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Around the Nation
5:17 am
Wed May 30, 2012

Syria's Honorary Consul In California Resigns

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 7:02 am

The U.S. and several governments worldwide have expelled Syrian diplomats in a coordinated protest against last weekend's massacre of more than 100 civilians in the village of Houla. The diplomatic fallout has spread to California, where Syrian Consul General Hazem Chehabi announced his resignation from the post. For more on his decision, Renee Montagne talks to Chehabi.

Race
5:17 am
Wed May 30, 2012

With One Wish, Banishing Memories Of Jim Crow

Originally published on Thu May 31, 2012 7:39 am

As the sun beams down, Dorothy Flood, 75, stands on the steps of the Royal Gorge Route Railroad train, smiling like a 1940s movie star.

"Right there! Then turn around, right there!" photographers call out, jockeying to snap her picture. "Here we go, count of three — one, two and three!"

And with a tip of his cap, a porter offers Flood his hand, and her "Wish Of A Lifetime" begins.

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Around the Nation
5:17 am
Wed May 30, 2012

Obama Awards Medal Of Freedom To 12 Honorees

President Obama awarded the nation's highest civilian honor, the Medal of Freedom, to a dozen people Tuesday. The list of names include astronaut John Glenn, former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and musician Bob Dylan.

Remembrances
5:17 am
Wed May 30, 2012

Self-Taught Folk Music Icon Doc Watson Dies At 89

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 5:06 pm

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

A treasure of American folk music has died. Doc Watson passed away yesterday in Winston-Salem, North Carolina at the age of 89. He was born in Deep Gap, North Carolina, in the Blue Ridge Mountains in a three room house that he shared with eight brothers and sisters. During a long and productive career, he revolutionized not just how people play guitar but how people around the world think about mountain music. NPR's Neda Ulaby has this remembrance.

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Architecture
3:17 am
Wed May 30, 2012

Forget Big-Box Stores. How About A Big-Box House?

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 5:17 am

When it comes to architecture, sustainability and affordability can mean many things: Salvaged wood becomes new flooring, old newspapers are shredded into insulation.

But a few architects are taking green building one step further: creating entire homes and businesses out of discarded shipping containers — an approach some have dubbed "cargotecture."

Approximately a quarter-million shipping containers pass through Oregon's Port of Portland each year. These are big boxes — 40 feet long and weighing thousands of pounds.

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The Salt
12:45 am
Wed May 30, 2012

Nuclear Tuna Is Hot News, But Not Because It's Going To Make You Sick

Credit Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP/Getty Images
A Tokyo sushi restaurant displays blocks of fat meat tuna cut out from a 269kg bluefin tuna.

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 5:17 am

What snarky headline writer could resist a story about "hot tuna?" Or how about "tuna meltdown?"

Really, it seems just plain daffy to ignore a new study that says some Pacific bluefin tuna picked up traces of radioactive material from the Fukushima nuclear disaster last year and brought it across the Pacific Ocean.

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Sweetness And Light
10:02 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

In Europe's High Season For Sports, Soccer Rules

Credit Sergei Supinsky / AFP/Getty Images
Larger Than Life: Tourists pose in front of a UEFA Euro 2012 Cup placard on Kiev's Independence Square in Ukraine. Europe is entering a packed sports schedule — but soccer still reigns supreme, says Frank Deford.

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 8:04 am

It's a prime irony that while Europe is suffering a great financial crisis, in counterpoint, the Continent is starting to spend the summer awash in a veritable plethora of joyous sporting events, a rolling athletic circus to divert Europeans from Angela Merkel telling them to get serious and tighten their belts.

Now, as is the case every summer, there are two Grand Slam tennis championships — the French Open, which is already under way, and Wimbledon. Then the Tour de France and British Open golf.

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Shots - Health Blog
7:29 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Counterfeiters Exploit Shortage To Market Fake Adderall Pills

Credit FDA/Flickr
If the label of ingredients on the Adderall pack says "singel entity," that's a tip-off for trouble.

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 8:48 am

A shortage of Adderall began last year, sending millions of people with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy on perpetual wild goose chases to find drugstores with the pills they need to stay alert and focused.

So it's not surprising that Adderall counterfeiters have seized a big marketing opportunity. What is surprising is their clumsiness.

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