National

Obama Again Calls For Balanced Plan For Cuts

12:33pm February 19, 2013

President Obama spoke Tuesday about the impacts of deep spending cuts scheduled to take effect March 1. With a group of first responders in uniform standing behind him in the White House, he said if Congress doesn't stop the cuts, responders won't be able to help communities respond to disasters.

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Vernon Hugh Bowman lives outside the small town of Sandborn, Ind.

National

Farmer's Fight With Monsanto Reaches The Supreme Court

8:35pm February 18, 2013

by Dan Charles

On its surface, the case is about whether farmers can use seeds derived from patented crops. But the bigger question is, how much control does a company have over its patented products once they're in the hands of consumers?

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Todd Macy, a banker from Marin County, Calif., was the victim of identity theft. Nearly a year after filing his return, he's still waiting for his federal tax refund.

What Happens When Someone Else Gets Your Tax Refund

6:27pm February 18, 2013

by Dan Bobkoff

If you usually wait until April to file your taxes, you might want to hurry up — before identity thieves beat you to it. Using stolen names and Social Security numbers, these criminals file fake tax returns. This generates big, and fraudulent, refunds, before the real taxpayer gets around to filing.

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National

Hints Of Progress After Investigation At Guantanamo Court

7:52am February 18, 2013

by Dina Temple-Raston

A pretrial hearing in the Sept. 11 case was suspended briefly last week to investigate allegations of eavesdropping. The commissions' chief prosecutor launched an investigation, and said no one was "listening, monitoring, recording" the proceedings. Defense attorneys seemed to take his word, which given the history of the commissions, is a baby step toward progress.

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Oregon State University has been growing a variety of hazelnut trees over the years to develop blight-resistant breeds.

Growing Resistance, Oregon Hazelnuts Battle Blight

6:42am February 18, 2013

by Deena Prichep

Carefully developed breeds are overpowering Eastern filbert blight, which had threatened to crush the U.S. hazelnut industry.

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STAR-certified physical therapist Jennifer Goyette works with cancer patients at South County Physical Therapy in Westborough, Mass.

Cancer Rehab Begins To Bridge A Gap To Reach Patients

6:42am February 18, 2013

by Rachel Gotbaum

Cancer patients often have to deal with side effects from their treatments. They may need speech therapy or help rebuilding their strength. The STAR program is helping break down the barriers to rehabilitation services.

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A Union Pacific freight train passes over a grade crossing in Elmhurst, Ill.

National

High-Speed Rail Buzz Overpowers Daily Chug Of Freight Trains

7:12pm February 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

President Obama reiterated his goal of bringing America up to speed with new high-speed rail projects nationwide. Meanwhile, the freight-rail systems are still helping farmers keep costs down and getting their crops out. Any new kind of rail expansion would have to take these long-established networks into account.

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Rami Nashashibi, fourth from left, claps as he marches with IMAN leaders during a May Day immigration rally in Chicago in 2007.

From The Inner City: Leading A New Generation Of Muslim Americans

5:03pm February 16, 2013

by NPR Staff

If Chicago is a stronghold of American Islam, then Rami Nashashibi might be considered one of its most precocious proponents. On Chicago's South Side, his group, the Inner-City Muslim Action Network, works to end violence and improve residents' living conditions.

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Wooden angels memorialize the victims of Adam Lanza's shooting spree in Newtown, Conn., last December. An upcoming Frontline documentary seeks to provide new details about Lanza and his mother, Nancy.

National

The 27th Victim: Nancy Lanza Is Subject Of 'Frontline' Documentary

8:13pm February 15, 2013

The documentary Raising Adam Lanza seeks a more complete view of Nancy Lanza and her son, a young man who was described as smart and awkward as a teen — and who later killed 27 people in Newtown, Conn. The documentary is built on the work of PBS Frontline and The Hartford Courant.

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Daniel Riscoe, Jenna Hart, Anthony Chau and Caroline Lloyd (all students from the Peddie School in Hightstown, N.J.) carry donated Christmas trees across Island Beach.

After Sandy, Not All Sand Dunes Are Created Equal

5:04pm February 15, 2013

by Adam Cole

In New Jersey, thousands of discarded Christmas trees have dodged the wood chipper and hit the beach instead. They're being used to jump-start new dunes, but scientists warn that these man-made dunes could be less sturdy than dunes that form naturally.

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