Around the Nation

Washington State Now Has Gender-Neutral Laws

7:20am April 24, 2013

The state just completed a six-year effort to rewrite its laws using gender neutral language.Terms like fisherman and freshman were replaced by "fisher" and "first year student." "Penmanship" became "handwriting."

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National

Boston Business Owners Allowed To Return To Bombing Site

7:19am April 24, 2013

by Tovia Smith

In Boston on Tuesday, residents and business owners on Boylston Street were allowed to return for the first time since last week's bombings. They returned to stores with windows blown out, restaurants with the remains of uneaten meals still sitting on tables and barricades to keep the public away from the scene.

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A sign reading "Flying With Angels Krystle Campbell," is seen Monday as a passing MBTA bus with "Boston Strong" displayed on its message board drives through Medford, Mass. A funeral service for Campbell, one of the three people killed in the marathon bom

National

Tsarnaev Charged: Suspected Boston Bomber Accused Of Using WMD

8:07pm April 23, 2013

Surviving suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev has been charged with using a weapon of mass destruction to kill three people and wound more than 200 at the Boston Marathon.

National

Clues Suggest Boston Suspects Took A Do-It-Yourself Approach

8:04pm April 23, 2013

by Tom Gjelten

Investigators are trying to determine if the bombing suspects acted alone. The bombs that exploded at the marathon were simple and similar to ones law enforcement officials come across on a regular basis.

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National

Charges Dropped Against Man Accused Of Sending Ricin Letters

8:04pm April 23, 2013

Authorities have dropped charges against a man accused of mailing ricin-laced letters to President Obama and Congress.

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Volunteer Firefighters: Facing The Flames And The Mundane

4:30pm April 23, 2013

A week after a massive explosion at the West Chemical and Fertilizer Company in West, Texas 14 bodies have been recovered from the area. A number of those killed were volunteer firefighters responding to the scene. Volunteer firefighters represent nearly 70 percent of the country's fire service.

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A Fish and Wildlife Service team caught and killed an alligator after the animal attacked a 6-year-old boy Friday. The boy survived with only incidental wounds.

National

Father Saves Boy From Alligator Attack, With A Stranger's Help

3:05pm April 23, 2013

by Bill Chappell

A 6-year-old boy's day off from school Friday left him with a vivid story to tell his classmates, after he was seized — and eventually released — by an alligator in South Florida. The attack occurred at a wildlife refuge where the boy's father had taken his son for a canoe ride.

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Wanda Rayborn, 63, was homeless for nine years and was living under a tree in downtown San Diego two years ago. She now lives in a newly renovated efficiency apartment — part of an initiative to help get homeless people off the streets.

National

Changes Help San Diego Homeless, But Long Road Remains Ahead

3:05pm April 23, 2013

by Pam Fessler

Advocates for the people living on the city's streets were very skeptical two years ago that much could be done. But some substantial progress has been made since then. Now, as new people turn to the streets, can the county still help?

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Politics & Government

Boston Case Casts Shadow Over Senate Immigration Hearing

3:05pm April 23, 2013

by David Welna

The Senate Judiciary Committee turned its attention back to the immigration overhaul proposal Monday, even as opponents began to use the Boston bombers' journey to the United States as a cautionary tale.

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National

Deciphering Foreign Versus Domestic Terrorism

3:05pm April 23, 2013

Steve Inskeep talks with Karen Greenberg, Director of Fordham University's Center on National Security, about defining terrorism, what it means to call an act domestic versus international terrorism and the political ramifications.

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