Shots - Health Blog
9:30 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Mysterious Illness Claims Children's Lives In Cambodia

Credit iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Thu July 12, 2012 3:51 pm

The source of an unidentified illness that has led to the deaths of 61 children in Cambodia since April is under investigation, according to the World Health Organization.

Most of the reported cases occurred in southern Cambodia. Health authorities in the Southeast Asian nation say the majority of the mystery ailment's victims have been under 7, NPR's Anthony Kuhn reported.

They suffered high fevers, followed by severe respiratory problems, and in some cases neurological symptoms.

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The Salt
8:56 am
Thu July 5, 2012

In Lean Times, Creative Bakers Turn To Desperation Pies

Credit Kevin Turner / Flickr
Some desperation pies, like green tomato pie, still enjoy niche popularity today.

Imagine yourself as a resourceful farmer during the Great Depression. You'd like to make a dessert for your family, but traditional pie ingredients, like cherries or pecans, are too expensive or not available.

Desperate times call for desperation pies (or starvation recipes, if you happen to be in Greece).

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The Two-Way
8:35 am
Thu July 5, 2012

WikiLeaks Begins Release Of 2.4 Million Emails Linked To Syrian Officials

Credit WikiLeaks.org
WikiLeaks' webpage for its "Syria Files."

Saying that "the material is embarrassing to Syria, but it is also embarrassing to Syria's opponents," WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange and his aides today said they have more than 2.4 million emails "from Syrian political figures, ministries and associated companies."

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The Two-Way
8:00 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Countrywide Gave Lawmakers, Officials Hundreds Of Discount Loans

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 9:40 am

Countrywide Financial Corp., the one-time mortgage giant, may have "skirted the federal bribery statute," but nonetheless used a VIP discount program to gain influence in Washington, a report from the Republican-led House Oversight and Government Reform Committee concludes.

We first posted on this news, broken earlier by The Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal, at 9 a.m. ET. Since then, the committee's report has been released. Read through to see our original post and the update with links and excerpts from the committee's work:

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The Two-Way
7:40 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Employers Added 176,000 Jobs In June, Survey Says

There were 176,000 jobs added to private employers' payrolls in June, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report. The gain was larger than May's 136,000, ADP says.

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The Two-Way
7:14 am
Thu July 5, 2012

KABOOM! San Diego's Entire Fireworks Show Ignites At Once

Credit YouTube.com
Oops. A "premature ignition" in San Diego sent an entire fireworks show off at once.

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 10:10 pm

The Two-Way
6:42 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Romney Says Mandate's A Tax, But Also Sides With Justices Who Say It's Not

Credit Kayana Szymczak / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney participates during the Wolfeboro, N.H., Independence Day parade on Wednesday.
  • Josh Rogers of New Hampshire Public Radio on 'Morning Edition'

There are many stories this morning about what Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney said to CBS News on Wednesday. The conventional wisdom is that he reversed his own campaign's view to say that the so-called individual mandate in the 2010 health care overhaul is a tax, not a penalty.

There's attention being paid to what he said to CBS because many in the news media, such as The Associated Press, conclude that:

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Book Reviews
6:03 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Dethroning The 'Drama Queen Of The Mind'

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 12:26 pm

Here's one less thing for Daniel Smith to worry about: He sure can write. In Monkey Mind, a memoir of his lifelong struggles with anxiety, he defangs the experience with a winning combination of humor and understanding.

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Around the Nation
5:53 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Tweeted Picture Helps Owner Find Lost Dog

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 9:25 pm

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Linda Wertheimer. Twitter is going to the dogs. Yesterday, Patch, a Jack Russell terrier, boarded a train near Dublin. When the train staff discovered him, they posted his picture on Twitter. It was re-tweeted more than 500 times. Within a half hour, his owner saw the photo and tweeted: That's my dog. Then she opened a Twitter account for Patch, in case he should go missing again. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Around the Nation
5:42 am
Thu July 5, 2012

Proud Dad Ordered To Take Down Huge Sign

Originally published on Thu July 5, 2012 9:25 pm

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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