Around the Nation

Association Warns Of A Possible Clown Shortage

11:03am February 18, 2014

The head of a clown organization told the New York Daily News that clowns "just aren't cool anymore." Rubber noses and rainbow wigs just can't compete for young talent with tech startups and Wall Street.

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Woman Arrested For Not Returning Movie Rental

11:03am February 18, 2014

A copy of Monster-In-Law, rented in 2005, is at the center of a story that landed a South Carolina woman in jail for a night. Kayla Michelle Finley, 27, ended up spending a night at the county jail before posting a $2,000 personal recognizance bond and being released.

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Partial Verdict Reached In Fla. Gas Station Shooting

9:27pm February 15, 2014

Arun Rath speaks with NPR's Greg Allen about the verdict reached this evening on Michael Dunn's murder charges in the 2012 killing of a teenager in a Jacksonville gas station parking lot.

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Tenn. Workers Vote To Reject Union At VW Plant

1:13pm February 15, 2014

Workers at the VW plant in Chattanooga have dealt a blow to organized labor in the South. NPR's Scott Simon speaks to reporter Blake Farmer about the close vote.

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Kelly Mottershead and Louie Okamoto held a beach party last October for their wedding ceremony in Carmel, Calif.

National

Walking Down The Widening Aisle Of Interracial Marriages

1:13pm February 15, 2014

by Hansi Lo Wang

One in 10 opposite-sex marriages in the U.S. are between spouses of different races or ethnicities. At more than 5.3 million, their numbers have increased 28 percent since 2000, according to the Census Bureau.

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Virginia's Ban On Gay Marriage Is Struck Down

7:18am February 14, 2014

U.S. District Judge Arenda L. Wright Allen has ruled Virginia's same-sex marriage ban is unconstitutional. Steve Inskeep talks to Mark Herring, Virginia's attorney general, about the ruling.

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L.A.'s Metro Red Line Plays Cupid

7:18am February 14, 2014

Passengers interested in speeding dating can wear pink wristbands and board cars adorned with red hearts. After two minutes, they're free to find a new seatmate. Or, if the mini-date really goes off the rails — they can get off and wait for the next train.

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Father And Daughter Serve Detention Together

7:18am February 14, 2014

A third-grader student was late and got detention in Plainfield, Ill. Her father said since he brings her to school, he should do the time. The school declined his offer — instead they'll serve time together.

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National

The Ins And Outs Of Local IDs

7:58pm February 13, 2014

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio is announcing a plan to implement local IDs regardless of legal status. To learn how local IDs have worked in other places, Robert Siegel speaks with Patricia Sollami Covello, clerk of Mercer County, N.J. They discuss the community ID program that Mercer County began in 2010.

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Regardless Of The Weather, Don't Put Your Tongue On A Pole

7:29am February 13, 2014

After thousands of showings of A Christmas Story, you know not to stick your tongue to a metal pole in winter. But it's happened again. In Easthampton, Mass., a middle school student's tongue really did freeze.

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