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:26 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

How To Make Condoms For Women Fashionable

Originally published on Tue July 24, 2012 3:24 pm

Two of the more colorful events at the 19th International AIDS Conference so far are focused on a single message: The world needs more female condoms.

The first event was an intimate fashion show Monday night, featuring dresses made with female condoms. Highlights of the show included a beautiful baby-doll dress layered with white condoms and a yellow miniskirt covered with condoms twisted into roses.

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Commentary
12:04 pm
Tue July 24, 2012

Swearing: A Long And #%@&$ History

Credit iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Tue July 24, 2012 2:29 pm

Sometimes it's small government you need to keep your eye on. Take Middleborough, Mass., whose town meeting recently imposed a $20 fine for swearing in public. According to the police chief, the ordinance was aimed at the crowds of unruly teenagers who gathered downtown at night yelling profanities at people, not just someone who slams a finger in a car door. But whatever the exact idea was, nobody thought it was a good one.

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