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Shots - Health Blog
2:57 am
Mon July 30, 2012

Magnets May Pull Kids With Sunken Chests Out Of Operating Room

Originally published on Mon July 30, 2012 6:24 am

You may not have heard of pectus excavatum — or "sunken chest," as it's commonly known — but there's a good chance you know someone who was born with it.

It's the most common deformity of the chest wall, affecting roughly one in 500 people — boys much more often than girls. And while sunken chest can be corrected with surgery, the procedure is invasive and very painful. Many families won't do it.

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Health
2:56 am
Mon July 30, 2012

Cheer Up, It's Just Your Child Behind The Wheel

Credit iStockphoto.com
When it comes to learning how to drive, your teen is probably as harried as you are. Research shows that scare tactics meant to instill caution, though, are less effective than kind words.

Originally published on Mon July 30, 2012 1:41 pm

One rite of passage most teenagers look forward to and parents dread is learning how to drive. Car crashes are the No. 1 killer of teens by far, on the order of five times more than poisoning or cancer. Does that mean you should scare the daylights out of teens to encourage safe driving? Traditional driver education classes tend to do exactly that, with gruesome videos and photos of fatalities and smashed-up cars.

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The Aurora Theater Shootings
2:50 am
Mon July 30, 2012

Murder Charges Expected In Aurora Hearing

Originally published on Mon July 30, 2012 3:17 pm

Authorities will file formal charges in the Aurora, Colo., theater shootings Monday. It's widely assumed that prosecutors will file dozens, if not more than a hundred, first-degree and attempted murder charges against 24-year-old James Holmes, the lone suspect in the July 20 attack.

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Politics
5:36 pm
Sun July 29, 2012

Eye On The Jewish Vote, Romney Commits To Israel

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney places a prayer note as he visits the Western Wall in Jerusalem on Sunday.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 11:58 am

Speaking from Israel on Sunday, presumptive GOP nominee for president Mitt Romney said that he would respect the nation's "right to defend itself" against Iran. He said the United States also has "a solemn duty and a moral imperative" to prevent Iran from creating nuclear weapons.

Romney's trip and his speech are typical of presidential candidates, who every four years work to outdo one another when it comes to credentials on Israel and U.S. relations with the Jewish state.

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World
4:12 pm
Sun July 29, 2012

Cars For Clunkers: Myanmar Swaps Old Rides For New

Nowhere are the many recent reforms in Myanmar, also known as Burma, so evident as on city streets. Until this year, they were often choked with ancient jalopies because for most of the past half century ordinary Burmese citizens weren't allowed to purchase imported cars.

But the country's car import policies are now undergoing a lurching sort of liberalization, whose speed, quirks and unintended consequences offer a window on Myanmar's reforms.

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Music
1:42 pm
Sun July 29, 2012

Olympic Mashups Make The Mood In London

Originally published on Sun July 29, 2012 4:12 pm

You might not be able to hear it on television, but in the Olympic stadiums and arenas of London over the next weeks, games-watchers will be treated to some exclusive new tracks from world-renown mashup artist Jordan Roseman, better known as DJ Earworm.

"Out of the blue, there was an email," Roseman tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz. "They wanted these mixes."

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The Torch
1:10 pm
Sun July 29, 2012

Olympic Flame Missed From London Skyline

Originally published on Sun July 29, 2012 1:51 pm

Enduring symbols of the Olympics are everywhere in London, and I'm not just talking about ATMs for Visa, a ubiquitous Olympic sponsor.

The five Olympic rings grace every wall, walk, sign, banner and building in and around the Olympic Park and other venues.

But the Olympic flame, the other most recognizable symbol of the Olympics, is invisible to all but a relative few.

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It's All Politics
11:32 am
Sun July 29, 2012

Cheney: Picking Palin Was A 'Mistake'

Credit Bill Pugliano / Getty Images
"I like Gov. Palin," Cheney told ABC News in an excerpted interview on Sunday. But she wasn't ready to be vice president, he said.

Originally published on Tue July 31, 2012 7:46 am

Former Vice President Dick Cheney is calling Sen. John McCain's choice of Sarah Palin as his running mate in 2008 a "mistake."

In an excerpted interview with ABC News' This Week on Sunday, Cheney said it's important that Romney not repeat the fumble. The list of potential VP picks is a big one, he says, but there's a shorter list, too:

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The Two-Way
10:29 am
Sun July 29, 2012

Heavy Weapons Pound Syrian Rebels As Nations Accuse Each Other

Credit Pierre Torres / AFP/Getty Images
A Free Syrian Army fighter looks out from the window of a burnt-out police station in Aleppo after it was overrun by rebel fighters last week.

Originally published on Sun July 29, 2012 10:39 am

Fighting continues in Aleppo, Syria's largest city on Sunday while accusations of meddling – and pleas to meddle more – are flying on the international stage.

According to Guardian correspondent Luke Harding, reporting from Aleppo province, the rebels are holding their own but are ultimately outmatched against government forces using heavy weaponry. He quotes a rebel commander who "was relatively pessimistic about the Free Syrian Army's chances of fending off repeated attacks":

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The Torch
10:27 am
Sun July 29, 2012

Empty Seats Have Olympic Committee Playing Defense

Credit Carl Court / AFP/Getty Images
Empty seats and spectators are pictured during the dressage event of the eventing competition at the London 2012 Olympic Games in Greenwich Park, London on Sunday.

Today, London Olympic organizers find themselves beating back insults like serves in a gold medal table tennis match.

On Day 1, there were empty seats at wildly popular events like beach volleyball and gymnastics. And even at the Aquatics Center, where Ryan Lochte smoked everybody in the men's 400 individual medley.

Fans who would've gladly paid the exorbitant ticket prices were fuming. British politicians worried that the empty seats made the country look uninterested.

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The Torch
9:53 am
Sun July 29, 2012

Surprises: American Gymnast Weiber Fails To Qualify; Marathoner Radcliffe Injured

Credit Thomas Coex / AFP/Getty Images
U.S. gymnast Jordyn Wieber performs on the beam during the women's qualification of the artistic gymnastics event of the London Olympic Games on Sunday.

Originally published on Sun July 29, 2012 10:17 am

Two big disappointments this morning: American gymnast and defending world champion Jordyn Wieber failed to qualify for the all-around finals.

The AP reports that it was nonetheless a great day for other Americans, who are favorites for gold:

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