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4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Veteran: Risks In 1950s Bomb Test 'A Disgrace'

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:36 am

In 1957, Joel Healy witnessed one of the largest nuclear tests ever conducted on U.S. soil.

Healy was in the U.S. Army, stationed in the Nevada desert north of Las Vegas at Camp Desert Rock. He was 17 years old and a private first class at the time.

Healy drove dump trucks, moved materials, and built structures, like houses, that would be destroyed by the explosions so the Army could study the effects of a nuclear blast. He also helped build the towers where many of the bombs were detonated.

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The Salt
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Making 'The Science Of Good Cooking' Look Easy

Credit Carl Tremblay Photography / America's Test Kitchen
Want a better-tasting gazpacho? Don't toss out the tomato seeds.

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:36 am

Ever wondered why you're not supposed to bake with cold eggs or whether marinating really tenderizes meat? Read on.

America's Test Kitchen host Chris Kimball "whisks away" some cooking myths as he talks with Morning Edition host Renee Montagne about the book he wrote, The Science of Good Cooking, with fellow Cook's Illustrated magazine editors. Being the science and cooking geeks that we are, we tuned in.

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The Salt
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Kelp For Farmers: Seaweed Becomes A New Crop In America

Credit Ron Gautreau / Courtesy of Bren Smith
Oyster fisherman Bren Smith on his boat, The Mookie. Smith decided to try his hand at seaweed farming, collaborating with ecology professor Charles Yarish.

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 11:02 am

A new kind of crop is being planted in the United States, and it doesn't require any land or fertilizer. Farming it improves the environment, and it can be used in a number of ways. So what is this miracle cash crop of the future?

It's seaweed.

Charlie Yarish, professor of ecology and evolutionary biology at the University of Connecticut, loves seaweed. In nature, he says, when seaweed turns a rich chocolate color, that means the plant is picking up nitrogen, a process called nutrient bioextraction.

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NPR Story
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 6:37 am

The Pew Research Center surveyed about 1,000 Americans to find out how they watch the presidential debates. Eleven percent watched on two screens — on a computer or mobile device and on TV. The numbers are higher among younger viewers.

NPR Story
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

No. 2s: Biden, Ryan Square Off in Combative Debate

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:36 am

Vice President Joe Biden and GOP vice presidential nominee Paul Ryan engaged in a memorable and highly combative debate Thursday night in Danville, Kentucky. It's the only time the two men, who occupy the second spots on their party's presidential tickets, will square off before the election.

NPR Story
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Announced Friday

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:49 am

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has awarded its Peace Prize to the European Union — a decision that came as a surprise to many. The committee said it was an award that was long overdue, considering the E.U.'s role in advancing peace since World War II.

Health
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Patients Worry Meningitis Symptoms Could Be Dormant For Months

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:36 am

Federal health authorities says the number of people infected with meningitis has risen again. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says 14 people have died and 170 people have been infected. Thousands of people received the infected steroid shots and are awaiting news whether they will develop meningitis.

Election 2012
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Fact-Checking The Vice Presidential Debate

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:39 am

A team of NPR correspondents joins Renee Montagne to give Thursday night's vice presidential debate a "Close Read." The discussion will take up the foreign and domestic issues covered in the debate with analysis and fact checking. Reporters include: John Ydstie, Julie Rovner, Michele Kelemen, Larry Abramson and Tom Bowman.

Africa
4:23 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Egyptian Woman Worry Constitution Will Limit Rights

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:52 am

A majority-Islamist assembly is drafting Egypt's new constitution, and controversy has broken out over the article on women's rights. The draft article guarantees equality between men and women, but only if it does not contradict the rules of Islamic law. Though the previous constitution made reference to Islamic law, many women are worried about what this language — under an Islamist president — will mean for them.

Music Interviews
2:03 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Kaki King: A Guitar Wizard Conjures New Colors

Credit Shervin Lainez / Courtesy of the artist
Kaki King's latest album is called Glow.

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:36 am

It's All Politics
12:35 am
Fri October 12, 2012

5 Takeaways From The Vice Presidential Debate

Credit Charlie Neibergall / AP
Vice President Biden and his Republican opponent, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, participate in the vice presidential debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky., Thursday.

Originally published on Wed October 17, 2012 9:07 am

Neither candidate let his opponent get away with much of anything during the vice presidential debate Thursday night.

The tabletop discussion between Vice President Biden and Republican Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin showcased their clear differences over policy. The two disagreed about nearly every issue that came up, whether it was military posture, tax policy or abortion.

Many of these differences were expressed in negative, sometimes surprisingly personal terms.

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It's All Politics
12:34 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Media Circus: Who Won? The Moderator

Credit Michael Reynolds / Pool/Getty Images
Vice President Joe Biden speaks as Republican Rep. Paul Ryan and moderator Martha Raddatz listen during the vice presidential debate at Centre College on Thursday in Danville, Ky.

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 12:51 pm

Atmospherically, the vice presidential debate pitted old versus new. Vice President Joe Biden lives in a world where no lily goes ungilded, and every 'lative is super. Rep. Paul Ryan speeds through campaigning energetically, like the heroic train in the new movie Atlas Got Cut Using the P90X Workout.

And the moderator Martha Raddatz? She came out guns blazing. No avuncular, passive Jim Lehrer she.

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It's All Politics
12:15 am
Fri October 12, 2012

Debate Decision: A Family Still Divided In Swing State Ohio

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 12:51 pm

Tom Barnes is a 70-year-old retired grain farmer born in Ohio. He's the son of a school teacher turned farmer, and now himself the father of four, grandpa of eight.

It's clear that he adores his daughter, Becky Barnes, 30, and takes pride in describing how she's taken a piece of the big family farm south of Columbus and turned it into an organic vegetable operation by dint of hard work and sheer determination.

"It's an amazing project out there," he says. What he says distresses him, however, are her political leanings.

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Shots - Health Blog
8:00 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Meningitis Outbreak Puts Doctors, Regulators In New Territory

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 5:13 pm

There's new information on the ongoing outbreak of a rare meningitis caused by a fungus that somehow got into a steroid drug. Federal officials now say the drug got injected into 14,000 patients — 1,000 more than earlier thought.

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It's All Politics
7:50 pm
Thu October 11, 2012

Live Blog: Biden Vs. Ryan In The Vice Presidential Debate

Credit Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images
Vice President Joe Biden (left) and Republican vice presidential candidate Paul Ryan during Thursday's debate.

Originally published on Fri October 12, 2012 12:54 pm

  • Listen to the Debate
  • Listen to NPR Analysis of the Debate

Vice President Biden and his Republican opponent, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, had a lively debate at Centre College in Danville, Ky., this evening — one marked by Biden's aggressive challenges to many of the Republican vice presidential nominee's claims and Ryan's oft-repeated message that the Obama-Biden administration's policies aren't working.

The discussion was steered by ABC News' Martha Raddatz. It's the only vice presidential debate of the campaign.

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