Politics
2:55 am
Sat May 19, 2012

Are 8 Heads Better Than One At Fixing Europe's Debt?

Credit Getty Images
President Obama speaks with other G-8 leaders at Camp David in Maryland during the summit on Friday.

Originally published on Sat May 19, 2012 9:20 am

Camp David, in the Maryland hills outside Washington, D.C., is usually a place for the president and his family to get away from work, a wooded refuge with a swimming pool, tennis courts and a putting green.

This weekend, though, President Obama is bringing work with him to the camp — along with the leaders from most of the countries with the world's largest economies.

The Group of Eight is meeting in the rustic setting, but the agenda will be all business.

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Fresh Air Weekend
2:43 am
Sat May 19, 2012

Fresh Air Weekend: Audra McDonald, 'Weight Of The Nation'

Credit Michael Wilson / Courtesy of Nonesuch Records
Audra McDonald.

Originally published on Sat May 19, 2012 2:49 pm

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

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The Two-Way
10:58 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

In Historic Space Mission, Launch Is Only The First Test

Credit Roberto Gonzalez / Getty Images
SpaceX rocket Falcon 9 at Cape Canaveral in Florida was scheduled to launch Saturday morning, but aborted just before liftoff.

Originally published on Sat May 19, 2012 10:43 am

Moments after ignition, a privately funded spacecraft aborted its liftoff, delaying its mission to the International Space Station.

SpaceX's unmanned rocket had a one-second window to take off from Cape Canaveral in Florida on Saturday morning, and the failed launch means the next opportunity won't be until early Tuesday morning.

The founder of SpaceX, Elon Musk, had been tweeting from the company's California headquarters leading up to the scheduled launch time of 4:55 a.m. ET.

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Murder Trial At JBLM
4:15 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

Accused Iraq Clinic Shooter Faces Death Penalty Trial At JBLM

Joint Base Lewis-McChord is at the center of yet another high-profile murder case. The Army announced Friday that Sgt. John Russell will face trial at Lewis-McChord in connection with a 2009 killing spree in Iraq.

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Nuke Power Re-licensed
4:02 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

Columbia Generating Station Re-licensed To Run For Another 20 Years

The Northwest’s only commercial nuclear power plant appears to have won permission to operate for another 20 years. That’s the word Friday from Energy Northwest, which operates the Columbia Generating Station in southeast Washington.

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Remembrances
3:34 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

Baritone Fischer-Diskau Was One Of Opera's Greatest

Originally published on Thu May 24, 2012 8:51 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And we briefly note the passing of one of the world's great opera singers: German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau died today. He was 86. From his first recital in Berlin in 1947 until his retirement in 1992, Fischer-Dieskau is in demand at opera houses and concert halls the world over. He was especially known for his interpretations of Schubert songs, like this one from the song cycle "Winterreise" or "Winter Journey."

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "WINTERREISE")

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Shots - Health Blog
3:20 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

Hepatitis C Cases In Rural Wisconsin Underscore Drug Link

Credit iStockphoto.com

Yes, hepatitis C is big among baby boomers. And the feds are moving toward a recommendation that all of them get tested at least once for the infection.

But new hepatitis C cases are cropping up in young people, too, and some of them live in out-of-the-way places that haven't been hotbeds for the illness.

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The Two-Way
3:19 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

Fungus, Fruit Flies, Old Age: It's The End Times For NPR's AntCam

Credit iStockphoto.com
There is hope for mankind in their sacrifice.

Originally published on Fri May 18, 2012 9:17 pm

Back in 1969, when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon, there were no guarantees. There were no guarantees that they'd make it there and there were no guarantees that they could make it back home.

President Richard Nixon and his speech writer William Safire knew that. So, imagining a situation in which the American astronauts were doomed in an alien land, Safire drew up a plan to mark their inevitable demise in a dignified way.

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13.7: Cosmos And Culture
2:59 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

Let The Real Space Age Begin

Credit John Raoux / AP
The Falcon 9 SpaceX rocket stands ready for launch at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida.

Originally published on Fri May 18, 2012 4:14 pm

It was almost one year ago that the space shuttle Atlantis rose into the sky on a pillar of flame for the last time. The shuttle program ended forever with that mission. American astronauts were left to hitch rides on Russian space capsules, and American kids were left with no tangible direction forward for their dreams of a high-tech, space-happy future.

Tomorrow morning, the unmanned Falcon 9 rocket is scheduled to lift off from Cape Canaveral so that supplies can reach the space station.

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The Salt
2:26 pm
Fri May 18, 2012

U.S. Craft Beer Brewers Thrive, Despite Small Share Of The Market

Credit Bill Chappell / NPR
A row of taps highlights specialty and imported beers at Brouwerij Lane, in Brooklyn, New York. Craft brewers have found a way to thrive, even as the U.S. economy struggles.

Originally published on Tue May 22, 2012 8:35 am

It's a good time to brew beer in America. According to beer expert Julia Herz, U.S. brewing isn't just on the upswing, it's on top. "We're now the No. 1 destination for beer, based on diversity and amount of beers," she says.

But if you want to see the strength of America's beer industry, you may want to look past beverage giants like Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors. According to the Brewers Association, nearly 2,000 American brewers operated during 2011 — the most since the 1880s.

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