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Faith Matters
12:03 pm
Fri September 14, 2012

What Does It Mean To Be A Jew?

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 5:23 pm

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

And now, we turn to Faith Matters. That's the part of the program where we talk about matters of faith, religion and spirituality. This Sunday night marks the start of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year, and the beginning of what are known as the High Holy Days, for observance used, the most spiritually profound time of year.

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The Salt
12:03 pm
Fri September 14, 2012

Love To Hate Cilantro? It's In Your Genes And Maybe, In Your Head

Credit lion heart vintage / Flickr.com
The very sight of this lacy, green herb can cause some people to scream. The great cilantro debate heats up as scientists start pinpointing cilantrophobe genes.

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 2:45 pm

There's no question that cilantro is a polarizing herb. Some of us heap it onto salsas and soups with gusto while others avoid cilantro because it smells like soap and tastes like crushed bugs.

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The Two-Way
11:48 am
Fri September 14, 2012

What Anti-Islam Film Says About Free Speech And The 'Hecklers Veto'

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 1:47 pm

After the deadly attack on the U.S. Consulate in Libya earlier this week, Google took down the YouTube video said to have sparked the violence — but only in Libya and in Egypt, where anti-American protests also flared up.

It's an example of the challenges of balancing U.S. free speech concerns and of something known as the "heckler's veto."

The Innocence of Muslims isn't the only YouTube video that can be seen in the U.S. but not elsewhere. Nazi propaganda is banned in Germany, for example, and slurs against Turkey's founder don't appear in that country.

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The Two-Way
11:46 am
Fri September 14, 2012

University of Texas Evacuates Austin Campus Because Of Threats

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 2:13 pm

Update at 12:57 p.m. ET. University of Texas Reopens:

The University of Texas has reopened, after a phoned bomb threat prompted the evacuation of its entire Austin campus this morning.

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The Two-Way
11:00 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Did You Know? A Super Typhoon Is Heading For Asia

Credit Joint Typhoon Warning Center
Super typhoon Sanba

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 10:58 pm

It's had top sustained winds above 170 miles per hour. It's got very low pressure. It is life threatening. And its cone of possible landfall includes Okinawa and the Asian mainland.

It's super typhoon Sanba, and it could strike the Japanese island by late Saturday night (local time) before storming on to China, South Korea and North Korea. Stars and Stripes writer Dave Ornauer says the storm's outermost bands are already hitting Okinawa:

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The Salt
10:10 am
Fri September 14, 2012

How African Cattle Herders Wiped Out An Ancient Plague

Credit Reinhold Thiele / Getty Images
Scientist Robert Koch holding a post-mortem on an ox thought to have died of rinderpest, circa 1900.

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 2:45 pm

Twice in all of history, humans have managed to eradicate a devastating disease. You've heard of the first one, I suspect: smallpox. But rinderpest?

That's a German word for "cattle plague" a feared companion of cattle throughout history. When outbreaks occurred, as in Europe of the 1700s or Africa in the 1880s, entire herds were wiped out and communities went hungry. Now the disease is gone, eliminated from the face of the earth.

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The Two-Way
9:25 am
Fri September 14, 2012

No Deal Yet: Chicago Teachers On Strike For Fifth Day

Credit M. Spencer Green / AP
Chicago public school teachers pose for a photo on a picket line as their strike extends into a fifth day.

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 5:41 pm

Update at 3:00 p.m. ET. No Settlement Expected Today:

NPR's Ken Barcus says that no settlement is expected today. The most likely scenario is a contract vote sometime on Sunday, he says.

The Chicago Tribune reports quotes a union attorney who said that the outlines of an agreement are there, but a vote on ending the strike is not likely until Sunday.

Our Original Post Continues:

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The Two-Way
9:12 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Ally Or Not? The White House Seeks To Nuance Obama's Remarks On Egypt

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 10:36 am

The Obama administration has stepped back from remarks by the president earlier this week in which he suggested that Egypt was something less than a firm ally.

Following unrest in Egypt and the killing of four Americans in Libya that was sparked at least in part by a film seemingly aimed at stoking Muslim anger, Obama, referring to Egypt, told the Spanish-language Telemundo: "I don't think that we would consider them an ally, but we don't consider them an enemy."

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The Two-Way
8:55 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Consumer Prices Rose Slightly In August; So Did Retail Sales

Here are two fresh economic reports:

- Consumer prices rose 0.6 percent in August, mainly due to more expensive gasoline. The Bureau of Labor Statistics says most of the bump up came from its gas index, which jumped nine percent. There were lesser increases in other energy products, such as fuel oil, natural gas and electricity. The core rate of inflation, which discounts food and energy, was up 0.1 percent in August. The agency says that's the same rate as July.

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It's All Politics
8:37 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Where Political Ads Go To Be Mocked

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 11:27 am

The Two-Way
7:45 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Friday Prayers In Muslim Countries Bring Wider Anti-American Protests

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 6:33 pm

Anti-American protests — some peaceful, some not — have been seen in many parts of the Islamic world today, as Friday prayers became an opportunity for many to express anger over a film produced in the U.S. that denigrates the Prophet Muhammad.

The Atlantic Wire has a good map that shows where the protests are happening.

Update at 6:17 p.m. ET. Seven Dead:

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The Two-Way
7:09 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Copts In U.S. Fear 'Terrible' Reaction In Egypt To Muhammad Film

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Father Mina celebrates the Christmas Nativity Liturgy, the start of Christmas, at the Coptic Orthodox Church of St. George on Jan. 6 in Brooklyn, N.Y. Coptic churches around the country have witnessed a surge of Christians fleeing Egypt since the start of the Arab Spring.

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 1:31 pm

The film Innocence of Muslims, which denigrates Islam and its prophet, Muhammad, has put the spotlight on a little-known community, Coptic Christians.

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Presidential Race
6:33 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Middle East, Economy Dominate Campaign Trail

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 11:43 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. Renee Montagne is in St. Louis today visiting our member station KWMU.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigns outside Cleveland, Ohio today. He's in a state that's widely considered essential for him to win - a state where recent surveys show him trailing President Obama by single digits.

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Education
6:32 am
Fri September 14, 2012

End Of Chicago Strike Near, But Questions Remain

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 11:43 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

On a Friday, it's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep. The teacher's strike in Chicago enters its fifth day today. We're told a resolution appears to be close. Nearly 350,000 students could be heading back to class as early as Monday. Even with an end possibly in sight - you're hearing all the qualifiers here, right - teachers still remain skeptical about changes coming to Chicago Public Schools. NPR's Sonari Glinton reports from Chicago.

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