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The Torch
11:27 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Big Win For Britain: Murray Takes Men's Tennis Title

Credit Leon Neal / AFP/Getty Images
Gold for queen and country: Great Britain's Andy Murray celebrates after his win.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 5:58 pm

One month after his hopes were dashed on the same famous court at Wimbledon, Scotland's Andy Murray just won the men's tennis title at the London Olympics in front of a joyous home crowd.

He did it by defeating the same man who beat him at Wimbledon in July.

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The Torch
10:41 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Badminton Federation 'Looking Forward' In Response To Scandel

Credit Adek Berry / AFP/Getty Images
South Korea's Kim Min Jung (left) and Ha Jung Eun were among the players disqualified for not trying hard enough.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 11:15 am

On this final day of badminton at the London Olympics, leaders of the Badminton World Federation (BWF) were vague about how they will respond to a match-throwing scandal at the games.

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The Torch
9:48 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Even A 'No' Is An Olympic Moment When It's Said By Michael Phelps

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 11:38 am

An only-at-the-Olympics tale:

As Michael Phelps left a news conference at the Olympic Aquatic Center on Saturday, a photographer rushed up and asked, "Can I get one more photo?"

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The Torch
9:19 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Britain's Wiggins Starts A Row By Arguing For Bike Helmets

Credit Bryn Lennon / Getty Images
Bradley Wiggins of Great Britain before a road race on Day 1 of the Olympics.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 4:00 pm

On the same day cyclist Bradley Wiggins became Great Britain's most-decorated Olympian, Daniel Harris, a 28-year-old cycling enthusiast, was killed when he was struck by a bus at an intersection outside Olympic Park.

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The Torch
9:01 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Gold For The Williams Sisters In Doubles Tennis

Credit Luis Acosta / AFP/Getty Images
Venus (left) and Serena Williams celebrate after winning the women's doubles gold medal match today.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 9:24 am

As The Guardian just reported:

"Here is perhaps the least surprising outcome of the Games: the awesome Williams sisters have secured the women's doubles for the United States, disposing of the Czech pair Hlavackova and Hradecka 6-4, 6-4. And Serena crowns a dominant display with a delightful twirl of celebration after plundering the gold medal point."

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The Torch
8:39 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Gold For Ethiopia's Gelana In Women's Marathon

Credit Daniel Garcia / AFP/Getty Images
Women marathoners raced past Big Ben.

In what looks to be a new Olympics record, Tiki Gelana of Ethiopia just won the women's marathon in a time of 2:23.07.

Kenya's Priscah Jeptoo was second and Russia's Tatyana Petrova Arkhipova finished third.

As The Guardian notes, Gelana's "uncle Gezahegne Abera won men's marathon gold in Sydney 12 years ago."

Mary Keitany of Kenya, one of the pre-race favorites, came in fourth.

The previous women's Olympics record was 2:23.14.

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The Torch
8:18 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Let's Catch Up: 'Super Saturday' For Brits; 'World's Fastest Man' Coming Up

Credit Pascal Le Segretain / Getty Images
Jessica Ennis of Great Britain  celebrates after winning gold Saturday in the heptathlon on Day 8 of the London 2012 Olympic Games.

Good morning.

While Bill takes a much-deserved mid-Olympics day off, we'll aim to keep up with what's going on in London.

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Politics
7:34 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Kansas Republicans At War With Each Other

Credit John Hanna / AP
"We have met the enemy, and the enemy is us," says Kansas state Sen. Tim Owens, who's facing a tough re-election bid this Tuesday.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 5:22 pm

Moderate Republicans have come under attack in primaries across the country this year, but the split in the GOP is perhaps older and sharper in Kansas — and it comes to a head Tuesday.

"I think the lines have been drawn in the sand. Bridges have been burned. Everybody is all-in this election," says Jim Denning, one of the conservative candidates for the state's Senate.

The Republican statehouse primary is a savage fight fueled by money from the Koch brothers and labor unions, with big consequences for the citizens of Kansas.

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Around the Nation
7:34 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Park Known For FDR Home Short On Visitors

President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's family began vacationing on Campobello Island, in the Bay of Fundy, in the early 1880s. The Roosevelt Campobello International Park used to attract around 150,000 visitors a year, including tours of FDR's home. Maine Public Radio's Jay Field reports it's still trying to recover from economic hard times, while attracting new visitors.

Participation Nation
7:26 am
Sun August 5, 2012

The People's Boutique In Washington, D.C.

Credit Courtesy of Caroline Lacey
Zaniyah sleeps while her mom shops at the Bread for the City boutique.

This month we are collecting your stories about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Some of your contributions will become blog posts and the project will end with a story that weaves together submissions to make a story of Americans by Americans for Americans.

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It's All Politics
7:16 am
Sun August 5, 2012

The Youth Vote 2012: Once Again, With Enthusiasm?

Credit John Raoux / AP
Aubrey Marks (left) helps a University of Central Florida student to register to vote in Orlando, Fla., on July 31.

Christina Sanders, who organizes young voters, has a message for those under-30 with political grievances: "There is no Superman coming."

Trying to convince members of the notoriously non-voting age-group to head to the polls on Nov. 6 for the presidential election, she tells them: "You are a part of the American system."

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Animals
6:11 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Bat Calls Make Eerie Comeback As Techno-Like Beats

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 7:34 am

For the past five years, bats have been disappearing at an alarming rate, falling prey to a mysterious disease called white-nose syndrome. But they're making an eerie comeback in a new audio exhibit at a national park in Vermont. The exhibit features manipulated recordings of bat calls that are funneled through glass vessels hanging from a studio ceiling.

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Presidential Race
6:10 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Back Scratch? Romney Has An Ally In Indiana

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, right, applauds as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event at Stepto's Bar-B-Q Shack in Evansville, Ind., Saturday.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 7:48 pm

Republican Mitt Romney campaigned this weekend in a state that has not seen much of either presidential candidate. Nobody considers Indiana a toss-up in the presidential race.

But the Senate contest there is a different story. It's a very close race, and the result could determine which party controls the Senate next year. So Romney showed up at a barbecue shack in Evansville to give the conservative Republican candidate a boost.

'Help Me Elect This Guy'

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Around the Nation
6:06 pm
Sat August 4, 2012

How America's Losing The War On Poverty

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Members of the Dolan family walk home with bags of food from the Southern Tier Mobile Food Pantry in Oswego, N.Y., in June. Food banks across the nation are reporting giant spikes in demand.

Originally published on Mon August 6, 2012 1:53 pm

While President Obama and Gov. Romney battle for the hearts and minds of the middle class this election season, there's a huge swath of Americans that are largely ignored. It's the poor, and their ranks are growing.

According to a recent survey by The Associated Press, the number of Americans living at or below the poverty line will reach its highest point since President Johnson made his famous declaration of war on poverty in 1964.

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Analysis
4:52 pm
Sat August 4, 2012

Week In News: Presidential Race

Originally published on Sat August 4, 2012 6:30 pm

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: He tried. You tried. It's OK to make a change.

RAZ: Part of a TV ad paid for by the Republican National Committee co-opting the theme of change from Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and using it against him. James Fallows of The Atlantic joins us now as he does most Saturdays. Hello, Jim.

JAMES FALLOWS: Hello, Guy.

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