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The Two-Way
3:00 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Manhattanhenge: The Sun, The City And A Special Rendezvous

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 3:08 pm

At sunset tonight Manhattan's grid will match up perfectly with the sun, producing a dazzling, golden display on each one of the city's streets.

It happens twice a year and it's been termed "Manhattanhenge," coined by Neil DeGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium at the Museum of Natural History.

NPR's Margo Adler sent this report for our Newscast unit:

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The Two-Way
2:02 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Pentagon Denies Special Forces Deployment In North Korea

Credit David Guttenfelder / AP
North Korean leader Kim Jong Un stands next to senior military leaders during a ceremony in honor of his father, Kim Jong Il and grandfather, Kim Il Sung in Pyongyang.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 2:05 pm

Yesterday, a short piece in a Japan-based foreign affairs magazine caused a lot of surprise: U.S. Special Forces have parachuted into North Korea "to spy on Pyongyang's extensive network of underground military facilities," The Diplomat reported.

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The Two-Way
1:54 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

No Way She'll Run For Senate In 2016, Michelle Obama Says

Credit Ethan Miller / Getty Images
First lady Michelle Obama.

The New York Times' Frank Bruni floated the idea, saying he'd heard "a vague murmuring" about Michelle Obama running for the Senate from Illinois in 2016.

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It's All Politics
12:38 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Hmm. The 2012 Election Reminds Me Of Something

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 4:50 pm

It's the sort of question you toss out to a table full of politics buffs — sharing a pitcher of cold beer. (We'll provide the aficionados; you imagine the table and the cold pitcher.)

Which presidential election in American history most resembles the coming election between President Obama and Mitt Romney — and why?

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The Two-Way
12:31 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Wrigley The Goat Aims At Cubs' Curse; Xiao Sa The Dog Races Across China

Credit Facebook.com/CrackTheCurse
Wrigley, the goat that is.

If a goat walks about 2,000 miles from Arizona to Chicago can that "reverse the curse" that has plagued the Cubs for nearly 67 years?

Odd as that question sounds, it's about to be put to the test.

Five Cubs fans and a goat have just finished a three-month walk from Mesa, Ariz., to the Windy City and are due at Wrigley Field this afternoon when the Cubs host the San Diego Padres.

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The Two-Way
12:31 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

IMF's Christine Lagarde, Who Chastised Greek Tax Evaders, Pays No Taxes

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde.

The International Monetary Fund's boss, Christine Lagarde, made a lot of Greeks very angry with an interview she gave The Guardian on Friday.

Essentially, Lagarde said she has very little sympathy for the Greeks and that if they want to solve their financial problems they should just pay their taxes.

Here's what she told the paper exactly:

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Planet Money
12:28 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Who Decides Whether This 26-Year-Old Woman Gets A Lung Transplant?

Credit Chana Joffe-Walt / NPR
A message from Ashley Dias.

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 3:24 pm

This is the first of two stories we're doing this week on organ transplants. See the second story, What Air Traffic Can Teach Us About Kidney Transplants

Ashley Dias, 26, is waiting for lungs. She has cystic fibrosis and needs a lung transplant to survive. She's got a tracheostomy tube in her neck so she can only mouth out words.

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Around the Nation
11:54 am
Tue May 29, 2012

The Fine Line Between Protecting Safety And Rights

New Orleans reportedly has the highest murder rate per capita in the U.S. Trying to make the city safer involves walking a fine line between safety, regulation, and constitutional rights. Host Michel Martin continues her conversation with Mayor Mitch Landrieu, who says he's trying to make his city safer for all residents.

Around the Nation
11:54 am
Tue May 29, 2012

Understanding New Orleans' Murder Epidemic

The murder rate in New Orleans has consistently been well above the national average. But Mayor Mitch Landrieu is searching for answers to change that. He speaks with host Michel Martin about his five-step plan to lower the murder rate, his plans to reform the police department, and being mayor of a city in recovery.

The Two-Way
10:56 am
Tue May 29, 2012

'Flame' Malware Said To Be Targeting Iran: Huge Deal Or Huge Hype?

