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Shots - Health News
3:04 pm
Wed January 2, 2013

Drug Fulfills Promise Of Research Into Cystic Fibrosis Gene

Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 7:53 pm

The promise of genetic medicine is beginning to be fulfilled, but it's been a long, hard slog.

Take the story of Kalydeco. It's designed to treat people with a lung disease called cystic fibrosis. While not quite a cure, the drug is extremely effective for some CF patients.

But the success of Kalydeco has been more than two decades in the making.

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The Two-Way
1:56 pm
Wed January 2, 2013

Malala, Shot For Speaking Out Against Pakistan's Taliban, To Stay In U.K.

Credit Masroor / Xinhua /Landov
In November, Pakistani students in Karachi participated in a "Malala Day" to show support for the girl who was shot when she spoke out against the Taliban.

Malala Yousafzai, the 15-year-old girl who was shot in the head by a Taliban gunman because she had been speaking out against that group's efforts to stop Pakistani girls from going to school, will be staying in Great Britain.

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The Two-Way
12:57 pm
Wed January 2, 2013

Andrew Sullivan's 'The Dish' Is Leaving 'The Daily Beast,' Going Solo Again

Saying that he and his team want "to help build a new media environment that is not solely about advertising or profit above everything, but that is dedicated first to content and quality," blogger Andrew Sullivan confirmed today that The Dish is leaving The Daily Beast and striking out on its own again.

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The Two-Way
12:45 pm
Wed January 2, 2013

Pa. Gov. Suing NCAA To Stop Penn State Sex Abuse Sanctions

Credit Matt Rourke / AP
Pa. Gov. Tom Corbett

Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Corbett (R), says the NCAA badly overreached itself when it imposed punitive financial sanctions on Penn State over the handling of sexual predator and former Penn State assistant football coach, Jerry Sandusky. Corbett is filing a federal anti-trust lawsuit against the collegiate athletic association, saying it ignored its own disciplinary rules in its rush to castigate the Pennsylvania university.

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Krulwich Wonders...
11:38 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Grrr, Said The Grylloblattid. I'm Not Leaving. Not Yet.

Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 5:01 pm

The Two-Way
11:18 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Financial Markets Cheer 'Fiscal Cliff' News

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Looking up: Traders on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange earlier today.

Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 5:08 pm

Though more big battles lie ahead in Washington, Wall Street is following the lead of financial markets around the world in giving a thumbs-up to the deal that kept the federal government from going completely over the so-called fiscal cliff.

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Monkey See
10:55 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Pop Culture Happy Hour: Bonus Q&A Session!

Credit NPR

After our recent live show, we hung around and took a few questions about the show, our own tastes, what it's like to work in a room where concerts happen, and more.

Glen will explore the question of voice similarity between himself and Trey, Trey and I will speak about our impressions of one of the year's big epics, and Glen will hear a public plea for a repeat of a popular series of tweets. And once again, we prove that we are probably the only podcast you listen to where "German art song" is a running joke.

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The Two-Way
10:47 am
Wed January 2, 2013

More Than 60,000 Have Died In Syria, U.N. Estimates

Credit Tauseef Mustafa / AFP/Getty Images
An almost deserted, rubble-filled street in Aleppo, Syria (Oct. 9, 2012).

Blaming the regime of President Bashar Assad for "ruthless suppression of what were initially peaceful and legitimate protests by unarmed civilians," the U.N. Human Rights Office today released a report that estimates at least 59,648 people had been killed in Syria through November in the protests and fighting there since March 2011.

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The Two-Way
10:29 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Loose Oil Rig Still Grounded On Alaskan Island

Credit U.S. Coast Guard / AP
A Coast Guard helicopter crew conducts the 13th hoist of 18 crewmen from the mobile drilling unit Kulluk on Saturday, Dec. 29, 2012, 80 miles southwest of Kodiak City, Alaska. On Monday, the Kulluk ran aground on Sitkalidak Island.

Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 2:58 pm

The wayward Kulluk oil drilling platform remains stuck onshore near Kodiak Island, Alaska.

The unmoored platform, owned by Shell Oil, was being towed in the Gulf of Alaska last week when it broke away from its tow lines, as Bill wrote. But seas were so treacherous the crews disconnected the tow lines for their safety. They were later airlifted off the platform. The rig fetched up against Sitkalidak Island, just south of Kodiak Island on New Year's Eve.

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The Salt
10:01 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Docs Discover Drug-Spiked Eggplant Sent Beijing Diners To Hospital

Credit yoppy / Flickr.com
Don't blame the braised eggplant. Two people reportedly poisoned a Beijing restaurant's eggplant dishes, similar to the one shown here, in an attempt to boost the business of a rival eatery.

Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 11:49 am

Here at NPR, we've heard about some wacky food scandals. There have been gingerbread houses harboring bad bacteria, turkeys trotting around with arsenic in their guts and a prison hooch that brewed up botulism.

But a recent report from China may take the cake –- or should we say, the eggplant.

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The Two-Way
9:48 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Well, It Is In The Dictionary: Boehner Reportedly Aimed 'F-Bomb' At Reid

Credit Olivier Douliery/Pool / Getty Images
House Speaker John Boehner (right) and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid at the White House in April 2011. Last week, they weren't so chummy.

Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 10:47 am

Politico's long "tick-tock" account of "the fiscal cliff deal that almost wasn't" is getting lots of attention this morning because of this vignette:

"House Speaker John Boehner couldn't hold back when he spotted Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid in the White House lobby last Friday. ... 'Go f— yourself,' Boehner sniped as he pointed his finger at Reid, according to multiple sources present."

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Monkey See
9:22 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Morning Shots: Please, Please, Take All This Free Junk And Put It Somewhere

Credit iStockphoto.com

My favorite link of the day is the A.V. Club swag wrap-up. I got some of this stuff, but not all of it. And I'm still trying to get rid of some of it. [The A.V. Club]

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The Two-Way
8:57 am
Wed January 2, 2013

N.Y. News Outlet That Posted Names Of Gun Owners Hires Armed Guards

Credit The Journal News
The Journal News' map of gun owners in Rockland County, N.Y. At its website, the image is interactive so that users can see who has handgun permits and where they live.

The Journal News newspapers that drew intense criticism after posting an interactive map showing the names and addresses of people with licenses to own handguns in three counties just to the north of New York City has hired a security firm and placed armed guards at its offices, a competing newssi

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The Two-Way
8:01 am
Wed January 2, 2013

Bipartisan Outrage As Vote On Superstorm Sandy Aid Is Postponed

Credit Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images
Nov. 6: Some of the damage from Superstorm Sandy on New York's Staten Island.

Originally published on Wed January 2, 2013 4:01 pm

(We put a new top on this post at 3:45 p.m. ET.)

The House of Representatives will vote on aid for victims of Superstorm Sandy before Jan. 15, according to promises Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, made to legislators from the affected areas this afternoon. The speaker met with angry representatives at 3 p.m., seeking to quell their outrage over the postponement of a vote on federal help.

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