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The Two-Way
11:20 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Obama's Played 100 Rounds Of Golf; Which Presidents Beat That?

Credit Chris Kleponis-Pool / Getty Images
Presidents Clinton and Obama during a round of golf last September.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 1:04 pm

On Sunday, President Obama played his 100th round of golf since taking office, according to CBS News' Mark Knoller — the White House press corps' keeper of all sorts of presidential factoids.

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The Two-Way
9:41 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Rodney King: 'What I Had To Do Was Make It Better'

Credit Matt Sayles / AP
Rodney King. (April 13, 2012 file photo.)

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 10:38 am

The death Sunday of Rodney King, the victim of a 1991 police beating in Los Angeles who became a "reluctant symbol of race relations," as the Los Angeles Times says, is prompting many looks back at what happened to him and the Los Angeles riots that followed the 1992 acquittal of the officers involved.

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The Two-Way
8:24 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Reminder: Supreme Court's Decision On Health Care Law Due

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 10:19 am

Update at 10:20 a.m. ET. No Decision Yet:

The court just finished issuing its opinions and other orders for the day. Neither the health care nor campaign finance cases were among them.

So we'll repeat this process on Thursday.

Our original post; "Reminder: Supreme Court's Decision On Health Care Law Due":

What we said last Monday applies again today:

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The Two-Way
8:06 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Webb Simpson Wins U.S. Open; Miami Heat Takes 2-1 Lead In NBA Finals

Credit Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images
LeBron James of the Miami Heat as he went to the basket against the Oklahoma City Thunder during Game 3 of the NBA Finals on Sunday in Miami.

The two sports stories that matter the most this morning:

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Europe
8:02 am
Mon June 18, 2012

In Greece, The Election May Have Been The Easy Part

Credit Andreas Solaro / AFP/Getty Images
Two men read newspaper headlines in Athens on Monday as conservative Greek lawmakers raced to form a government a day after parliamentary elections.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 8:38 am

European leaders and global markets expressed relief after Greek conservatives' narrow parliamentary election victory over leftists who had vowed to ditch the tough austerity terms of an international bailout.

But the next government will have to deal with a polarized society and with widespread anger at wage and job cutbacks that have targeted the middle class and spared an entrenched political and business elite.

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The Two-Way
7:39 am
Mon June 18, 2012

In Egypt, Generals Will Be In Control 'Until October, At Least'

Credit Patrick Baz / AFP/Getty Images
Supporters of Muslim Brotherhood candidate Mohammed Mursi (in portrait) celebrated today in Cairo's Tahrir Square.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 8:26 am

  • NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson on 'Morning Edition'

In Egypt, "it's quite confusing at the moment," as NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson said earlier on Morning Edition.

But she says one things seems clear: Based on the decree they issued this weekend the generals who have effectively been running things since Hosni Mubarak's regime was toppled in early 2011 will be "around and in charge until October, at least."

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Middle East
7:16 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Main Syrian Opposition Group Tries To Unify Factions

The main opposition group in Syria is making a renewed push to unify various strands of the anti-regime movement. The new head of the Syrian National Council wants to broaden the group's appeal, and combat fears that it is dominated by the Muslim Brotherhood.

The Two-Way
7:09 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Market Rally Fades As Investors Turn Attention From Greece To Spain

Credit Daniel Roland / AFP/Getty Images
Frankfurt: A German flag hung today in front of a board displaying the DAX stock index.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 1:19 pm

At midday in New York, Bloomberg News' headline pretty much sums up the story for the markets so far today and their reaction to the news about Sunday's vote in Greece:

"U.S. Stocks Swing Between Gains, Losses Amid Europe Woes."

And this paragraph from Bloomberg's account seems to capture what traders are thinking:

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Around the Nation
7:05 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Will Obama's Immigration Policy Affect Alabama's Law?

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 8:24 am

Friday's announcement by the Obama administration that the U.S. plans to stop deporting some illegal immigrants received mixed reviews in Alabama. That state has one of the most aggressive anti-immigration laws in the country.

Around the Nation
6:45 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Re-Enactors Take On Elvis' Parents' Wedding

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 8:50 am

An Elvis impersonator may be a cliche, but Zac Hutchenson and Chastity Floyd found something original to do. They reenacted the wedding of Elvis Presley's parents over the weekend in Verona, Miss. Back in 1933, Vernon Presley was too young to marry without his parents' permission. So at age 17, he lied about his age, borrowed the cash for a license and wed Gladys Smith.

Around the Nation
6:42 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Taco Bell Hoax Upsets Small Alaska Town

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 7:56 am

The small Alaska town of Bethel has a population of 6,000, and the area can only be reached by boat or plane. Fliers posted throughout the town last week promised a Taco Bell. Sadly, it was what the Anchorage Daily News called "an evil hoax."

