National

Why the IRS Scandal Is Built To Last

Frank James — Fri, 17 May 2013 23:31:00 +0000

Of all the controversies swirling around the Obama White House, the Internal Revenue Service scandal seems likeliest to have the longest shelf life.

While the Benghazi affair has long been in the news, it's never really taken off as an issue beyond the Republican base.

Meanwhile, the Obama administration's position that national security considerations justified the Justice Department's gathering of journalists' phone records in a leak investigation may be enough to remove fuel from the outrage.

Previously, On Arrested Development

Fri, 17 May 2013 21:48:00 +0000

We wrote down all the recurring gags in every episode (like Lindsay's charities), how they connect to each other, and when they were being foreshadowed (like when Buster lost his hand).

Click for obsessive detail: http://apps.npr.org/arrested-development/

Experts Agree: 'Psychiatry's Bible' Is No Bible

Jon Hamilton — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:07:00 +0000

When the American Psychiatric Association releases its new Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders -- DSM-5 -- this weekend, lots of journalists and commentators will refer to it as "psychiatry's bible."

That's a term that makes the manual's authors and other mental experts cringe.

Michigan LGBT Youth Center Does Outreach With A Dance 'Hook'

Kyle Norris — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:03:00 +0000

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P4M8Av-SnPA

Boston Bombings Prompt Fresh Look At Unsolved Murders

Joel Rose — Fri, 17 May 2013 21:02:00 +0000

An unsolved triple murder in the Boston suburbs is getting a closer look in the wake of the marathon bombings. One of the victims may have been a friend of bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. That's prompting authorities to revisit the 2011 case.

The murders took place in Waltham, Mass. On Sept. 12, 2011, police responded to a house in the leafy suburb a few miles west of Boston.

"They went to the second floor and saw a very graphic crime scene — three dead bodies in the apartment," said Gerry Leone, who was then district attorney for Middlesex County.

Illinois Lawmakers Send Medical Marijuana Bill To Governor

Scott Neuman — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:35:00 +0000

The Illinois Senate has approved a measure to legalize the use of marijuana for medical purposes, sending the bill to the governor for his signature.

The bill would be the strictest in the nation. According to The Chicago Tribune:

"The proposal would create a four-year trial program in which doctors could prescribe patients no more than 2.5 ounces of marijuana every two weeks.

After Deadly Chemical Plant Disasters, There's Little Action

Daniel Zwerdling — Fri, 17 May 2013 19:11:00 +0000

You might think that everything would have changed for the chemicals industry on April 16, 1947. That was the day of the Texas City Disaster, the worst industrial accident in U.S. history. A ship loaded with ammonium nitrate — the same chemical that appears to have caused the disaster last month in West, Texas — exploded. The ship sparked a chain reaction of blasts at chemical facilities onshore, creating what a newsreel at the time called "a holocaust that baffles description."

Or you might think everything would have changed on Dec. 3, 1984.

Up For Discussion: Cost Of Cancer Care Avoided Too Often

Scott Hensley — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:47:00 +0000

When the diagnosis is cancer, the expenses can pile up in a hurry.

Even people with insurance can face steep copayments for drugs, a sizable share of hospital bills and significant incidentals. These side effects of cancer care are sometimes even called "financial toxicity."

So wouldn't it make sense for doctors and patients to talk over the financial strain that cancer treatment might bring and what might be done to manage it?

Well, it's not always easy for patients to bring it up, says S.

Aw-Inspiring Video: Sea Lion Worries When Little Girl Falls

Mark Memmott — Fri, 17 May 2013 18:05:00 +0000

Take a break from the scandal du jour for something that's just darn nice.

A little girl was running in circles at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., this week. On the other side of a window, a sea lion was mimicking her moves — playing something of a game of tag without the tagging part.

Until, that is, the little miss tripped and fell.

Flax Seed: The Next Superfood For Cows And Beef?

Eliza Barclay — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:48:00 +0000

Flax is the oily seed usually spotted in the nutritional supplement or cereal aisles.

Doctors Confirm Black Lung In Victims Of Mine Blast

Howard Berkes — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:47:00 +0000

The tragic deaths of 29 coal miners in a massive explosion in 2010 have provided new evidence of a resurgence of the disease known as black lung.

On Monday, a team of pathologists and lung disease experts will present the results of a detailed study of lung tissue from some of the victims of the Upper Big Bran

Washington Green? State Creates Logo For Legal Pot

Mark Memmott — Fri, 17 May 2013 16:41:00 +0000

T-shirts will surely be made:

Along with draft rules for how to become a licensed grower or seller of marijuana, the Washington State Liquor Control Board this week released the official "icon logo" that will need to be put on packages of pot and "marijuana-infused products sold at retail."

A marijuana leaf inside a circle, and centered over a map of the state, the logo comes in black or green.

Bill Hader On Sketch Comedy, Classic Hollywood

Fri, 17 May 2013 16:39:00 +0000

This interview was originally broadcast on Aug. 22, 2012.

Comedian Bill Hader is adept onstage and doing live TV. But he's scared to death of standup.

He remembers watching Chris Rock's 1996 HBO special, Bring the Pain, and thinking, "I don't know how people do that."

"I need a character," Hader tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross.

Nearly Half The Country Doesn't Know Health Law Exists

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:31:00 +0000

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

I'm Celeste Headlee and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Michel Martin is away. Coming up, we go to Ohio where black business owners are meeting to swap some new ideas. Basketball legend Magic Johnson even got a lead on an investment there. We'll tell you more about that in just a few minutes. But first, House Republicans voted yesterday to repeal President Obama's signature healthcare law - again.

That is the 37th time that they have voted to either repeal or de-fund all or part of that law.

Could The President's Week Get Any Worse?

Fri, 17 May 2013 15:31:00 +0000

Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

I'm Celeste Headlee. This is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Michel Martin is away and it is time yet again for a visit to the Barbershop. That's where the guys talk about what's in the news, what's on their minds.

And sitting in the chairs for a shape-up this week, writer and culture critic Jimi Izrael. He joins us from Chicago. Here in Washington, civil rights attorney Arsalan Iftikhar. Also in D.C. with me, Corey Dade. He's a contributing editor for The Root. And, in New York City, Kevin Williamson joins us.