National

How Diplomatic Engagement With North Korea Could Proceed

6:25pm November 29, 2017

On Tuesday, North Korea launched what the Pentagon says is the country's third ICBM test of the year. NPR's Robert Siegel speaks to Suzanne DiMaggio of New America and Joel S. Wit from the US-Korea Institute at Johns Hopkins University about diplomatic engagement with North Korea.

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Supreme Court Hears Case On Cellphone Location Information

6:25pm November 29, 2017

by Nina Totenberg

In politics it's usually conservatives who attack liberals for being soft on crime. Those roles seemed at least partially reversed today at the Supreme Court, where justices heard an important case examining whether police need a search warrant to get cell phone site location information from wireless carriers.

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National

Minnesota Public Radio Cuts Ties With Garrison Keillor After Alleged Inappropriate Behavior

6:25pm November 29, 2017

by Elizabeth Blair

Minnesota Public Radio has ended its business relationships with host Garrison Keillor following alleged inappropriate behavior. A well-known voice in public media, Keillor's "The Writer's Almanac" and "The Best of A Prairie Home Companion" will no longer be broadcast.

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Trump Visits Missouri To Tout GOP Tax Overhaul Bill

6:25pm November 29, 2017

by Scott Horsley

President Trump traveled to Missouri to tout the GOP tax overhaul bill as a boon for the middle class. But analysts say the bill mostly benefits the wealthy.

What The Law Of War Says About Nuclear Strikes

6:25pm November 29, 2017

by David Welna

Two Air Force generals — one the current U.S. Strategic Forces commander, the other his predecessor — declared publicly this month that they would defy a presidential nuclear launch order if they found it violated the Law of War. So what are the Law of War's constraints are on a nuclear strike and could it be a plausible check on President Trump's unilateral power to launch a nuclear strike?

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Harvard graduate student Jack Nicoludis (right), who helped organize a campus protest on Wednesday, says the House tax bill would more than double his taxes. "This plan is going to be disastrous for higher ed," he says.

University Graduate Students Walk Out To Protest Tax Plan That Hurts Them

6:25pm November 29, 2017

Grad students around the country walked out of classes, office hours, and research labs to protest the House tax plan. Many who are already struggling financially said the bill would hit them hard.

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Bacterial cells can now read a synthetic genetic code and use it to assemble proteins containing man-made parts.

Scientists Train Bacteria To Build Unnatural Proteins

6:25pm November 29, 2017

by Richard Harris

Bacteria engineered with an expanded genetic alphabet can produce novel proteins, which could lead to the development of new drugs.

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Keystone Spill Likely Caused By Construction Damage, Investigators Say

6:24pm November 29, 2017

by Merrit Kennedy

The leak was initially estimated to have released some 210,000 gallons of crude. Federal investigators say that they now have an "unconfirmed lower spill estimate," without specifying how much.

An Amazon Echo, circa 2015, perched on a table beside a lamp. Not pictured: the actual Amazon Echo referenced in the case against James Bates.

National

Arkansas Prosecutors Drop Murder Case That Hinged On Evidence From Amazon Echo

6:20pm November 29, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

The government had charged James Bates with murder and sought recordings made by his personal assistant device. But the evidence ultimately was deemed to support more than one reasonable explanation.

Gold Trader Reza Zarrab Agrees To Cooperate With U.S. In Sanctions Evasion Case

5:10pm November 29, 2017

by Ryan Lucas

A sanctions-evasion trial in New York that has proven a major irritant in U.S.-Turkish relations just got more interesting. One of the accused Reza Zarrab, a Turkish-Iranian gold trader, has agreed to cooperate with U.S. prosecutors, raising the possibility that he might reveal connections in the scheme that could extend to the highest reaches of the Turkish government.