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The Two-Way
7:22 am
Mon May 20, 2013

Book News: J.K. Rowling Tells 'Harry Potter' Backstories

Credit Ben Pruchnie / Getty Images
J.K. Rowling.

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

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The Two-Way
6:52 am
Mon May 20, 2013

Nation's Midsection Braces For More Severe Storms

Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 11:14 am

There's no relief today for folks in the nation's midsection.

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Shots - Health News
3:04 am
Mon May 20, 2013

If Your Shrink Is A Bot, How Do You Respond?

Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 5:19 pm

The Two-Way
6:41 pm
Sun May 19, 2013

Syrian Troops Target Key Rebel-Held Town

Dozens of people are dead in heavy fighting around the Syrian rebel-held city of Qusair where troops loyal to President Bashar Assad are making a strong push.

News reports say as many as 50 people are dead.

NPR's Jonathan Blakley, who is in the Lebanese capital, Beirut, is reporting on the fighting for our Newscast Unit:

"Qusair is a strategically important town that lies between the city of Homs, where the Syrian uprising began two years ago, and the Lebanese border. The area has been under siege for weeks.

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The Two-Way
5:04 pm
Sun May 19, 2013

Two Excerpts You Should Read From Obama's Morehouse Speech

Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
President Obama delivers the commencement address during a ceremony at Morehouse College on Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia.

Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 12:35 pm

President Obama, on Sunday, delivered a rare, very personal commencement address at Morehouse College, the historically black, all-male insitution that is the alma mater of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It was a short speech, but Obama did not shy away from the subjects of race and responsibility. We've embedded video of the address above, but here are two excerpts you should read. They are taken from his prepared remarks:

On Personal Responsibility:

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The Two-Way
3:42 pm
Sun May 19, 2013

North Korea Fires Another 'Short-Range Projectile'

North Korea launched another short-range projectile on Sunday, just a day after they launched three similar objects.

The projectile landed away from neighboring countries in the sea off North Korea's east coast.

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The Two-Way
1:59 pm
Sun May 19, 2013

WSJ: Yahoo Board Approves $1.1 Billion Purchase Of Tumblr

Credit Brad Barket / Getty Images
Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 3:39 pm

The Wall Street Journal has this breaking news from the tech world:

"The Yahoo board has approved a deal to pay $1.1 billion in cash for the blogging site Tumblr."

The Journal, the only outlet reporting the approval, is sourcing its story to "people familiar with the matter." Lauren Armstrong, a Yahoo spokeswoman, told us in an email that they "don't comment on rumors or speculation."

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The Two-Way
11:37 am
Sun May 19, 2013

On Sunday News Shows, Obama Official Plays Defense

Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
President Obama walks across the tarmac to greet well-wishers on Sunday upon his arrival in Atlanta, Ga., where he will attend the commencement at Morehouse College.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 2:24 pm

Talk during the Sunday news shows today focused expectedly on the trifecta of scandals — IRS targeting of conservative groups, the seizure of AP phone records and the attack of the Benghazi consulate — rocking the Obam

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The Two-Way
10:32 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Police Accidentally Killed Hofstra University Student

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 2:00 pm

After analyzing forensic evidence, Nassau County Police in New York said on Saturday that it was a shot fired by an officer that killed 21-year-old Andrea Rebello.

Rebello, a junior at Hofstra University, was being held hostage by a masked gunman who broke into a house she shared with her sister. Police came looking for the man, when he turned a gun on them. The man allegedly had Rebello in a headlock.

CBC News reports that's when an police officer shot eight rounds. Seven hit Dalton Smith, the gunman, and one of them hit Rebello.

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The Two-Way
8:38 am
Sun May 19, 2013

WATCH: David Beckham Tears Up At Final Home Game

The Salt
8:05 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Giant Renaissance Food People Descend Upon New York

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 4:30 pm

It takes a lot of chutzpah to reduce one of the most powerful men on Earth to a pile of fruits and vegetables.

Luckily for art lovers, Giuseppe Arcimboldo had nerve to spare.

Arcimboldo created this unorthodox produce portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II back in 1590. By that time, the Italian artist had been painting for the emperor and his powerful Habsburg family for more than 25 years, so presumably, they'd grown used to his visual jokes. (The emperor has "peachy" cheeks and "ears" of corn, get it?)

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The Two-Way
7:28 am
Sun May 19, 2013

A Lucky Winner In Florida Could Be $590.5 Million Richer

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A customer holds a Powerball ticket and money as he waits in line on May 17, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 8:27 am

If you bought a Powerball ticket in Zephyrhills, Fla., sit down and look at these numbers:

10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and 11.

As the AP reports, lottery officials believe only one ticket matched all six numbers in yesterday's Powerball drawing with a record $590.5 million jackpot.

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The Two-Way
5:09 pm
Sat May 18, 2013

Prominent Pakistani Politician Shot, Killed On Re-Election Eve

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 3:25 am

On the eve of a re-vote, a prominent Pakistani politician was shot and killed on Saturday.

Pakistan's Dawn newspaper reports that Zahra Shahid Hussain, who was the senior vice president of Pakistan's Movement for Justice (PTI), was shot in the head during "an attempted robbery incident."

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The Two-Way
3:14 pm
Sat May 18, 2013

Bashar Assad: A Political Solution In Syria is 'Unreal'

Credit Louai Beshara / AFP/Getty Images
Syrian President Bashar Assad made it clear in an interview with the Argentine newspaper El Clarin that he was not resigning.

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 3:22 pm

Syrian President Bashar Assad essentially dismissed attempts by the United States and Russia to bring the civil war in the country to a political solution.

"Believing that a political conference will stop terrorism on the ground is unreal," Assad said in an exclusive interview with the Argentine newspaper El Clarin. Assad also took the usual stance on a wide range of issues.

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The Two-Way
12:58 pm
Sat May 18, 2013

Afghan Parliament Halts Debate On Women's Rights Bill

Credit Nicolas Asfouri / AFP/Getty Images
A boy holds the burqa of his mother as they walk down a street in the old city of Kabul on November 1, 2009.

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 10:58 pm

After protests from some MPs and after only about 15 minutes, the Afghan parliament halted debate Saturday on a bill aimed at curbing violence against women.

As the BBC reports, the bill would have solidified a law passed by presidential decree in 2009, which banned "violence against women, child marriages and forced marriages."

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