Latin America
3:09 am
Mon June 18, 2012

G-20 Leaders In Mexico Concentrate On Euro Crisis

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 10:39 am

President Obama and other world leaders are gathering in Los Cabos, Mexico, on Monday for the G-20 summit. They're hoping to get some assurances that European governments are getting control of their financial problems before they become a further drag on the global economy.

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Revolutionary Road Trip
3:07 am
Mon June 18, 2012

And Now For The Lighter Side Of Egypt's Revolution

Credit John W. Poole / NPR
One of the founders of Egypt's satirical online magazine El Koshary Today, Taha Belal, 28, at the Freedom Bar in downtown Cairo. Since Egypt's revolution last year, political parody has become popular on the Internet.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 9:48 am

NPR Morning Edition host Steve Inskeep is wrapping up his Revolutionary Road Trip, a journey of more than 2,700 miles across North Africa to see how the countries that staged revolutions last year are remaking themselves. Steve and his team have traveled from Tunisia's ancient city of Carthage, across the deserts of Libya, and filed this report from the third and final country, Egypt.

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Europe
3:05 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Locals Fear Venice Becoming 'A Big Shopping Center'

Credit Marco Secchi / Getty Images
A gondola sails in front of the Fondaco dei Tedeschi, which has been sold to Benetton Group. The clothing company plans to convert the Venice landmark into a shopping mall.

Originally published on Wed June 20, 2012 3:45 pm

As Italy tries to fight its way out of a full-blown recession, the state and local governments are coming up with creative — and some say questionable — sources of revenue.

The latest example comes from Venice, where Benetton, the trendy Italian clothing-maker, is poised to put the city's first shopping mall right on the Grand Canal. Residents are up in arms, but officials say deals like these keep the lagoon city afloat.

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Money & Politics
3:04 am
Mon June 18, 2012

'Citizens United' Gets Renewed Scrutiny

Credit Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images
Critics say U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts, shown in 2010, backtracked on previous pledges to give high priority to precedent in the Citizens United campaign finance case.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 9:50 am

As early as Monday, the Supreme Court could decide to revisit its landmark Citizens United ruling of two and a half years ago.

That case gave corporations the green light to spend unlimited amounts in political campaigns. Now, a Montana case could lead the high court to take a second look at Citizens United.

Meanwhile, the role of Chief Justice John Roberts in the case is also raising questions in Congress.

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The Salt
3:03 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Is The Coconut Water Craze All It's Cracked Up To Be?

Credit Jacob Anderson
John Gordon Gauld, a 35-year old artist, bikes with coconut water in New York City.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 12:48 pm

You've probably seen them in the grocery store — cans of coconut water with their come-hither photos of young, green coconuts, tops sheared off, a straw poking out, and blue and green boxes that evoke cool, tropical breezes. Some vendors even sell the real thing. Artist John Gordon Gauld enjoys fresh coconut water when he's thirsty after biking through New York City.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:02 am
Mon June 18, 2012

Consumers Stuck With Murky Sunscreen Labels Another Summer

Credit Benjamin Morris / NPR
Which one of these sunscreens would be considered safe and correctly labeled by the Food and Drug Administration? Not a single one. Safe sunscreens are SPF15 or higher, and the new rules require those with broad-spectrum protection to include the term next to and in the same style as the sun protection factor.

Originally published on Mon June 18, 2012 9:41 am

Anyone who has gone to the drug store knows that the labels on sunscreens can be confusing. The sun protection factor, or SPF, numbers are all over the place. Some say "sunblock"; others says "sunscreen." What's the difference between "waterproof" and "water-resistant?"

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Business
5:28 pm
Sun June 17, 2012

Land, Air And Rail — Summer Travel Has Its Hiccups

Credit Don Ryan / AP
Summer travelers face higher gas prices and what seems like ever-increasing airfares.

Originally published on Sun June 17, 2012 7:05 pm

Across the U.S., temperatures are creeping higher, kids are out of school and the days are longer. This can only mean that summer is upon us.

For many, summer also means travel season. Whether you're traveling by plane, train or automobile for that vacation, you're likely to feel the pinch of rising travel costs.

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Around the Nation
5:03 pm
Sun June 17, 2012

One For The Road: Teen Builds Her Own Pontiac Fiero

Originally published on Sat June 23, 2012 3:45 pm

When 38-year-old Jerry DiMaria isn't on the clock at Central Michigan University, you can usually find him working on his Corvette.

"I guess I've always probably been a little bit into cars, but even as a kid I thought it would be a lot of fun to rebuild a car with my dad," he said.

He never got that chance with his dad, but now he's getting it with his oldest daughter, Kathryn.

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