The Two-Way
7:41 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Pentagon Is Prepping Defenses Against Iran, 'Wall Street Journal' Reports

One of this morning's scoops, from The Wall Street Journal:

"The Pentagon is building a missile-defense radar station at a secret site in Qatar and organizing its biggest-ever minesweeping exercises in the Persian Gulf, as preparations accelerate for a possible flare-up with Iran, according to U.S. officials."

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Around the Nation
7:34 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Don't Try This At Home: Gun As A TV Remote

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 12:17 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Salem, Oregon police say a man turned off his TV using a different kind of remote - he was playing with a gun. He aimed the laser scope at the TV and pulled the trigger and discovered the gun was loaded. Nobody was hurt but neighbors called police about the bullet that came through their wall.

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The Two-Way
7:26 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Drought In U.S. Now Worst Since 1956; Food Prices To Spike, Economy To Suffer

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 5:16 pm

With about 55 percent of the continental U.S. suffering from "moderate to extreme drought" conditions the nation is withering under conditions that haven't been this bad since 1956, according to a new report from National Climatic Data Center.

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Election 2012
5:26 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Romney, Obama Keep Up Campaign Sniping Attacks

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 12:17 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning.

Here's what's happening in the presidential race. Republican Mitt Romney is attacking President Obama for cronyism. Romney contends that Obama campaign donors got alternative energy grants.

MONTAGNE: Romney is trying to return to the offensive after being slammed over his own record. President Obama and his campaign have been questioning Romney's business background.

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Television
4:48 am
Tue July 17, 2012

There's Room For Nice On Reality TV

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 12:17 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Businesspeople with a conscience like to recycle an old saying. They say they like to be doing well by doing good.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

They like to make money by helping people. It's a nice idea for a business, but not always a great formula for TV drama.

INSKEEP: The makers of "Breaking Bad" showcase another business formula - a man who's been diagnosed with cancer becomes a drug dealer to support his family. He's doing well by doing bad.

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Business
4:48 am
Tue July 17, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 12:17 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Today's last word in business could be several things: abundance mentality or win-win.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Or maybe sharpening the saw. Those are all aspects of "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People." The author of that business Bible died yesterday. Stephen Covey was 79.

MONTAGNE: He wrote "The 7 Habits" in 1989. Years later, Covey appeared on this program. He was asked what skills of leader should have.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED INTERVIEW)

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Business
4:48 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Silicone Valley Firm To Help UVA Expand Oline Courses

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 12:17 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And we're here next about a new educational partnership with Silicon Valley. It's what the University of Virginia. You may recall last month, UVA's board of governors fired and then rehired President Teresa Sullivan. One reason some board members say they called for her ouster in the first place was that she had not moved quickly enough to expand the university's online courses. That has prompted new initiative being announced today, as NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports.

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Business
4:48 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Tech World Star Marissa Mayer To Head Google

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 5:11 pm

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And in Silicon Valley, the buzz is the latest hire by Yahoo. Marissa Mayer is the new CEO. Yahoo lured the 37-year-old away from Google, were she was one of that company's most prominent executives. She studied computer science at Stanford, was hired on as employee number 20 at Google, and as NPR's Steve Henn reports, she is something of a rock star in the tech world.

STEVE HENN, BYLINE: For years the rap on Yahoo has been: this company lacks focus.

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Business
4:48 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Business News

Originally published on Tue July 17, 2012 12:17 pm

Europe's largest bank allowed drug cartels to launder billions of dollars through its U.S. operations, and skirted bans against transactions with Iran. Those are among the findings of a Senate investigation of London-based HSBC. Executives from the bank are in Washington for a hearing on the probe.

Shots - Health Blog
3:05 am
Tue July 17, 2012

Deciding On Truvada: Who Should Take New HIV Prevention Pill?

Credit Richard Knox / NPR
Kevin Kirk (left) and James Callahan have been together for more than five years. Recently they sat down and talked about whether Kevin, who is HIV-negative, might want to start taking Truvada.

Originally published on Sat July 28, 2012 11:05 am

There's something new to prevent HIV infections.

The Food and Drug Administration on Monday approved a once-a-day pill that can drastically lower a person's risk of getting the virus that causes AIDS.

It's called Truvada — the first HIV prevention pill.

It's not cheap — around $13,000 a year — and it's not clear what insurers will pay for it. And there's worry that people taking the pill might relax safe-sex precautions.

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