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5:25pm

Sun May 19, 2013
Parallels

Young Kenyans Build Mobile Apps For Local Use

You're out navigating the jammed sidewalks of Kenya's capital city when you suddenly realize you're in desperate need of a toilet. You crane your neck over the crowds, vainly seeking a McDonalds, a Starbucks — no such luck. What next?

There could be an app for that. Twendeloo, which is Swahili for "Let's Go to the Loo," would allow you to use your phone to locate the nearest public restroom in Nairobi's business district, then give it a rating for cleanliness.

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5:04pm

Sun May 19, 2013
The Two-Way

Two Excerpts You Should Read From Obama's Morehouse Speech

Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
President Obama delivers the commencement address during a ceremony at Morehouse College on Sunday in Atlanta, Georgia.

President Obama, on Sunday, delivered a rare, very personal commencement address at Morehouse College, the historically black, all-male insitution that is the alma mater of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

It was a short speech, but Obama did not shy away the subject of race and responsibility. We've embedded video of the address above, but here are two excerpts you should read. They are taken from his prepared remarks:

On Personal Responsibility:

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4:58pm

Sun May 19, 2013
Around the Nation

Boom Or Bust? Saving Rhode Island's 'Superman' Building

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 5:47 pm

Credit Steven Senne / AP
The iconic Industrial Trust Tower, knows as "The Superman building," stands in downtown Providence, R.I. The Art Deco-style skyscraper, the tallest in the state, lost its last tenant when the bank's lease expired in April.

Rhode Island is home to beautiful beaches, top-notch universities and a thriving arts scene. Beneath the surface, however, the state faces challenges similar to other parts of the country: shrinking revenues, lost jobs and general economic malaise.

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4:48pm

Sun May 19, 2013
Music Interviews

Deke Sharon Makes A Cappella Cool Again

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 5:48 pm

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Deke Sharon performs on the Chinese edition of The Sing-Off in 2012.

4:09pm

Sun May 19, 2013
Author Interviews

Unacceptable Anger From 'The Woman Upstairs'

Credit iStockphoto.com

The main character of Claire Messud's novel, The Woman Upstairs, is a good woman. Nora is a 37-year-old elementary school teacher — responsible, kind and reliable. She is also very, very angry.

Her dreams of being an artist have been suppressed; she is seething inside with rage and resentment. But she keeps her anger in until she meets another woman who has everything she does not: a husband, a child and a successful art career. And then everything begins to unravel. As Nora's relationship with the woman and her family deepens, her inner life begins to come out.

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4:09pm

Sun May 19, 2013
Movies I've Seen A Million Times

The Movie Katie Aselton Has 'Seen A Million Times'

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 4:58 pm

The weekends on All Things Considered series Movies I've Seen A Million Times features filmmakers, actors, writers and directors talking about the movies that they never get tired of watching.

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3:42pm

Sun May 19, 2013
The Two-Way

North Korea Fires Another 'Short-Range Projectile'

North Korea launched another short-range projectile on Sunday, just a day after they launched three similar objects.

The projectile landed away from neighboring countries in the sea off North Korea's east coast.

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1:50pm

Sun May 19, 2013
The Two-Way

WSJ: Yahoo! Board Approves $1.1 Billion Purchase Of Tumblr

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 1:59 pm

Credit Brad Barket / Getty Images
Yahoo President and CEO Marissa Mayer.

The Wall Street Journal has this breaking news from the tech world:

"The Yahoo board has approved a deal to pay $1.1 billion in cash for the blogging site Tumblr."

The Journal, the only outlet reporting the approval, is sourcing its story to "people familiar with the matter." Lauren Armstrong, a Yahoo spokeswoman, told us in an email that they "don't comment on rumors or speculation."

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11:37am

Sun May 19, 2013
The Two-Way

On Sunday News Shows, Obama Official Plays Defense

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 2:24 pm

Credit Mandel Ngan / AFP/Getty Images
President Obama walks across the tarmac to greet well-wishers on Sunday upon his arrival in Atlanta, Ga., where he will attend the commencement at Morehouse College.

Talk during the Sunday news shows today focused expectedly on the trifecta of scandals — IRS targeting of conservative groups, the seizure of AP phone records and the attack of the Benghazi consulate — rocking the Obam

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10:32am

Sun May 19, 2013
The Two-Way

Police Accidentally Killed Hofstra University Student

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 2:00 pm

After analyzing forensic evidence, Nassau County Police in New York said on Saturday that it was a shot fired by an officer that killed 21-year-old Andrea Rebello.

Rebello, a junior at Hofstra University, was being held hostage by a masked gunman who broke into a house she shared with her sister. Police came looking for the man, when he turned a gun on them. The man allegedly had Rebello in a headlock.

CBC News reports that's when an police officer shot eight rounds. Seven hit Dalton Smith, the gunman, and one of them hit Rebello.

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8:38am

Sun May 19, 2013
The Two-Way

WATCH: David Beckham Tears Up At Final Home Game

8:05am

Sun May 19, 2013
The Salt

Giant Renaissance Food People Descend Upon New York

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 11:46 am

It takes a lot of chutzpah to reduce one of the most powerful men on Earth to a pile of fruits and vegetables.

