News

Mark Consuelos (from left), John Goodman, Clark Johnson and Matt Malloy star as four Republican senators sharing a house in Washington in Alpha House, Amazon's first original series.

Arts

Amazon Opens An Entertainment Door With 'Alpha House'

8:07pm November 15, 2013

by Eric Deggans

The online retailer is premiering its first original show — a comedy about four senators bunking together in D.C. NPR's Eric Deggans says the series, which stars John Goodman, isn't quite the sharp comedy you might expect from creator Garry Trudeau.

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David (Will Forte, left) and his father, Woody (Bruce Dern, center), take time out of their quixotic journey to stop in Woody's small Nebraska hometown — where Woody's old business partner, Ed (Stacy Keach), is still nursing a grudge.

Arts

Across 'Nebraska,' On A Journey That Goes Beyond The Trip

5:47pm November 15, 2013

by David Edelstein

Critic David Edelstein calls the film, in which an elderly man sets out to claim a million-dollar sweepstakes prize, a "superb balancing act" from director Alexander Payne.

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New York City subway conductor Paquita Williams (left) and passenger Laura Lane became friends after a two-hour train breakdown.

National

Making New Connections On A Trapped Subway Train

12:37pm November 15, 2013

by NPR Staff

Laura Lane was heading to work when her train got stuck. Conductor Paquita Williams was soon walking through the cars, putting passengers at ease in the darkness. Laura was so impressed with how Paquita handled the two-hour ordeal, she wanted to learn more about her.

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The plate on the left contains about equal numbers of colonies of two different bacteria. After the bacteria compete and evolve, the lighter ones have taken the lead in the plate on the right.

Bacterial Competition In Lab Shows Evolution Never Stops

10:49am November 15, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

Day after day, workers at Michigan State University care for and feed colonies of evolving bacteria. The original microbes have produced more than 50,000 generations in the 25 years since the experiment began. Despite predictions the bacteria might someday reach a point where they would evolve no more, the results show they keep changing.

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Health & Safety

Medicare Penalizes Nearly 1,500 Hospitals For Poor Quality Scores

10:49am November 15, 2013

by Jordan Rau

Medicare has tied incentive payments and penalties to two-dozen quality measurements, including surveys of patient satisfaction and death rates. More than 1,200 hospitals are receiving bonuses. But more hospitals are being paid less for each Medicare patient they treat for the year that began Oct. 1.

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Cricket fans holding an Indian national flag cheer in front of a billboard of superstar cricketer Sachin Tendulkar outside a stadium in Mumbai on Thursday. India's favorite son dominated the sport for nearly a quarter of a century. Now, that fabled career

End Of An Era: India's Greatest Cricketer Begins Final Match

2:25am November 15, 2013

by Julie McCarthy

Combine the records of baseball legends Babe Ruth, Hank Aaron and Pete Rose, and that approximates what India's most revered sportsman, Sachin Tendulkar, achieved on the cricket field during his fabled 24-year career. The ascent of the sport's superstar coincided with the rise of the new India.

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Author Roald Dahl stands with his wife, American actress Patricia Neal, and their newborn daughter, Lucy, outside their home in Buckinghamshire, England, in August 1965. Roald Dahl died in 1990.

Books
Arts

Roald Dahl Wanted His Magical 'Matilda' To Keep Books Alive

10:26pm November 14, 2013

by NPR Staff

For many young readers, Dahl is a beloved author. But to Lucy Dahl, he's also Dad. "Matilda was one of the most difficult books for him to write," she says. "I think that there was a deep genuine fear within his heart that books were going to go away and he wanted to write about it."

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A dog burial in Greene County, Ill. This fossil dates back to about 8,500 years ago.

Science

Old Dogs, New Data: Canines May Have Been Domesticated In Europe

8:34pm November 14, 2013

by Nell Greenfieldboyce

A study of DNA extracted from wolf and dog fossils suggests that ancient wolf populations in Europe are the direct ancestors of most modern-day domestic dogs. The study suggests wolves became dogs between 18,800 and 32,100 years ago, before the start of agriculture.

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An Afghan farmer collects raw opium as he works in a poppy field in Nangarhar province on April 29. Poppy cultivation reached a record high this year despite Western efforts to reduce it.

World News

Afghan Farmers: Opium Is The Only Way To Make A Living

8:33pm November 14, 2013

Opium poppy cultivation has hit a record level, according to a new U.N. report. Western countries have been trying to eradicate the poppies for years. Yet it remains the single largest economic sector in places like the southern province of Helmand.

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A Lyft driver in San Francisco drops off a passenger as a taxi passes by. The smartphone app lets city dwellers hitch rides from strangers.

For Ridesharing Apps Like Lyft, Commerce Is A Community

7:34pm November 14, 2013

by Sonari Glinton

Services where regular people use their cars to take passengers to their destinations have found a foothold in the smartphone age. And for many participating in this sharing economy, the appeal is in more than just the cost savings or convenience.

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