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5:16pm

Fri February 3, 2012
It's All Politics

Voting Heads West: A Nevada Republican Presidential Caucus Primer

Credit Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images
Men arrive at a campaign rally for Mitt Romney in Elko, Nev., on Friday.

While hotels along the Vegas Strip are full of Super Bowl fans and convention attendees this weekend, another event will be playing out Saturday at more than 100 locations across the state.

Nevada's Republican presidential caucuses will be taking place, not in expensive hotels, but mostly in low-key places like schools and firehouses.

David Gallagher of the Nevada state GOP says each county's local party is responsible for organizing its own caucus, so opening times vary.

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4:49pm

Fri February 3, 2012
The Two-Way

On Positive Jobs Report, Nasdaq Hits 11-Year High

The better-than-expected jobs numbers released today, sent the markets into positive territory they hadn't seen in years.

The Nasdaq Composite rose to an 11-year high, while the Dow hit its highest reading in almost four years. The S&P gained 1.4 percent, marking its best start to a new year since 1987.

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4:39pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Music Interviews

Ruthie Foster: Texas Gospel With A Worldly Touch

Credit John Carrico
Ruthie Foster's new album is Let It Burn.

Ruthie Foster is from a small town in central Texas — but there's nothing small about the way she sings on her new album, Let It Burn. Zigzagging between blues, soul, gospel and rock, the album features solid originals and surprising covers, along with several stirring collaborations with The Blind Boys of Alabama.

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4:26pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Middle East

Near Syria's Capital, The Evidence Of Heavy Fighting

This story was written and reported by a GlobalPost correspondent in Damascus, whose name has been withheld for security reasons.

When a team of foreign journalists entered the eastern Damascus suburb of Saqba last Friday, they were greeted by a sight that did not bode well for the Syrian regime.

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4:23pm

Fri February 3, 2012
World Cafe

Girls On World Cafe

Credit Sandy Kim
Girls is known for its familiar, urgent, refreshingly simple music.

Girls' 2011 album Father, Son, Holy Ghost strikes a careful balance between creating music that sounds classic and writing something that's already been done. Ever since Girls' debut, Album, the band has been writing and recording music that's familiar, urgent and refreshingly simple.

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4:16pm

Fri February 3, 2012
The Two-Way

Military Judge Denies Request To Delay Sept. 11 Case At Guantanamo

A request for a delay in the Sept. 11 case at Guantanamo has been denied.

Two lawyers close to the proceedings tell NPR that a military judge denied their request to delay the arraignment of the Sept. 11 suspects at Guantanamo until the summer.

The lawyers were asking for more time to file memos on why Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and his alleged co-conspirators should not be tried in a capital case and be eligible for the death penalty. The 911 suspects are expected to be arraigned before a military commission as early as April.

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4:11pm

Fri February 3, 2012
The Salt

The Surprising Story Of A Super Bowl Snack

Credit malloreigh / flickr.com
Presented on a gourmet plate or eaten out of the bag the chips came in, Frito Pie is an American standard.

This Super Bowl Sunday, millions of Americans will watch the game with bowls of corn-based snacks at their side. Whether you prefer Doritos, Cheetos, or even Funyuns, you owe the pleasure of that crunchy munchy to the humble corn curl that started it all: the Frito.

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3:51pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Author Interviews

'Best Practices': Learning To Live With Asperger's

When he was 30 years old, David Finch's wife, Kristen, sat him down and asked him a series of odd questions:

"Do you notice patterns in things all the time?"

"Do people comment on your unusual mannerisms and habits?

"Do you feel tortured by clothes tags, clothes that are too tight or made in the 'wrong material'?"

"Do you sometimes have an urge to jump over things?"

David's answers to all of these questions — and more than 100 others — was an emphatic yes.

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3:50pm

Fri February 3, 2012
The Two-Way

Senator Demands Answers from Freddie Mac's Regulator

Sen. Robert Casey, a Democrat from Pennsylvania, sent a list of questions about Freddie Mac's controversial trades to the mortgage giant's regulator, highlighting how much remains unknown even after a flurry of statements from the regulator.

