Sports
2:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Sports: Playoffs, Hard Hits, Soccer Kicks

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 4:23 am

Host Scott Simon talks to ESPN's Howard Bryant about the NBA playoffs, Washington Nationals outfielder Bryce Harper's collision with a wall, and David Beckham's retirement from soccer.

U.S.
2:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

When Alcohol Takes The Wheel: What's Your Limit?

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 4:23 am

This week, the National Transportation Safety Board recommended lowering the legal limit of blood alcohol content for drivers to .05 or even lower. Currently, it's illegal to drive in all states with a BAC of .08 or higher. Host Scott Simon speaks with Dr. Anthony Liguori of Wake Forest School of Medicine about alcohol's impact on driving ability.

Environment
2:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Not Your Grandpa's RV: This Roving Lab Tracks Air Pollution

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 10:45 am

If you're driving down the road someday and you come across a camper with a 50-foot periscope sticking up into the sky, you just might have crossed paths with Ira Leifer. His quirky vehicle is on a serious mission. It's sniffing the air for methane, a gas that contributes to global warming.

Leifer is an atmospheric scientist at the University of California, Santa Barbara. But you'll more often find him off campus, in a garage, next to a string of auto body shops near the airport.

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Parallels
2:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Afghan Mineral Treasures Stay Buried, Hostages To Uncertainty

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 4:23 am

For years, reports have suggested that Afghanistan is sitting on massive deposits of copper, gold, iron and rare earth minerals valued up to $3 trillion. This provides hope for a future economy that would not have to rely so heavily on foreign donations.

But with an uncertain political, regulatory and security environment, international investors are hesitant. And it could be many years before Afghanistan begins extracting its mineral wealth.

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Law
2:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Turning Up The Heat On Civil Rights-Era Cold Cases

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 11:26 am

Six years ago, the FBI took on a challenge: To review what it called cold-case killings from the civil rights era. The investigation into 112 cases from the 1950s and 1960s is winding down, and civil rights activists are weighing the FBI's efforts.

The review comes with word this week of the death of a man who'd been named, by a newspaper investigation, as a possible suspect in one notorious case.

The Case

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It's All Politics
2:13 am
Sat May 18, 2013

Immigration Bill Chugs Along, But Some See Deal-Breakers

Credit Michael Reynolds / EPA/Landov
The Senate Judiciary Committee meets to work on immigration legislation on May 9.

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 4:23 am

It's been a long slog already for the bipartisan immigration overhaul proposed by the Senate's Gang of Eight.

The legislation has been the target of more than 300 amendments during days of debate and votes by the Senate Judiciary Committee. But while the bill has largely held its own so far, its prospects for getting through Congress remain uncertain.

In Judiciary Committee Chairman Patrick Leahy's view, the immigration overhaul is "moving very well."

"It's moving a lot faster than people said it would," says Leahy, a Vermont Democrat.

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Music Interviews
11:03 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Audra McDonald, A Broadway Star Gone Roaming, Comes Home

Credit Autumn de Wilde / Courtesy of the artist
Audra McDonald's new album, Go Back Home, marks a return to her roots in musical theater.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 6:24 am

In the seven years since her last album, Audra McDonald has kept busy. She spent several years in Hollywood, filming the television series Private Practice. She's gotten divorced and remarried, absorbed the shock of losing her father in a plane crash and watched her daughter, Zoe, grow up from a kindergartener to a middle-schooler.

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The Two-Way
10:51 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

French President Signs Same-Sex Marriage Into Law

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 11:11 am

France is officially the 14th country to legalize gay marriage. Saturday, President Francois Hollande signed a bill that Parliament had passed in April, which gives same-sex couples the right to marry and adopt.

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The Two-Way
4:43 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Injuries Reported In 'Major' Train Derailment In Connecticut

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 5:57 pm

Two Metro-North Railroad trains have collided on a stretch of track near Fairfield, Conn., causing a "major derailment" and "preliminary reports of injuries," according to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority.

[Update at 8:55 p.m. ET: The Associated Press quotes Connecticut officials as saying about 50 people have been hurt, four of them seriously.]

According to The Hartford Courant:

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It's All Politics
4:31 pm
Fri May 17, 2013

Why the IRS Scandal Is Built To Last

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Ousted IRS chief Steve Miller (right) and J. Russell George, a Treasury inspector general, take the oath before testifying on before the House Ways and Means Committee on Friday.

Originally published on Fri May 17, 2013 5:41 pm

Of all the controversies swirling around the Obama White House, the Internal Revenue Service scandal seems likeliest to have the longest shelf life.

While the Benghazi affair has long been in the news, it's never really taken off as an issue beyond the Republican base.

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