Luckily for art lovers, Giuseppe Arcimboldo had nerve to spare.

Arcimboldo created this unorthodox produce portrait of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolph II back in 1590. By that time, the Italian artist had been painting for the emperor and his powerful Habsburg family for more than 25 years, so presumably, they'd grown used to his visual jokes. (The emperor has "peachy" cheeks and "ears" of corn, get it?)

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7:18am

Sun May 19, 2013
The Two-Way

A Lucky Winner In Florida Could Be $590.5 Million Richer

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 8:27 am

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A customer holds a Powerball ticket and money as he waits in line on May 17, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

If you bought a Powerball ticket in Zephyrhills, Fla., sit down and look at these numbers:

10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and 11.

As the AP reports, lottery officials believe only one ticket matched all six numbers in yesterday's Powerball drawing with a record $590.5 million jackpot.

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6:54am

Sun May 19, 2013
From Our Listeners

Three-Minute Fiction: 'Ten Ring Fingers' And 'Ghost Words'

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 8:08 am

Credit iStockphoto.com

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Ten Ring Fingers by Tamara Breuer of Washington, D.C., and Ghost Words by Matheus Macedo of Winthrop, Mass. You can read their full stories below and find other stories on our Three-Minute Fiction page or on Facebook.

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6:07am

Sun May 19, 2013
Parallels

Russian Lawmakers: Don't Criticize Soviet Actions In WWII

Credit Yuri Kadobnov / AFP/Getty Images
A column of Russia's T-90 tanks rumbles over the cobblestones in Moscow's Red Square on May 9 during the country's Victory Day parade celebrating the anniversary of its costly victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

World War II remains a monumental event in the collective Russian mind. It's known as the "Great Patriotic War," and Russians believe no one made greater sacrifices than the Soviet Union when it came to defeating Nazi Germany.

The end of the war is celebrated with a huge military parade in Moscow's Red Square on May 9, commemorating the millions of men and women, military and civilian, who died during the struggle.

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5:50am

Sun May 19, 2013
Parallels

Escape From An Eritrean Prison

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 8:56 am

Credit Stan Honda / AFP/Getty
Eritrea's human rights record has been widely criticized under President Isaias Afwerki, shown here speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2011.

5:41am

Sun May 19, 2013
Politics

Nonconservative Groups Say IRS Scrutinized Them, Too

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 2:11 pm

Credit Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images
Outgoing acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Steve Miller (right) and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George are sworn before a full House Ways and Means Committee hearing Friday.

The IRS was in the hot seat Friday, with its outgoing acting commissioner testifying before a House committee. A Senate panel is scheduled for Tuesday. Congress is prodding to find out why the agency singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny.

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5:41am

Sun May 19, 2013
Afghanistan

Afghans With Disabilities Fight For The Right To Rights

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 2:11 pm

Credit Sean Carberry / NPR
A technician shapes a cast mold for a prosthetic limb at the Red Cross orthopedic clinic in Kabul. The clinic produces about 2,000 prosthetic limbs each year.

Climbing the rickety metal staircase is precarious enough if you aren't on crutches, but it's simply dangerous if you are. At the top is the office of Janbazan-e-Mayhan, one of many social councils for disabled Afghans. Men missing arms, legs or hands sit around the small room.

Afghanistan isn't an easy place for anyone to make a living. But for those with disabilities, it's a downright hostile environment. Tens of thousands have been maimed and disabled during decades of conflict. Jobs are scarce, and there's almost nothing that's handicapped-accessible.

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12:51am

Sun May 19, 2013
Business

Tesla Rides High, But Faces Formidable Foe: Car Dealers

Credit Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images
The Tesla Model S, Motor Trend Car of the Year, is introduced at the 2013 North American International Auto Show, in Detroit in January. Tesla's attempts to sell its cars without going through dealerships is meeting resistance.

Tesla Motors, the American maker of luxury electric cars, has been riding a wave of good publicity.

Its Model S sedan (base priced at $62,400, after federal tax credits) was just named Motor Trend Car of the Year. Reviewers at Consumer Reports gave the lithium-ion battery powered vehicle a rave.

And the company, headed by billionaire innovator Elon Musk, 41, posted a profit for the first time in its 10-year history — powered in part by zero-emission environmental credits.

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6:06pm

Sat May 18, 2013
Movie Reviews

New 'Trek' Goes 'Into Darkness,' But Not Much Deeper

Originally published on Sat May 18, 2013 7:47 pm

Credit Zade Rosenthal / Courtesy Paramount Pictures
Zachary Quinto as Spock, with Chris Pine as Kirk, in Star Trek: Into Darkness.

The opening sequence of J.J. Abram's new entry in the Star Trek universe has all the ingredients of the classic franchise.

There's Kirk and his crew bellowing on the bridge, everyone worrying about the prime directive and our favorite Vulcan trapped in a volcano.

OK, I'm in. I may not be a fanboy anymore, but I sure was in my youth, and having these guys in their youths again is just as cool at the outset as it was last time.

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