Around the Nation

Record Could Hinder Confirmation Of Civil Rights Nominee

7:12am January 08, 2014

by Carrie Johnson

The Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday considers President Obama's nominee to enforce civil rights at the Justice Department. Debo Adegbile will need to overcome the opposition not only of voter fraud activists but also the Fraternal Order of Police.

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It's So Cold That Hell Freezes Over

7:12am January 08, 2014

That would be Hell, Mich., where temperatures fell to minus 13 degrees, and even colder with the windchill. It's due to warm up there Tuesday to a balmy high of 16 degrees.

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Millions Forced To Cope With Frigid Weather

6:56am January 08, 2014

by Cheryl Corley

The coldest temperatures in years and gusty winds that blasted the Midwest are expected to travel as far south as Brownsville, Texas, and Central Florida. The arctic air has caused temperatures to drop 20 to 40 degrees below average in several states and forced businesses and schools to close.

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Blowing Bubbles And Other Cold Weather Experiments

6:56am January 08, 2014

Morning Edition listeners test the physics of extreme cold with some home-made science experiments.

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Detroit Barber Fails To Break Haircut Record

6:56am January 08, 2014

It's actually not that surprising that Detroit barber Brian 'B-Dogg' Price didn't get enough volunteers to help him break the record for most haircuts in one hour. The current record is 34. Would you like a haircut that took less that two minutes?

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Owner Of Confiscated Raccoon Runs For Tenn. Governor

6:56am January 08, 2014

Mark Brown's raccoon Rebekah was confiscated after he posted videos of him dancing and showering with his pet. Tenn. law prohibits keeping native animals captured in the wild as pets. Brown tried but failed to get the law changed.

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Health Care Costs Grew More Slowly Than The Economy In 2012

4:55pm January 07, 2014

by Julie Rovner

Health care costs grew at 3.7 percent in 2012, the fourth year of a trend of smaller annual increases. The Obama administration says that the Affordable Care Act is a factor. But the actuaries who wrote the report beg to differ, saying the recession is a more likely cause.

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To help cut down on fraud, Congress is limiting access to the Social Security Administration's data about people who die in the United States each year.

Tighter Access To 'Death Master File' Has Researchers Worried

10:51am January 07, 2014

by Brian Naylor

The Social Security Administration has long kept track of deaths so it can stop checks when recipients die. And while researchers have used the file for years, fraudsters have, too. So Congress is limiting access to the data — and that has everyone from bankers to genealogists concerned.

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Forest Service May Try To Recoup Rim Fire Costs With Logging

4:27pm January 06, 2014

by Nathan Rott

The U.S. Forest Service has proposed a large salvage logging operation in the area affected by last year's historic Rim Fire, which burned 410-square miles of California's Sierra Nevada. The proposal is meeting stiff opposition from environmental groups who say the land is better left untouched.

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Kids, Don't Try This At Home

11:08am January 06, 2014

A New Hampshire girl learned the hard way: Don't lick anything metal. Maddie Gilmartin, 12, wondered what would happen if she touched her tongue to the flagpole in her front yard. Anyone who has seen A Christmas Story knows how that turned out.

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