Shots - Health Blog
4:59 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Small Change In Reading To Preschoolers Can Help Disadvantaged Kids Catch Up

Credit Ricky Carioti / The Washington Post/Getty Images
Kimberly Payton, a teacher at the Small Savers Child Development Center, reads to a group of preschoolers in Washington, D.C., in 2010. Researchers say that teachers who make small changes in how they read to 4-year-olds can improve kids' reading skills later on.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 8:45 pm

On a recent Monday morning in Washington, D.C., a group of 3-year-old preschoolers bumbled their way into a circle, more or less, on the rug of their classroom. It was time to read.

The children sat cross-legged as their teacher, Mary-Lynn Goldstein, held high a book, Don't Let the Pigeon Drive the Bus. There was a short conversation about pigeons, then, for reasons that weren't entirely clear, cows; and then Goldstein began to read. She read as most teachers read, occasionally stopping to ask a question, point out a picture or make a comment about the story.

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The Two-Way
4:52 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Facebook Stock Falls Another 9 Percent

Facebook's stock fell $3.07 to end the day at $28.84. That's first time it's fallen below $30 since the stock went public.

That price is also 24 percent below its opening price of $38.

The Wall Street Journal that the drop had to do with negative sentiment about the stock, as well as the fact that today traders were able to trade on derivatives.

The Facebook stock saw so much trading, the Journal reports, that it triggered Nasdaq's short sale circuit-breaker.

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National Security
4:33 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Watching Big Brother: Privacy Board Delayed

Credit Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images
Homeland Security analysts watch for threats to U.S. technological infrastructure at the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 8:45 pm

Congress is considering legislation allowing the government to search through Internet traffic for early warnings of cyberattacks. The bills are controversial — worries about government surveillance have led to protests online.

The government does have a tool that could calm fears about this kind of legislation — it just doesn't use it.

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It's All Politics
4:26 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Fueled By Outside Money, Ad Blitz Hasn't Stopped For Weary Iowans

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 8:45 pm

From Our Listeners
4:23 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Letters: Organ Donations And Changing Hospitals

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

It's Tuesday and time to read from your comments. Cathy May(ph) in Bigelow, Arkansas heard our conversation about possible compensation for organ donors and wrote: I'm donating a kidney to a friend this coming August. While I don't care to be paid for donating, I would love to be reimbursed from my loss of salary while recovering from the process. It's a great honor to help another person, but it comes at a cost for me.

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American Dreams: Then And Now
4:22 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

On The Economic Ladder, Rungs Move Further Apart

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 8:45 pm

America is the land of opportunity — that's the bedrock of the American dream. Many expect each generation to do better than the last.

That dream of economic mobility is alive and well for Pam Krank and her husband, Brian McGee. The two are proud owners of The Credit Department Inc., a successful business in the Minneapolis suburb of Mendota Heights.

"Mostly manufacturing companies around the world will hire us to study their customers and tell them how much ... unsecured credit they should grant to each customer," Krank explains.

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Music Interviews
4:10 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Why 'Edelweiss' Makes Audra McDonald Think Of Home

Credit Michael Wilson
Audra McDonald is nominated for a Tony Award for her performance in The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess. She tells All Things Considered about the song that started her on her theater journey.

Originally published on Tue June 5, 2012 2:32 pm

It's All Politics
4:03 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

Even After Texas Primary, Romney Will Remain The 'Presumptive' Nominee

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
Mitt Romney campaigns Tuesday in Craig, Colo.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 4:32 pm

At the moment the polls close in Texas Tuesday evening, most media outlets and very likely even the Mitt Romney campaign will declare that he has secured enough delegates to win the Republican nomination for president.

For what it's worth, there are two problems with that statement. First, as a practical matter, Romney actually won the Republican nomination when the other candidates competing for delegates in the primaries and caucuses stopped doing so. That was weeks ago.

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Asia
3:37 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

China, Philippines Face Off Over Remote Islands

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 8:45 pm

Back in early April, a Philippine navy frigate tried to arrest Chinese fishermen accused of poaching sharks and giant clams.

But more is at stake than a boatload of seafood.

Neighboring countries say confrontations like this are growing as China asserts claims to territory well beyond its coastline. And analysts think China is testing America's resolve in the region.

Philippine officials say China still has more than 30 boats in the contested area, which is widely known as Scarborough Shoal, though the Chinese call it Huangyan Island.

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The Two-Way
3:34 pm
Tue May 29, 2012

A 'Macabre' Process: Nominating Terrorists To Nation's 'Kill List'

Credit Pete Souza / White House
President Obama and John Brennan, his top counterterrorism adviser, in the Oval Office on Jan. 4, 2010. Brennan is a key voice about who gets put on the "kill list."

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 8:45 pm

One of the day's most-discussed stories has to be The New York Times' report headlined "Secret 'Kill List' Proves A Test Of Obama's Principles And Will."

It's a long, detailed look at how the president has "placed himself at the helm of a top secret 'nominations' process to designate terrorists for kill or capture, of which the capture part has become largely theoretical."

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