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In 'Sponge Candy Crescent,' Addicts Hoard 'Heaven'

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Credit Melisa Goh / NPR

To get their summertime fix, sponge candy lovers on the shore of Lake Erie have to plan in advance.

Credit Daniel Robison / For NPR

Candy maker Tim Leahy saws a block of sponge candy down to bite-size.

By Daniel Robison

Originally published on Fri July 13, 2012 10:09 am

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The eastern shore of Lake Erie is known as the "Sponge Candy Crescent." During the region's long winter months, this crunchy, chocolatey candy is a mainstay — especially for large gatherings and holidays. But come hot weather, you can't get the temperamental treat.

Ko-Ed Candies sells a lot of chocolate Easter bunnies, candy bars and other sweets, but co-owner Sandy Whitt says her customers mostly crave sponge candy.

4:44 am

Sun July 1, 2012

Asian New Yorkers See Rising Star In Grace Meng

Credit Bebeto Matthews / AP

The seat Grace Meng holds on the New York Assembly was once held by her father, Jimmy Meng.

By editor

Originally published on Sun July 1, 2012 12:58 pm

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Earlier this week, Taiwanese-American attorney Grace Meng won the Democratic primary for New York's newly redrawn 6th Congressional District. She says she thinks of herself as an all-American kid, even if others didn't always see her that way.

"Growing up as a kid in Queens, there weren't really many Asians at all," Meng says. "I remember one day, my mom gave me dumplings to bring to school, and people were all like, 'What is that?'"

Meng says she would have preferred peanut butter and jelly.

12:15 am

Sun July 1, 2012

America's Affection For Hometown Confections

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Credit April Fulton / NPR

Vintage advertising for GooGoo Clusters promote the candy as "a nourishing lunch."

By Linton Weeks

Originally published on Mon July 9, 2012 9:40 am

From the maple sugar moose heads of New England to the chile brittle of the Southwest, from the Almond Roca of the Pacific Northwest to the key lime coconut patties of Florida, America loves its candy.

11:03 pm

Sat June 30, 2012

Mixing It Up On The Baseball Diamond

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By Will Shortz

On-Air Challenge: Every answer is the name of a Major League Baseball team. You are given anagrams of their names, each with one letter added, and must name the teams. For example, given "dress," the answer would be "Reds."

Last Week's Challenge: Think of a familiar three-word phrase that might be used in poker and add an "E" at the end and you'll get a two-word phrase that's common in football. (The spaces in between the words changes in the two phrases but the letters stay in the same order.)

5:25 pm

Sat June 30, 2012

Sanctions May Squeeze Iran ... And Raise Oil Prices

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Credit Kamran Jebreili / AP

European countries have agreed to stop importing Iranian oil as of Sunday. This could make it harder for Iran to find markets for its crude. Iran has been filling up tankers off its coast, but analysts say it could run out of storage capacity. This photo shows oil tankers off Iran's coast in January.

Credit Atta Kenare / AFP/Getty Images

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, shown speaking June 2 under a portrait of Iran's supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has said Iran will not bow to sanctions.

By Corey Flintoff

The sanctions noose around Iran is set to tighten Sunday as the European Union imposes a total embargo on all purchases of Iranian oil.

The new sanctions are aimed at putting pressure on the Islamic Republic to make concessions on its nuclear program. Iran insists the program is limited to peaceful, civilian purposes, but many Western nations believe Iran has nuclear weapons ambitions.

The move against Iran comes at a time when oil prices have been dropping for the past couple of months.

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