Around the Nation

School Testing Systems Should Be Examined In 2014

7:49am December 26, 2013

Our series on the future continues with a discussion about education. Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep talks to Linda Darling-Hammond, a former adviser to President Obama, who is dismayed to see his administration build on the high-stakes testing requirements introduced by the Bush administration.

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Illinois Man Tries To Profit Off Fake 'Star Trek' Device

7:49am December 26, 2013

An Illinois man was accused of soliciting $25 million from investors for a fictitious device. Named after Dr. McCoy in the science-fiction series, it supposedly delivered medical data like the tricorder on the TV show. Prosecutors said his actions were valid only in another dimension.

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Honest Taxi Driver Named Cabbie Of The Year

7:49am December 26, 2013

We told you on Wednesday about a Las Vegas cab driver who found $300,000 in the back seat. He gave the cash to his dispatcher, and it was returned to the passenger. As Cabbie of the Year, he'll get a $1,000 prize and dinner for two at a swank restaurant.

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Las Vegas Poker Player Reunited With Lost $300,000

7:04pm December 25, 2013

A taxi driver in Las Vegas first thought the brown bag on the backseat contained chocolate. As it turned out, it was filled with something even sweeter. Six thick bundles of $100 bills. The driver handed the bag in to his office which tracked down the passenger, a well-known poker player.

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National

Number Of States Allowing Gay Marriage Expected To Grow

7:04pm December 25, 2013

by Richard Gonzales

More than 38 percent of the U.S. population lives in a state in which same-sex marriage is legal. That's a much more revealing number than the figure usually discussed: 18 states plus Washington D.C. In the coming years, that number is expected to increase dramatically.

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Fans Keep Jimmy Stewart Museum From Closing

7:04pm December 25, 2013

The 1946 Christmas Classic It's a Wonderful Life starring Jimmy Stewart has a miracle ending. An angel named Clarence saves Stewart's character, George Bailey, from suicide. Now, the Jimmy Stewart Museum in Pennsylvania has gotten a reprieve. With few visitors, its doors were about to shut.

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Milwaukee Hopes Cheese Brine Is Cheap Road De-Icer

7:04pm December 25, 2013

Wisconsin knows this well: When you make more than 2 billion pounds of cheese a year it creates the salty byproduct cheese brine. Normally you discard it but folks in Milwaukee had an idea. Why not use that salty stuff to de-ice roads? It might also be better for the environment.

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Administration Extends Health Insurance Deadline Again

7:24am December 25, 2013

A midnight deadline to sign up for health coverage under the Affordable Care Act that starts Jan. 1 has been extended by a day. The White House describes the extension as an effort to accommodate people in different time zones.

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Snow Prints Lead Cops To Hiding Suspect

7:24am December 25, 2013

A man in the Texas Panhandle blundered after allegedly breaking into a vehicle. He doubled back to retrieve the cellphone he left behind. Police tracked him down — not through the GPS data from his phone — but from his footprints in the snow.

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National

In New Hampshire, Christmas Lights Help Welcome New Immigrants

8:02pm December 24, 2013

by Ibby Caputo

Refugees from Iraq, Nepal and the Congo are being introduced to the way Americans celebrate the holidays — and the way Americans consume electricity.

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