The Two-Way
9:43 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Court Orders Egyptian Government To Censor Internet Porn

Credit Amro Maraghi / AFP/Getty Images
Supporters of an Egyptian Islamist candidate hold his posters as they drive through Cairo on Friday. If Abu Ismail is elected he plans to apply a strict interpretation of Islamic law.

In the sign of the bigger cultural struggle in a post-Mubarak Egypt, a court has ordered the government to ban pornographic Internet sites.

One of the big questions facing Egypt now that Hosni Mubarak's 30-year rule has ended is what kind of role religion will play in the new government. Some of the Islamists who control parliament have expressed that they would like the country ruled by sharia.

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Politics
9:00 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Parties Ready To Take Budget To Campaign Trail?

Guest host Jacki Lyden continues the conversation about the passage of Congressman Paul Ryan's budget plan in the House of Representatives. Lyden speaks with NPR Washington Editor S.V. Date about what the vote means and whether the plan's passage may signal long budget battles ahead.

Politics
9:00 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Co-Author Defends GOP Budget Plan

Republican Congressman Todd Young helped draft Rep. Paul Ryan's 2013 budget that passed in the House of Representatives on Thursday. Congressman Young speaks with guest host Jacki Lyden about the budget plan and Democrats' opposition to it, including calls that the plan would hurt programs like food stamps and Medicaid.

The Two-Way
8:55 am
Fri March 30, 2012

FBI's Outgoing Cyber Cop Says Americans Don't See Size Of Threat

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Outgoing FBI Executive Assistant Director Shawn Henry.

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 10:17 am

The FBI's top cyber cop retires today after nearly a quarter century in federal law enforcement.

Shawn Henry started looking into computer issues in the run up to Y2K (the arrival of the year 2000). He says that experience left him hungry to learn more about the way electronics were changing the way we live — and the way criminals operate.The movement of so much sensitive information online poses an "existential threat," according to Henry.

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Television
8:54 am
Fri March 30, 2012

'Thrones,' 'Killing' Return — And Revert To Old Habits

AMC's The Killing started strong, with raves from critics and an impressively loyal core of viewers. But in the final episode of the year, when it left its season-long murder mystery intentionally unresolved, most fans felt angry, even betrayed. HBO's Game of Thrones, on the other hand, took a bit longer to get established, and to get as much attention. But thanks to some strong performances and a few bold strokes of plot, Game of Thrones — based on the George R. R.

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The Two-Way
8:40 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Wisconsin Recall Elections Set For June

In Wisconsin, "state elections officials ordered a set of historic recall elections Friday, making [Republican] Scott Walker the third governor in the nation to face a recall and Rebecca Kleefisch [R] the first lieutenant governor to face one," Milwaukee's Journal Sentinel reports.

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History
8:17 am
Fri March 30, 2012

1940 Census Release Is 'Super Bowl For Genealogists'

Credit Hansel Mieth/Time Life Pictures / Getty Images
In 1940, the federal government sent 120,000 census takers across America to ask questions like, "Do you live on a farm?" and "Where were you living on April 1, 1935?"
The Salt
7:59 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Feds To Decide On Banning BPA From Food And Other Products

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Environmental groups say a ban would protect consumers from the health effects of BPA that leaches from products including some soup cans.

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 2:26 pm

UPDATE 4:23 p.m.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has denied a call to ban the plastic additive BPA from food packaging. The action comes after government scientists found little reason to think people are being harmed by the chemical.

The FDA was responding to a petition from the Natural Resources Defense Council, which called for the ban on BPA, also known as bisphenol A, from any use where it comes in contact with food.

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The Two-Way
7:30 am
Fri March 30, 2012

Bin Laden Fathered 4 Children, Hid In 5 Safe Houses While On Run, Wife Says

Credit AFP/Getty Images
During the raid on Osama bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, a video showing the al-Qaida leader watching television was discovered.

During nine years on the run in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden used at least five safe houses and fathered four children, the youngest of his three wives has told Pakistani investigators, according to The New York Times.

Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh, now 30, married bin Laden in 2000.

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Shots - Health Blog
7:29 am
Fri March 30, 2012

New York Bans 'Synthetic Marijuana'

Credit Kelley McCall / AP
A package of K2, a concoction of dried herbs sprayed with chemicals sometimes called synthetic marijuana. New York moved to ban a wide range of products like these this week.

There will be no more "Mr. Nice Guy" in New York. No more "K2," "Skunk" or "Zohai" either.

The New York State Health Department banned the sale of synthetic marijuana products like those on Thursday. So all kinds of wacky stuff that's made to get people high — but is often disguised as potpourri, incense or some mixture of herbs — is now verboten.

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