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Africa
3:59 am
Wed August 1, 2012

As Islamists Gain, Mali's Tradition Under Threat

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 6:31 am

Hard-line Islamists in northern Mali stoned a reportedly unmarried couple to death for adultery last Sunday. Analysts worry this is growing evidence of the rebel fighters' avowed intention to impose strict Islamic law in the vast territory under their control.

Another version of the story put about by an al-Qaida-linked militant group is that the couple was married but engaging in extramarital affairs.

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Dead Stop
3:56 am
Wed August 1, 2012

The Ghostly Grandeur Of A Desert Graveyard

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 6:31 am

It's a raggedy moonscape; no lush green grass or tranquil arbors here. Concordia Cemetery in El Paso, Texas, just a few blocks from the Mexican border, is stark and dusty. It's overrun with crumbling concrete markers and old wooden crosses gone askew. And it goes on ... and on ... and on.

"It's 52 acres," says Bernie Sargent, chair of the El Paso County Historical Commission. "Sixty thousand people buried here. And they're all dead."

The Grave Of A Wild West Legend

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Shots - Health Blog
3:56 am
Wed August 1, 2012

Under Health Law, 'No-Cost' Birth Control Starts Today

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius joins Democratic senators at a news conference on Capitol Hill on Tuesday to announce new preventive health coverage for women that takes effect Wednesday.

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 6:31 am

Beginning today, most new and renewing health insurance plans must begin offering a broad array of women's preventive health services, most notably coverage of birth control, at no upfront cost.

But even as they take effect, the new rules remain the subject of legal challenges.

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Remembrances
3:52 am
Wed August 1, 2012

Gore Vidal, American Writer And Cultural Critic, Dies

Credit AP
Author Gore Vidal in 1986. Vidal, whose prolific writing career spanned six decades, died Tuesday at age 86.

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 6:31 am

Gore Vidal came from a generation of novelists whose fiction gave them a political platform. Norman Mailer ran for mayor of New York City; Kurt Vonnegut became an anti-war spokesman. And Vidal was an all-around critic. His novels sometimes infuriated readers with unflattering portraits of American history.

He also wrote essays and screenplays, and his play The Best Man currently has a revival on Broadway.

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Poetry Games
11:43 pm
Tue July 31, 2012

'Once More,' Passing The Torch To One And All

Originally published on Mon August 13, 2012 9:14 am

Representing Europe in NPR's Poetry Games is Slovenian poet Ales Steger. Steger's first work translated into English, The Book of Things, won last year's Best Translated Book Award for Poetry. The translator was poet Brian Henry, who also translated Steger's Olympic poem, "Once More."

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