The Two-Way
4:14 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Join Us For Live Coverage Of The GOP Primaries

With two wins in the Deep South, Mitt Romney could solidly establish himself as the inevitable GOP candidate. If you believe polls, that could very well happen in Mississippi and Alabama, which are holding nominating contests tonight.

Now, the polls are so close that Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich could also pull together wins that keep their campaigns going.

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Forest Biomass
4:11 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

An Underused Resource In Washington: Forest Biomass

Credit Photo credit: Walter Siegmund / Wikimedia commons
The forest biomass like that in the Wenatchee Mountains is an underused resource in Washington.

Renewable energy is growing on trees in Washington, and right now, much of it is going up in smoke.

That’s the word from Commissioner of Public Lands Peter Goldmark, who has released the results of a study on forest biomass. Goldmark says industry is currently using only about a third of the woody biomass that could be sustainably harvested and then converted into liquid fuel or heat for electricity generation.

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Wash. Budget
3:45 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Washington Lawmakers Still At Odds Over Budget

Credit Photo by Wikimedia User Visitor7 / Wikimedia Commons
Washington legislators still at odds over how to balance state budget..

Washington state lawmakers continue to talk about how to solve a disagreement over the state budget. A special overtime session started this week. They’re trying to close a budget gap of about $500 million.

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It's All Politics
3:17 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Mississippi, Alabama: Live Blog And Results

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 7:57 am

"We did it again," declared Rick Santorum during his victory speech in Lafayette, La.

Indeed, the former Pennsylvania senator swept the Republican presidential primaries in Alabama and Mississippi and once again threw Mitt Romney, who has from the very beginning been the presumptive nominee, on the defensive.

Of course, there are two other contests going this evening: Hawaii and American Samoa are holding caucuses, and if Romney takes both of those, he may very well end the night with the most delegates.

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Economy
2:54 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Federal Reserve Releases Bank 'Stress Test'

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

The Federal Reserve has released the results of its much-anticipated stress test of the nation's biggest banks. The Fed says most of the nation's 19 biggest financial institutions passed the tests, although four did not. To find out what this means, we turn to NPR's Jim Zarroli. Jim, first, why is the Fed running stress tests? What are they supposed to show about the banks?

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Health
2:50 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Adult Filmmakers Question Condom Requirement

Los Angeles has become the nation's first city to require male adult film actors to wear condoms. The city council's new ordinance has riled the region's billion-dollar-plus porn industry. Filmmakers are warning that the measure will harm the local economy and threaten the health of industry performers.

Condoms are now required on all film shoots that receive a city permit, but the law does not apply to adult films shot in studios. Those don't require city permitting in the first place. But a proposed ballot measure in November looks to extend the law throughout the county.

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The Salt
2:20 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

North Dakota Food Writer Shows Why It's OK To Like The Olive Garden

Credit ERIC HYLDEN / Forum Communications Co.
Columnist Marilyn Hagerty's den is converted into a makeshift television studio as a crew from CNN prepares her for an interview.

Restaurant reviewing all too often seems like it's all about how edgy and connected the reviewer is. The food's a mere prop.

Columnist Marilyn Hagerty bested all those poseurs by giving her readers just what they wanted: The lowdown on dining options in Grand Forks, N.D.

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Music Interviews
2:19 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

New Film Takes An Intimate Look At School Bullying

The documentary Bully follows several middle- and high-school students who are different, awkward or for some other reason the targets of bullying. One of the kids at the center of the film is Alex, from Sioux City, Iowa.

In the film, Alex, a small boy, says people think he's not normal, and most kids don't want to be around him. And some kids at his school, or on the school bus especially, make his life miserable.

Director Lee Hirsch says Alex immediately struck him as someone who was having a hard time — and no one seemed to notice or really care.

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Election 2012
2:18 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Tea Party Spawns New Effort Against Voter Fraud

As part of a new campaign, dozens of citizen groups around the country are searching voter registration lists, looking for problems.

They're also training poll watchers to monitor this fall's elections.

Leaders of the effort — spawned by the Tea Party movement — say they want to make sure that elections are free from voter fraud. But critics say it's part of a campaign to suppress the votes of minorities, students and others who tend to vote Democratic.

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Shots - Health Blog
2:05 pm
Tue March 13, 2012

Canadian Hospitals That Spend More Get Better Results

Credit ilkerender / Flickr
In Toronto and elsewhere in Ontario, hospitals that spend more appear to do a better job.

Canada has long been a favored talking point for debates over the quality of America's health system, alternatively cast as either Eden or Gomorrah.

A new paper adds a shade of gray into the understanding of Canadian hospitals — and the ongoing debate here about whether when it comes to medical spending, less is more.

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