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Afghanistan
4:25 am
Sat August 11, 2012

Three NATO Soldiers Killed By Afghans

An Afghan working on an installation shared by Afghan and foreign forces shot and killed three NATO soldiers on Friday — raising to six the number of international troops killed by their Afghan partners in 24 hours, officials said.

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Around the Nation
2:44 am
Sat August 11, 2012

Some Idaho Farmers Pray, Others Turn On The Water

Originally published on Sat August 11, 2012 12:38 pm

In the West, in Idaho's arid, high desert, the drought has a mixed effect. There's a big divide between farmers with deep wells and irrigation and those without.

Hans Hayden is a rare find: a talkative farmer. He likes to explain things. But when it comes to the wheat he planted this spring, there's not much to say. This field needed rain. It didn't get it.

"At this point in time, it kind of looks like a desert," he says.

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Around the Nation
2:44 am
Sat August 11, 2012

Joplin's New Trees Struggle To Survive Amid Drought

Originally published on Sat August 11, 2012 12:38 pm

Saplings — no more than 6 feet tall — dot the landscape in Joplin, Mo. They replace the large shade trees that were ripped out of the ground by a massive tornado that swept through town in May of 2011.

Nearly 7,000 new trees, donated by various organizations, have been planted. They include sturdy, mostly native, varieties, such as oak, sycamore and redbud — trees that can withstand strong winds when they're taller.

With temperatures above normal for the past few months and precipitation below normal, those trees have had a hard time taking root.

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Music Interviews
12:03 am
Sat August 11, 2012

Busking In Lansing, To Rave Reviews

Credit Scott Pohl / WKAR
Alexis Dawdy plays her violin on the streets of Lansing, Mich.

Originally published on Mon August 27, 2012 11:02 am

All summer long, Weekend Edition has been sampling the sounds of America's street musicians. The latest to catch our ear is Alexis Dawdy, a young violinist who returned to her hometown of Lansing, Mich., to study at Michigan State University — and do a little busking on the side.

"I'm actually not a music major. This is really a hobby that accidentally became a profession," Dawdy says. "I'm studying linguistics, and I'm 17 credits out from graduation. My goal is to do it debt-free, and this helps a lot. This pays for books and this pays for food."

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Music Interviews
12:03 am
Sat August 11, 2012

Marian McPartland's Storied Life, Told 'In Good Time'

Originally published on Sun August 19, 2012 10:32 am

More than half a century ago this week, on Aug. 12, 1958, some of the greatest jazz musicians of the day assembled in Harlem at what was, for them, the ungodly hour of 10 a.m. Fifty-seven players came to East 126th Street to have their picture taken for Esquire magazine.

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Author Interviews
12:03 am
Sat August 11, 2012

'This Will End In Tears': Soundtracks For Down Days

Originally published on Sat September 1, 2012 1:31 pm

Even the strongest among us get the blues: You can't get out of bed, you don't want to talk to a single other humanoid, and you just want to close the curtains and turn on the music. The songs you choose for those miseries have to be just right.

Adam Brent Houghtaling is something of a connoisseur of the melancholy moment. Perhaps to cheer himself up, he's put that expertise to use by producing a kind of encyclopedia of the best soundtracks for lonely days and nights. It's called This Will End in Tears: The Miserablist Guide to Music.

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The Torch
4:39 pm
Fri August 10, 2012

In World Record Time, Americans Take Gold In Women's 4X100 Relay

Credit Clive Brunskill / Getty Images
Carmelita Jeter of the United States receives the relay baton fom Bianca Knight of the United States on their way to winning gold in the Women's 4 x 100m Relay Final Friday.

Originally published on Fri August 10, 2012 4:51 pm

Carmelita Jeter made sure everyone understood what Team USA had just accomplished. She pointed toward the digital clock with the baton as it flashed a time of 40.82 seconds.

Jeter, Tianna Madison, Allyson Felix and Bianca Knight had just gotten a gold medal in the 4 X 100m relay and they did so while shattering the world record by a little more than half a second.

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The Torch
3:57 pm
Fri August 10, 2012

Seeing The World Through The Olympic Rings [Infographic]

One of the most thought-provoking infographics of the Olympics has nothing to with sports at all.

Artist Gustavo Sousa of the group Mother London uses only the five rings of the Olympic logo to strip down global statistics and expose disparities across th world's continents.

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The Torch
3:38 pm
Fri August 10, 2012

Gaming The Games: The Rules That Got Bent In London

Credit Adam Pretty / Getty Images
Cameron van der Burgh of South Africa celebrates his gold medal in the men's 100m breaststroke. He later admitted that he took extra dolphin kicks during his swim, a violation of the rules.

Originally published on Fri August 10, 2012 6:06 pm

The London Summer Olympics are winding down, and by most accounts, the games have been a success. There were plenty of "thrill of victory, agony of defeat" moments; big, enthusiastic crowds — although there were too many blocks of empty seats; and for those who like a helping of scandal served up at their Olympics, there was that, too.

It wasn't the usual scourge of doping. Instead, the London Olympics had incidents of bending the rules and ethics of sport.

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It's All Politics
3:30 pm
Fri August 10, 2012

The Next Act For Newt Gingrich? It Could Be A TV Talk Show

Credit David Bundy / AP
Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, accompanied by his wife Callista, speaks at a rally in Montgomery, Ala., on March 7.

Originally published on Fri August 10, 2012 3:55 pm

After serving as speaker of the House, publishing several historical novels and running for president, what's next for Newt Gingrich?

One possible third act, Gingrich told NPR staffers on Friday, could be sharing a television studio with his wife, Callista.

"We're kind of intrigued with the idea of doing a daily show, which would change our lives pretty dramatically," Gingrich said. "But if we do it, we want it to be closer to Regis and Kathie Lee than to Bill O'Reilly or Hardball."

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