National

National

For Pulitzer-Winning Critic Roger Ebert, Films Were A Journey

8:20pm April 04, 2013

by Cheryl Corley

He was a print journalist initially, but Ebert's "thumbs up" TV critiques were just as influential as his essays, and he later carved out a prodigious digital presence. Ebert died Thursday after struggling for years with cancer. He was 70 years old.

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Gun rights supporters rally at the Oregon Capitol in February.

Oregon Weighs Own Gun Measures After Mall Shooting, Newtown

8:20pm April 04, 2013

by Chris Lehman

The measures include a ban on guns in schools and criminal background checks for private gun sales. They follow a shooting at a crowded shopping mall in a Portland suburb just days before the massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Connecticut.

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Demonstrators from the Fast Food Forward rally protest Thursday outside a Wendy's restaurant in New York City.

National

NYC's Fast-Food Workers Strike, Demand 'Living Wages'

8:20pm April 04, 2013

by Joel Rose

Fast-food workers in New York City are on strike for the second time in six months, demanding higher wages that they can live on. Workers complain that $7.25 an hour, New York's current minimum wage, is not enough to live in the city.

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National

The Least Bad Options For Guantanamo Bay

5:46pm April 04, 2013

At the Guantanamo Bay detention center, 166 prisoners remain detained. U.S. officials say nearly a fourth of the captives are on hunger strike, though lawyers for the prisoners say the strike is more widespread. Meanwhile, President Barack Obama has re-declared his desire to close the facility.

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Geoff Nunberg says a good definition extends to the past as well as the present: It's not just about what "marriage" has come to mean; it's all the word has ever meant.

National

Even Dictionaries Grapple With Getting 'Marriage' Right

2:12pm April 04, 2013

by Geoff Nunberg

Lexicographers know they're in the hot seat as they confront the changing use of the word "marriage." Linguist Geoff Nunberg says the key to getting the new definition right is to crisply describe everything that's in the category and nothing that isn't.

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Spilled crude oil is seen in a drainage ditch near evacuated homes near Starlite Road in Mayflower, Ark., on March 31. An Exxon Mobil pipeline carrying Canadian crude oil was shut off after it ruptured March 29, causing an evacuation of 22 homes.

Arkansas Oil Spill Sheds Light On Aging Pipeline System

10:45am April 04, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

More than half of the nation's pipelines were built before 1970. In fact, ExxonMobil's Pegasus pipeline, which burst Friday in Mayflower, Ark., is 65 years old. According to federal statistics, pipelines have on average 280 significant spills a year. Most aren't big enough to make headlines.

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A Letter On Finding A Husband Before Graduation Spurs Debate

10:12am April 04, 2013

by Jeff Brady

A Princeton University alumna advised young women studying at her alma mater to find husbands now and not wait. Susan Patton's letter set off a heated discussion, but she stands by her words.

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The Hunt Is On For A New FBI Director

5:11am April 04, 2013

by Carrie Johnson

Robert Mueller has been the U.S. government's indispensable man when it comes to national security. When his 10-year term as FBI director expired, the Obama administration asked Congress for an unprecedented two-year extension. But now, the clock is ticking on finding his successor.

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National

Obama Highlights Colorado's Action On Gun Control Legislation

8:50pm April 03, 2013

President Obama was in Denver on Wednesday to rally support for gun control laws. Colorado has stepped up on both background checks and ammunition magazines, and Democrats there fear backlash next year.

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Colo. Gun Laws Offer Inspiration, Cautionary Tale For Obama

8:42am April 03, 2013

by Scott Horsley

The president is trying to regain traction for federal gun control measures by visiting states that are moving forward on their own. Today he speaks in Colorado, where public outrage in the wake of mass shootings helped propel new legislation — and where opponents are promising political payback.

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