Around the Nation

Believe In Fortune Cookie Predictions? After This, You Might

7:58am July 25, 2013

The next time you open a fortune cookie, you might want to give its message careful consideration. When William Johnson of Southwick, Mass., saw that his cookie's message predicted he would win a lot of gold, he decided it was time to buy a lottery ticket — and he won the million-dollar prize.

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George H.W. Bush Shaves Head In Support Of Ill Toddler

7:58am July 25, 2013

Former President George H.W. Bush shaved his head to show support for the son of one of his Secret Service agents. Patrick, 2, lost his hair from leukemia treatments. Bush and his wife lost a 3-year-old daughter to leukemia nearly 60 years ago.

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Homer Bell's family: sister Laura Bell (from left), sister Regina Bell, mother Rosalind Scott and stepfather Jack Wilcox.

How A Family Copes With Schizophrenia And Suicide

7:21pm July 24, 2013

by Jeff Cohen

Serious mental illness can take a toll — not only on the person experiencing the symptoms but on family members, too. The Bell family still struggles with the loss of Homer, their son and brother, who recently killed himself after living with schizophrenia for 30 years.

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National

'Bat Cave' Road In Chicago Accessible To Only A Few

7:21pm July 24, 2013

by Cheryl Corley

In Chicago, there's a 2.5 mile roadway that the city's mayor calls the "Bat Cave." It's been around for more than a decade but it's more secret than public. The mini-highway was designed to ferry conventioneers to Chicago's massive McCormick Place convention hall. It's also a favorite of politicians with just the right amount of clout. Now, some want taxis to have access too.

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Buffett in a pinto bean field on the Arizona farm, where he grew 60,000 pounds of beans for a Tucson food bank in 2012. Another goal of Buffett's research farm is to find better crops for poor subsistence farmers.

National

Howard Buffett Battles Hunger, Armed With Money And Science

11:12am July 24, 2013

by Pam Fessler

Warren Buffett's son, Howard, is using his foundation, stocked with $2 billion of his father's money, to address hunger in the U.S., as well as globally. He's trying to use his farming experience to help farmers be more productive and to get more food into the hands of those who need it most.

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Laws Tightening Abortion Rules Gain Traction In States

6:31pm July 23, 2013

by Kathy Lohr

Texas is one of several states that have passed laws tightening standards for clinics and doctors who provide abortions. Proponents say the laws make the procedure safer. But abortion rights advocates say the tightened requirements are unnecessary and driven by ideology, not safety concerns.

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National

Weiner Says He Won't Drop Campaign For NYC Mayor

6:19pm July 23, 2013

Disgraced former Congressman Anthony Weiner is apologizing again after the publication of still more lewd messages and photos that Weiner exchanged online with a woman who is not his wife. But Weiner says he is not dropping his campaign for mayor of New York City.

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Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas broke barriers and became a White House fixture, but her famous bluntness caused her downfall in the end.

Veteran Journalist Helen Thomas Leaves An Outspoken Legacy

3:09pm July 23, 2013

by David Folkenflik

In her long career, Thomas broke barriers and became a White House fixture — but her famous bluntness caused her downfall in the end. She died Saturday morning at the age of 92.

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Tuthilltown Spirits in New York makes a clear corn whiskey, and the first legal aged whiskey in the state since Prohibition, among other products.

New York Toasts Long-Awaited Revival Of Its Distilleries

11:30am July 23, 2013

by Joel Rose

In the unregulated heyday before Prohibition, distilleries in New York produced whiskey, gin, rum and other spirits. Then the industry was all but wiped out for the next 80 years. But state laws regulating distilling have been loosened and now dozens of new distilleries have sprung up.

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Politics & Government

Political Reporters Hit The (Bike) Trail In Iowa

7:37am July 23, 2013

David Greene speaks with NPR's Don Gonyea, Scott Horsley and Brian Naylor about The Des Moines Register's Great Bicycle Ride Across Iowa. The three reporters are riding in the event, also known as RAGBRAI, to explore the Iowa they didn't see on the presidential campaign trail.

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