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3:38pm

Fri February 3, 2012
The Two-Way

Vermont Inmates Hide Image Of Pig On Police Decals

It took Vermont officials four years to notice a little creative editing by one or more inmates. Look at this police decal:

Look at the cow underneath the tree. Embedded within the cow's spots is an image of a pig, which as the Burlington Free Press reminds us is the '60s-era epithet used by protesters to refer to police.

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3:23pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Health

Can Komen Recover From Controversy?

Credit Susan G. Komen for the Cure
Nancy G. Brinker, CEO and founder of Susan G. Komen for the Cure.

The Susan G. Komen for the Cure foundation has had one of the worst weeks in terms of public relations of any organization in recent memory.

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3:20pm

Fri February 3, 2012
The Two-Way

Winklevoss Twins May Reap $300 Million From Facebook IPO

Credit Thomas Samson / AFP/Getty Images
Tyler (left) and Cameron Winklevoss.

Before we finish the week, we have to pass on at least one more story related to Facebook's plan to raise about $5 billion with its first sale of shares to the public.

It seems that Cameron and Tyler Winklevoss — the "Winklevii" twins — could get up to $300 million worth of Facebook shares when the deal goes through.

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3:18pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Afghanistan

Afghans View Peace Talks With Hope, Suspicion

Credit Aref Karimi / AFP/Getty Images
Taliban fighters walk with their weapons after joining Afghan government forces during a ceremony in Herat province, last month. Thirty fighters left the Taliban to join government forces in western Afghanistan. The Taliban announced recently that they would open a political office in Qatar ahead of talks with Washington.

The surprise announcement last month that the U.S. and the Taliban could soon begin peace talks in the Gulf state of Qatar may have increased the chances of a negotiated settlement in Afghanistan.

But Afghans are treating the prospect with equal measures of hope and suspicion — perhaps more of the latter from the government of President Hamid Karzai.

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3:02pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Movie Interviews

Sharon Van Etten: Learning How To Rock

Credit Dusdin Condren
Sharon Van Etten says that when she writes music, "it's to heal."

Sharon Van Etten was once an aspiring songwriter in Tennessee, but she had no idea how the music industry worked. So she moved to New York City and took an unpaid internship working for a record label.

"I started doing mail orders and then learned my way around the music blogs," Van Etten says in an interview with Weekend All Things Considered host Guy Raz. "I didn't know what a music blog was at the time."

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3:00pm

Fri February 3, 2012
NPR Story

Jobs Numbers May Boost Obama Re-election Effort

The Obama administration got some got good news early in an election year with the latest jobs numbers and the lowest unemployment rate in three years.

3:00pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Economy

Jobs Numbers Surprise Economists

The Labor Department released its monthly report Friday, which shows unemployment down to 8.3 percent. Is the dip strong enough to push the rate down further in the coming months?

3:00pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Middle East

In Egypt, Military Blamed For Targeting Soccer Fans

Violent protests continued for a second day in Egypt in response to the deadly riot at a soccer match earlier this week. Many of the protesters claim authorities chose not to stop the soccer riots as retaliation against fan groups — known as Ultras — who had a hand in the country's political uprisings last year. Melissa Block talks with Adel Iskandar, Lecturer in media studies at Georgetown University, about the role of the Ultra football fan clubs in Egypt's politics.

3:00pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Sports

The Physics Of A Football Player's Performance

The New York Giants' Brandon Jacobs is a 6'4", 270 pound running back. And with that kind of size, you think he'd be able to run right through would-be tacklers, especially when he only needs to pick up a few yards. But he often can't — Jacobs's stats are below average in those situations. A couple NFL greats and a physics professor have the answer.

3:00pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Business

Facebook's IPO And The Average Investor

The social network filed to go public earlier this week and is hoping to raise $5 billion in a huge IPO. The markets are buzzing, but what might it mean for an individual investor? Melissa Block gets the story on how high profile IPOs work from Dennis Berman, Marketplace editor at The Wall Street Journal.

2:57pm

Fri February 3, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

Many Hits, Rather Than A Big One, Pose Greatest Concussion Risk

Credit Purdue University
Members of the Jefferson High School football team took 200 to more than 1,800 hits to the head in a season.

High school football players have changes in their brain function long before they have recognizable signs of a concussion, according to a new study.

The more hits a player got, the more brain function changed. The findings support the growing belief that a concussion comes as the result of a succession of insults, not just one bad hit.

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