Around the Nation

Religion

Churches Reconsider Sponsoring Boy Scout Troops

5:23am June 11, 2013

by Kathy Lohr

Some churches have said they will end their affiliation with the Boy Scouts after its decision to allow openly gay members to join. Others, including Southern Baptists, are considering their next move. Another group plans to hold a meeting in Louisville later this month with parents who say they want a more Christian organization for their children.

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Will Surveillance Disclosure Lead To More Oversight Of NSA?

5:23am June 11, 2013

by Larry Abramson

When surveillance laws were revised in 2012, Congress expressed great concerns that without proper oversight intelligence agencies would engage in the sort of monitoring that has been uncovered in recent days. Congress put a number of safeguards in place, but rejected others that would have guarantee more public discussion about what the NSA does.

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National

50 Years After The Equal Pay Act, Gender Wage Gap Endures

8:18pm June 10, 2013

by Yuki Noguchi

President John F. Kennedy signed the Equal Pay Act in 1963 in an effort to abolish wage discrimination based on gender. Half a century later, the Obama administration is pushing Congress to pass the Paycheck Fairness Act, designed to make wage differences more transparent.

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President Bill Clinton with Walter and Leonore Annenberg at the entrance of the historic estate on Feb. 14, 1995.

Sunnylands: Where Movie Stars And Presidents Play (And Work)

5:38pm June 10, 2013

by Ari Shapiro

President Obama heads to the 200-acre California estate on Friday for a meeting with the Chinese president. He'll be the eighth president to visit the former winter home of Walter and Leonore Annenberg. It has also entertained the likes of Bob Hope, Jimmy Stewart and Frank Sinatra.

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National

Opinion Roundup: Edward Snowden And The NSA Leaks

4:07pm June 10, 2013

The man who leaked details of two secret U.S. surveillance programs told The Guardian that he hopes to trigger a national debate about the NSA programs that gathered phone and Internet records. NPR's Neal Conan reads from a range of reaction to the leaks and the motives of the leaker.

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Rail Project At Los Angeles Port Draws Environmentalists' Ire

12:21pm June 10, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

In California, activists and environmentalists are seeking to halt construction of a new $500 million rail yard next to the Port of Los Angeles. Activists say the massive project would mean even more pollution for nearby neighborhoods that already have some of the worst air in the country.

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A National Security Agency data center is under construction in Bluffdale, Utah. When this data center opens in the fall, it will be the largest spy data center for the NSA.

National

Amid Data Controversy, NSA Builds Its Biggest Data Farm

10:01am June 10, 2013

by Howard Berkes

The Utah Data Center, 26 miles south of Salt Lake City, will begin operations in September. Though the NSA director has said it won't hold data on U.S. citizens, privacy advocates worry about the agency's expanding capabilities.

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Deputies Help Deer With Doritos Bag Stuck On Its Head

7:29am June 10, 2013

Sheriff's deputies on patrol in the Florida Keys spotted a deer on the side of a road with an empty bag of Doritos stuck on its head. "It must have wanted the last chip in the bottom," a deputy told the South Florida Sun Sentinel.

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National

Jury Selection To Begin In Trayvon Martin Case

7:08am June 10, 2013

by Greg Allen

In Sanford, Fla., Monday, jury selection begins in the murder trial of George Zimmerman, the Neighborhood Watch volunteer charged with shooting 17-year-old Trayvon Martin in 2012. Police at first declined to charge Zimmerman after the shooting because of Florida's Stand Your Ground law, which gives immunity to people who, fearing for their lives, use deadly force in self-defense.

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Questions Remain After Shooting In Santa Monica

5:39am June 09, 2013

Weekend Edition Saturday Scott Simon talks with NPR's Sam Sanders about Friday's shootings in Santa Monica, Calif. A gunman killed four people, before he was shot by police at Santa Monica College.

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