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It's All Politics
5:15 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Voting Rights Groups Get High Court Win As Bigger Case Looms

Credit Jonathan Gibby / Getty Images
Election Day volunteer Vicki Groff places a sign to direct voters to a polling station at Kenilworth School in Phoenix in 2012.

Advocates of tougher voter registration standards have racked up wins in recent years — voter ID laws have taken hold across the nation, for example.

But those who believe that government should make voting as easy as possible just gained a significant victory with the U.S. Supreme Court's decision slapping down an Arizona law that required potential voters to prove their citizenship.

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The Salt
4:17 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Dirty Spuds? Alleged Potato Cartel Accused Of Price Fixing

Credit iStockphoto.com
Clearly, he's as surprised by the allegations as the rest of us.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 2:09 pm

Editor's Note: Many of you noted that the price for a 10-pound bag of potatoes cited in the lawsuit seems ridiculously high. So we look into the matter further — you can read what we found in this follow-up post.

High-tech spying with satellites. Intimidation. Price fixing.

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The Two-Way
4:15 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Woman Freed In Indiana Was A Convict On Death Row At 16

Credit Lake County PD / AP
Paula Cooper was freed from prison Monday, nearly three decades after being sentenced to death for murder. She's seen here in a 1985 police photo.

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 4:46 pm

Paula Cooper, 43, left prison Monday morning, decades after she became America's youngest resident of death row at age 16. She had confessed to the 1985 murder of Bible studies teacher Ruth Pelke, 78, in Gary, Ind. Cooper's death sentence was commuted in 1989, after widespread appeals for mercy.

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Shots - Health News
4:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

The Human Voice May Not Spark Pleasure In Children With Autism

Credit Rich Pedroncelli / AP
Instructional assistant Jessica Reeder touches her nose to get Jacob Day, 3, who has autism, to focus his attention on her during a therapy session in April 2007.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 9:31 am

The human voice appears to trigger pleasure circuits in the brains of typical kids, but not children with autism, a Stanford University team reports. The finding could explain why many children with autism seem indifferent to spoken words.

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Code Switch
3:12 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

How Do You Teach The Civil Rights Movement?

Credit Jim Bourdier / AP
A protestor is carried away from a demonstration in Jacksonville 50 years ago.

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 7:37 pm

Note: As part of NPR's series on the summer of 1963, reporter Cory Turner headed to Jackson, Miss. to take a look at how folks are teaching the Civil Rights movement to kids who weren't a part of it — and making the lessons stick.

Much has changed in the past 50 years, since the height of the Civil Rights movement. But how do you teach the Civil Rights to kids who haven't ever experienced it? In Jackson, Miss., Fannie Lou Hamer Institute's Summer Youth Workshop tackles that question.

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Television
3:03 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Netflix Partners With Dreamworks To Make Kids' Programming

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Melissa Block.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. Netflix announced a deal today with Dreamworks Animation. The cartoon powerhouse says it will produce 300 hours of original content for the video streaming service. As NPR's Neda Ulaby reports, the deal illustrates some important trends in the medium formerly known as television.

NEDA ULABY, BYLINE: The new Netflix shows can be based on Dreamworks' enormous library of wildly popular characters.

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Shots - Health News
2:40 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

After Long Search, Komen Foundation Replaces Brinker As CEO

Credit Getty Images
Nancy Brinker, founder of the Susan G. Komen for the Cure Foundation, seen at a dinner honoring the recipients of the 2012 Kennedy Center Honors in December.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 7:45 am

The Komen Foundation for the Cure has a new chief executive.

Dr. Judith Salerno, 61, a geriatrician, is replacing Nancy Brinker, the philanthropy's founder and longtime CEO, the group said Monday.

"Judy's years of proven leadership in public policy and research make her the right choice to lead all aspects of Komen's mission," said Linda Custard, chair of the Komen board, in a statement.

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NPR Story
2:26 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

NSA Leaker Snowden Defends Actions In Live Web Chat

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

The man who leaked secret National Security Agency documents, Edward Snowden, defended his decision to reveal details of U.S. surveillance programs in a web chat on Monday. Snowden said he's still in Hong Kong and claims he wouldn't get a fair trial in the U.S. He also said he has not been in contact with the Chinese government and that there are more disclosures to come.

NPR Story
2:26 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

Some Colorado Wildfire Evacuees Briefly Allowed Back Into Homes

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

The Black Forest Fire near Colorado Springs, Colo., has pushed about 4,500 evacuees out of their homes. Police are escorting some of them back in to pick up critical medications or rescue pets.

NPR Story
2:26 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

California Braces For Closure Of San Onofre Nuclear Plant

Originally published on Mon June 17, 2013 3:45 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

In Southern California, the power grid is always a hot topic. It's a part of the country that is all too familiar with the rolling blackouts. And now there is more reason for concern about the region's capacity to generate electricity. The San Onofre nuclear power plant is shutting down for good, thanks to worn-out parts. It's been off-line for more than a year after a pipe was found leaking radioactive steam. At its peak, San Onofre provided power for 1.4 million homes.

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The Two-Way
1:59 pm
Mon June 17, 2013

FTC Can Sue Firms In 'Pay For Delay' Drug Deals, Court Rules

Credit Reed Saxon / AP
The Supreme Court has ruled that the FTC can challenge arrangements between makers of generic drugs and makers of brand-name products such as AndroGel, seen here on a computer monitor screen.

When the maker of a brand-name drug pays a maker of generic drugs to not produce a lower-priced version of their product, the Federal Trade Commission can challenge the arrangement on antitrust grounds, the Supreme Court ruled Monday. The ruling may end the era of what regulators call "pay-for-delay" deals.

The justices voted 5-3 to allow a case to go forward in which the FTC is challenging one of many such deals. Several companies are involved in the case, including Solvay Pharmaceuticals, maker of AndroGel, and generic-drug maker Actavis.

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