Credit AFP/Getty Images
An undated screen grab, released by the Kaspersky Lab, showing some of the programming behind Flame.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 3:44 pm

Word from the antivirus experts at Kaspersky Lab that "we've found what might be the most sophisticated cyber weapon yet unleashed," and that this Flame spyware is targeting Iran and some places in the Middle East, is getting lots of attention this morning:

-- "Massive Cyber-Attack Discovered, Researchers Say." (BBC News)

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Shots - Health Blog
10:54 am
Tue May 29, 2012

Psychiatric Manual May Soon Include 'Gambling Disorder'

Credit iStockphoto.com
Problem gambling could be labeled a psychiatric disorder before long.

Can someone actually be hooked on a behavior, like gambling?

Problem gambling isn't considered a true addiction in medical circles. But that may change as psychiatrists revise the diagnostic manual that spells out criteria for more than a dozen varieties of mental disorders.

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The Two-Way
10:16 am
Tue May 29, 2012

On Second Thought, Maybe Consumer Confidence Isn't That High

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 10:45 am

Last week, the researchers who put out the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan Survey of Consumers said their index rose in May to "its highest level since October 2007" — before the last recession began.

But when it comes to economics, there always seem to be an "on the other hand" moment coming — especially when the economy appears to be at a turning point.

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The Two-Way
9:21 am
Tue May 29, 2012

Home Prices Haven't 'Turned,' But Some Edged Up As Quarter Ended

Credit Paul Sakuma / AP
A "sold" sign earlier this year in Palo Alto, Calif.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 9:41 am

Home prices slipped further in the first quarter, according to the widely watched S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices. It reports that:

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The Salt
9:01 am
Tue May 29, 2012

How Do Your Dinnertime Rules Compare To The Obamas'?

Credit Pete Souza / The White House
The Obamas host a Passover Seder for family, staff and friends at the White House on April 6.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 5:27 pm

If you listen to the Morning Edition interview with first lady Michelle Obama, you'll know she's come out with a new book about the White House garden.

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The Two-Way
8:45 am
Tue May 29, 2012

How Do You Spell Precocious? 6-Year-Old Spelling Bee Contestant Would Know

The National Spelling Bee gets going Wednesday and the story that's got everyone buzzing is about the youngest competitor in the contest's history: 6-year-old Lori Anne Madison from Woodbridge, Va.

She is, as Washington's WJLA-TV says, a "precocious little girl" who "is anything but ordinary" and will be on stage with others twice her age.

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The Two-Way
8:06 am
Tue May 29, 2012

Italy Rocked By Second Deadly Quake

Credit Pierre Teyssot / AFP/Getty Images
Two police officers in Mirandola try to comfort a woman after today's earthquake in Northern Italy.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 9:25 am

The Two-Way
7:39 am
Tue May 29, 2012

Good News: Beryl Weakened. Better News: It Drenched Parched Areas

Credit National Weather Service
A National Weather Service radar image of Beryl early this morning. It was stretching from North Florida into Georgia.

As residents in Northeast Florida give thanks that Tropical Storm Beryl did relatively little damage over the weekend and did not develop into a hurricane, they're also grateful that it brought rain to an area plagued by drought.

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The Two-Way
7:13 am
Tue May 29, 2012

Most Victims Of Friday's Massacre In Syria Were Executed, U.N. Says

Credit AFP/Getty Images
Saturday: In this picture provided by the Syrian opposition's Shaam News Network, people watch the mass burial of victims from Friday's violence in Houla.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 3:42 pm

"The U.N. said Tuesday that entire families were shot in their homes during a massacre in Syria on Friday that killed more than 100 people, including children," The Associated Press reports. And as nations around the world have reacted this morning to news about the atrocities, they're expelling Syrian diplomats in protest.

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Asia
6:42 am
Tue May 29, 2012

Dog Follows Cyclists For 1,100 Miles

A team of long-distance cyclists was traveling across China, and they fed some chicken feed to a small stray dog. That little white canine followed them for 20 days, 1,100 miles and over 12 mountains. One cyclist started a blog about the dog and it's attracted 40,000 followers.

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