Asia
11:41 am
Mon December 10, 2012

Hunger Still Haunts North Korea, Citizens Say

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 5:44 pm

While North Korea has long struggled with dire food shortages, the United Nations now assesses its food situation as being the best in many years. But NPR has had unusual access to five North Koreans in China, who paint a dramatically different, and alarming, picture.

Even as North Korea mourned its leader Kim Jong Il last December, one surprising thing was on people's minds: fish. State-run television showed people lining up in shops; the dear leader's last wish, apparently, was to provide fish to his people.

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The Two-Way
11:20 am
Mon December 10, 2012

Navy SEAL Killed During Afghan Rescue Is Identified

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 5:44 pm

The member of Navy SEAL Team 6 killed during this weekend's rescue in Afghanistan of an American doctor was Petty Officer 1st Class Nicholas Checque, 28, of Monroeville, Pa.

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Opinion
11:11 am
Mon December 10, 2012

Op-Ed: We Need Some Taboo Words

Originally published on Thu December 13, 2012 11:31 am

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

And now, The Opinion Page. Many reporters and editors turn to the "AP Stylebook" to answer questions on grammar, punctuation and usage, so it's news when words are purged. Last month, The Associated Press announced the elimination of Islamophobia, homophobia and ethnic cleansing from next year's stylebook, a decision Chicago Tribune syndicated columnist Clarence Page calls a linguistic blow for blandness. Now, there are a few words so offensive that they're beyond the pale: the N word, the F word.

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Africa
11:08 am
Mon December 10, 2012

The U.S. Role In Egypt's Battle For Democracy

Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi authorized the military to secure the country ahead of a controversial referendum on a draft constitution — a move that some compared to martial law. The opposition is split over what to do — vote down the constitution or boycott the vote altogether.

NPR Story
11:01 am
Mon December 10, 2012

K'Naan On Cheapening His Music To Make It Rich

Credit Alberto E. Rodriguez / Getty Images
Somali-Canadian rapper K'Naan released his first album in 2005.

Originally published on Thu December 13, 2012 11:30 am

Somali-born rapper and musician K'naan became a success based, at least in part, on gritty stories from his childhood in war-torn Mogadishu. But on his most recent album, Country, God, Or the Girl, the edginess of past songs has been replaced with a polished pop sound and lyrics directed to a young American audience.

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The Picture Show
10:35 am
Mon December 10, 2012

A Black And White 1860s Fundraiser

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 2:05 pm

They look like any other 19th century vignettes and portraits of children kneeling in prayer or cloaked in the U.S. flag.

But these cartes de visite (a calling card with a portrait mounted on it that was all the rage during the 1860s) featured Charles, Rebecca and Rosa — former slave children who looked white.

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Health
9:42 am
Mon December 10, 2012

Healthy Families Transition Timeline Stays on Track, Despite Concerns

California Governor Jerry Brown’s administration says it will start moving about 860,000 children in the Healthy Families program into Medi-Cal on January 1st. But as Pauline Bartolone reports from Sacramento, state lawmakers and doctors want them to slow down.

Democratic Senate Leader Darrell Steinberg sent a message to the administration last week.  

“Do not make the actual transition unless you are assured that the child who has a doctor and sees a doctor under one program – HF’s – will be able to have ready access to a doctor when they’re shifted.”

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The Two-Way
9:27 am
Mon December 10, 2012

Many Apps For Children Still Raise Privacy Concerns, FTC Says

Credit Peggy Turbett / The Plain Dealer /Landov
Who's collecting information about her?

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 5:44 pm

Developers of smartphone and tablet apps aimed at children have done little in the past year to give parents "the information they need to determine what data is being collected from their children, how it is being shared, or who will have access to it," the Federal Trade Commission reports.

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Author Interviews
9:09 am
Mon December 10, 2012

Lemony Snicket Dons A Trenchcoat

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 10:53 am

It's been more than six years since Daniel Handler, aka Lemony Snicket, concluded his enormously popular 13-volume young adult series, A Series of Unfortunate Events. Now Handler has revived the Snicket narrator in his YA novel Who Could That Be at This Hour?

The book is the first of a series — All the Wrong Questions — and a prequel to A Series of Unfortunate Events. It tracks the young Snicket's adventures during his apprenticeship at the V.F.D., a mysterious organization that readers familiar with the Snicket stories will recognize.

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Africa
9:00 am
Mon December 10, 2012

Trying To Reform Nigeria Amid Family Kidnapping

Originally published on Mon December 10, 2012 9:46 am

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

We want to turn now from Ghana to Nigeria, where there is disturbing news. The mother of Nigeria's finance minister, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, was kidnapped this weekend. Police say they've launched a massive search to find her.

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