National

Obama To Pick New Pentagon, CIA Leaders

9:01am January 13, 2013

Counterterrorism adviser John Brennan is expected to be chosen as CIA director. And it's expected that Chuck Hagel will be announced to replace retiring Defense secretary Leon Panetta at the Pentagon.

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Journalist Andy Humm interviews Manford at a gay pride march in Queens in 1993.

National

Jeanne Manford: A Mother First, Gay Rights Activist Second

10:32pm January 12, 2013

by Lily Percy

Jeanne Manford broke ground by speaking up for her son's rights as a gay man in the 1970s. She would go on to found the national support group Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays, better known as PFLAG. She died this week at the age of 92.

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Using touchscreens, visitors decide how they would make wartime choices.

World War II Exhibit Asks Visitors, 'What Would You Do?'

12:08pm January 12, 2013

by Elizabeth Blair

The National WWII Museum in New Orleans presents a range of real-life scenarios that give visitors a sense of the ethical — and often dangerous — decisions soldiers and civilians were forced to make during the war.

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Businesses Sue Government Over Birth Control Mandate

8:07pm January 11, 2013

by Julie Rovner

Religious groups were among the first to object to a requirement that employers' health plans provide free birth control. But some companies have also objected, saying the mandate violates their religious freedom, too.

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The Food and Drug Administration, which must approve all new tobacco products or any changes to existing brands, has not cleared any products since assuming that responsibility in 2009.

Cigarette Makers Frustrated As Product Approvals Stall

7:28pm January 11, 2013

by Debbie Elliott

The Food and Drug Administration must review all new tobacco brands, and changes to existing ones, under a 2009 law giving the agency jurisdiction over tobacco. But the FDA has yet to approve any products under the new system, leaving some cigarette makers frustrated with the pace.

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Georgia Power's coal-fired steam-turbine electric generating Plant Bowen in Euharlee, Ga., seen in 2009. The utility is planning on shuttering 15 coal- and oil-fired generating units at its facilities.

Coal Loses Crown As King Of Power Generation

6:31pm January 11, 2013

by Elizabeth Shogren

A Georgia utility's announcement that it will shutter coal-powered generators in the coming years is part of a national trend of shifting to natural gas. One key factor is low gas prices, fueled by a boom in shale gas production.

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Obama: U.S. Forces Will Transition To Support Role In Afghanistan

6:11pm January 11, 2013

by Jackie Northam

Afghan President Hamid Karzai and President Obama discussed future U.S.-Afghanistan relations and the withdrawal of U.S. forces on Friday.

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Parents leading a revolt to take over an elementary school say it has failed their children. From left: Cynthia Ramirez with her son, Mason; Doreen Diaz; Bartola DelVillar; and Kathy Duncan.

In California, Parents Trigger Change At Failing School

3:18pm January 11, 2013

by Claudio Sanchez

Parents in Adelanto have used a "parent-trigger" law for the first time to shut down and take over an elementary school. It's a revolt led by parents who say Desert Trails has failed their children, but others say it's not the school's fault.

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No, this isn't worth $1 trillion. It's a commemorative coin minted in the U.K. in 2008. But some have suggested the president's image should be on it if he orders up a $1 trillion coin.

Crazy Or Canny? Talk Grows About $1 Trillion Platinum Coin

1:15pm January 11, 2013

by Mark Memmott

In theory, some say, President Obama could have a $1 trillion coin made and that would head off the next big battle over the federal government's debt ceiling.

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Diane Tells His Name, 61, grew up unaware of her Native American identity. When she discovered the truth in her late 30s, she adopted a child from her Lakota tribe, Bonnie Buchanan.

National

Mother To Daughter: 'That's When I Knew I Was Adopted'

8:35am January 11, 2013

by NPR Staff

Diane Tells His Name was 37 when she discovered she was adopted as a child. Rather than feeling anger or sadness, she embraced the opportunity to discover her Native American roots and eventually adopted a child of her own.

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