Education
1:25 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Violence In Schools: How Big A Problem Is It?

Credit Nick Ut / AP
Students at Gardena High School in Gardena, Calif., lined up for a security check before school in January 2011.

Originally published on Wed December 19, 2012 10:45 am

When an Ohio high school student killed three classmates in a shooting rampage several weeks ago, it once again brought a national spotlight to a problem widely believed to be epidemic in schools.

The reality, experts say, is exactly the opposite: Violent crime in schools has decreased significantly since the early 1990s.

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Planet Money
1:06 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Why Are Some Countries Rich And Others Poor?

Why are some nations rich and others poor? In a new book called Why Nations Fail, a pair of economists argue that a lot comes down to politics.

To research the book, the authors scoured the world for populations and geographic areas that are identical in all respects save one: they're on different sides of a border.

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The Two-Way
12:54 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

In Cities Around The Globe, People Line Up To Buy Apple's New iPad

It's just an update, but people made lines in cities around the world to buy Apple's latest incarnation of the iPad.

Look at this line outside an Apple store in London:

And this scene at a Manhattan Apple store:

NPR's David Folkenflik was in New York City and he filed this report for our Newscast unit:

"In Manhattan, lines wrapped full city blocks at Apple Stores last night as fans waited to buy the new device in person — and that's just for an upgrade on the iPad.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:41 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

When Fruit Flies Strike Out, They Like To Booze It Up

Credit iStockphoto.com
Hey, losers, which way to the bar?

Have pity on these poor fruit flies.

Researchers made a bunch of male fruit flies into boozehounds by pushing them on females unreceptive to their advances.

After a few days of striking out, the male losers, referred to as the "rejected-isolated" group in a study published online by Science, drowned their sorrows in alcohol.

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The Two-Way
12:20 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Report: Bin Laden Tried To Organize Plot To Kill Obama And Petraeus

Some of the documents seized last May after U.S. Navy SEALs killed Osama bin Laden at his compound in Pakistan show that the al-Qaida leader "boldly commanded his network to organize special cells in Afghanistan and Pakistan to attack the aircraft of President Barack Obama and Gen.

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The Two-Way
12:07 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Rutgers Student Convicted In Spying Case Linked To Roommate's Suicide

Credit John O'Boyle / AP
Dharun Ravi in court on Wednesday.

Dharun Ravi, the former Rutgers University student "accused of using a webcam to spy on his gay roommate's love life has been convicted of bias intimidation and invasion of privacy in a case that exploded into the headlines when the victim of the snooping committed suicide" in September, 2010, The Associated Press writes.

The 20-year-old "could face 10 years in prison when he's sentenced," the AP adds.

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'It's All Politics': NPR's Weekly News Roundup
12:05 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

It's All Politics, March 15, 2012

Credit Isaac Brekken / ASSOCIATED PRESS
  • Listen to the Roundup

Is the battle for the GOP presidential nomination about history? Or is it about math? Santorum may be getting big headlines with his primary wins, but it's Romney who is advancing further to the magic 1,144 number. And more defeats mean more pressure on Gingrich to pull out. Plus: a tribute to the late Peter Bergman of Firesign Theater. NPR's Ron Elving and Ken Rudin have the latest in this week's political roundup.

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The Two-Way
11:53 am
Fri March 16, 2012

George Clooney Arrested Outside Sudanese Embassy In Washington

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Actor George Clooney is arrested during a demonstration outside the Embassy of Sudan on Friday.

Originally published on Fri March 16, 2012 11:56 am

The Oscar-winning actor George Clooney was arrested this morning, after he and supporters, including congressmen stepped onto the grounds of the Sudanese embassy in Washington D.C.

The Washington Post reports:

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The Two-Way
11:35 am
Fri March 16, 2012

California Students Push For Removal Of Syrian From Foundation

Credit University of California Irvine Foundation
Dr. Hazem Chehabi.
  • Amy Walters on the NPR Newscast

The student council at the University of California Irvine approved a resolution Thursday demanding that Dr. Hazem Chehabi, Syria's honorary consul in Southern California, be removed from the post of chair at the UC Irving Foundation, which supports the school and is trying to raise $1 billion for it.

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The Salt
11:05 am
Fri March 16, 2012

Cause Of Foul Pine Nut Taste Befuddles Scientists

Credit Charlotte Lake / iStockphoto.com
Pine nuts aren't giving up their secrets easily.

Scientists on the trail of "pine nut mouth," a nasty metallic aftertaste that some people get after eating the tender little nuts, have been stumped in their latest effort to zero in on the cause of the mysterious affliction.

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