Around the Nation

Mayoral candidate Christine Quinn marches in the New York Gay Pride Parade on June 30.

Big Personalities Are Front And Center In NYC Mayoral Race

12:49pm July 12, 2013

by Joel Rose

The race to succeed New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is heating up. City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, a Bloomberg ally, has long been considered the front-runner. But recent polls show the race tightening, with fellow Democrat Anthony Weiner making a strong challenge.

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Calif. City Moves To Freeze Ice Cream Trucks' Music Output

6:56am July 12, 2013

For many kids, the music of ice cream trucks is the sound of summer. For some adults, however, it ruins peace and quiet. The Long Beach City Council has drafted legislation to limit when ice cream trucks can play music.

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National

A Father And Daughter 'Keep The Faith' During Cancer Fight

5:13am July 12, 2013

by NPR Staff

In 2007, 4-year-old Faith Marr was diagnosed with a rare bone cancer. Doctors were uncertain about her chances of survival. Faith and her father, Jerris, talk about how their bond grew stronger during hospital stays when he would "tattoo" her favorite things on her skin and scars.

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Virginia Governor Mired In Controversy Over Gifts, Loans

5:55pm July 11, 2013

by Brian Naylor

Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell, once viewed as having 2016 ambitions, is not having a good year. He's at the center of state and federal investigations involving $145,000 in questionable financial assistance from a political donor whose company McDonnell and his wife took steps to promote. That includes $15,000 to help pay for their daughter's wedding — a disclosure made by the former chef at the Executive Mansion, himself accused of stealing food.

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Former Insurance Exec Offers An Insider's Look At Obamacare

3:59pm July 11, 2013

As we prepare for key provisions of the act to take effect, debate over what the law means persists. Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive and current senior policy analyst for the Center for Public Integrity, explains what will change, what will remain the same, and why he supports ObamaCare.

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Tourists walk across the Badwater Basin, which sits 282 feet below sea level, in Death Valley, Calif., on June 30. People from around the world flock to the area to experience temperatures that rise to the high 120s on a regular basis.

Summer 'Heat Tourists' Sweat With Smiles In Death Valley

11:11pm July 10, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

July 10 is the 100th anniversary of the hottest temperature ever recorded on Earth, and a large crowd is expected in Death Valley to celebrate it. In fact, summer is the area's busiest tourist season. Many of these "heat tourists" come from Europe, eager to feel temperatures they don't get at home.

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The Club for Growth is backing a candidate running against Republican Rep. Mike Simpson (shown in this screen shot from the PrimaryMyCongressman.com site) in Idaho's 2014 GOP primary.

Conservative Group Picks Primary Fight With GOP Incumbent

7:40pm July 10, 2013

by Tamara Keith

The conservative Club for Growth is throwing its weight behind a GOP candidate challenging longtime Republican Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho in 2014. The endorsement grew out of a website the club launched asking voters to suggest Republicans from safe seats who they deem not conservative enough.

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Lawmakers Express Concern About U.S.-Chinese Pork Deal

5:58pm July 10, 2013

by John Ydstie

The Senate Agriculture Committee met Wednesday afternoon to hear testimony about the acquisition of Smithfield Foods by a Chinese company. Smithfield CEO Larry Pope tried to defend the proposed deal, but most committee members made their opposition clear.

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House Republicans Start Crafting Their Own Immigration Bill

5:29pm July 10, 2013

by Audie Cornish

House Republicans huddled behind closed doors to consider their options on immigration on Wednesday. The Senate passed an immigration overhaul that includes a path to citizenship, but conservatives in the House reject the plan.

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Bryan Ulring (left), ranch hand Graham Fulton (right) and Nature Conservancy ecologist Nathan Korb (center) install a pipe on a new well dug for the cattle Ulring manages for J Bar L Ranch. The ranch is working with The Nature Conservancy to try to preser

In Montana Wilds, An Unlikely Alliance To Save The Sage Grouse

1:46pm July 10, 2013

by Christopher Joyce

The chicken-size sage grouse is as much a part of America's Western range as antelopes and cowboys. The birds nest beneath sagebrush, and as it disappears, so do the grouse. Biologists hope to protect the bird without starting a 21st century range war.

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