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Planet Money
12:05 am
Thu March 29, 2012

The $200,000-A-Year Nanny

Credit iStockphoto.com

I met Zenaide Muneton in the offices of the Pavillion Agency in New York, which specializes in hiring house staff for some of the richest folks in the country. Muneton says she knows how to make everything fun for kids, even homework, and that's why she is one of the better paid nannies at the agency. I asked her what that means.

"It means over $150,000 a year," Muneton said.

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Judging The Health Care Law
9:13 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Justices Ask: Can Health Law Stand If Mandate Fails?

Credit John Rose / NPR
Linda Dorr (left) and Keli Carender chant along with other demonstrators in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday.

The historic legal arguments on the Obama health care overhaul came to a close at the U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday, with key justices suggesting the court may be prepared to strike down not just the individual mandate but the whole law.

The major arguments of the day were premised on a supposition. Suppose, asked the court, we do strike down the individual mandate — what other parts of the law, if any, should be allowed to stand?

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Music
6:48 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Earl Scruggs, Bluegrass Legend, Dies

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And finally, this hour, we remember Earl Scruggs, the master of the five-string banjo, who has died at age 88. As a young man, he created his own style of fingerpicking on the banjo that would come to bear his name: Scruggs style. He got his start with Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys in the 1940s and then teamed up with Lester Flatt as Flatt and Scruggs. And he influenced countless players over his many decades of music, among them, fellow banjo player Tony Trischka, who joins me now.

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The Record
6:40 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Bluegrass Legend Earl Scruggs Has Died

Remembrances
4:16 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Feminist Writer Adrienne Rich Dies At 82

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

The writer Adrienne Rich has died after a long illness. She was 82. Rich is best known for her poetry, which mirrored the times in which she wrote. Her work grew increasingly political during the 1960s and '70s, and she was a touchstone for the feminist movement. Joining me to talk to about Rich's work is the poet and critic Linda Gregerson. And Linda, I wonder what the experience is for you of reading an Adrienne Rich poem. How would you describe it?

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Around the Nation
4:13 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

JetBlue Pilot Charged For Disruption Mid-Flight

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

We're learning more about yesterday's bizarre incident on-board JetBlue Flight 191 from New York to Las Vegas. That's the plane that diverted to Amarillo, Texas after the pilot left the cockpit mid-flight and went on a rant, screaming about Iraq and Israel.

Federal prosecutors today charged the pilot, Clayton Osbon, with interfering with a flight crew. And the court filing contains new details about what apparently went on during that flight.

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The Two-Way
4:11 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

Female Volleyball Players Can Cover Up For Olympics

Shorts and long-sleeved tops will be OK at the London Olympics' beach volleyball tournament.

That's what the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) has decided: Women won't have to wear the bikinis and bodysuits that have been the norm at previous Olympics.

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The Two-Way
3:33 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

FBI Pulls Offensive Counterterrorism Training Materials

The FBI has completed a review of offensive training material and has purged 876 pages and 392 presentations, according to a briefing provided to lawmakers.

The office of Sen. Richard Durbin, a Democrat from Illinois, made the briefing public when it sent a letter addressed to Robert Mueller, the director of the FBI.

According to the letter (pdf), which is dated March 27, the FBI gave the senator an opportunity to review a "handful" of the material.

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Music News
3:20 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

From London, Rock Hall Inductees 'Looked To America'

Originally published on Wed March 28, 2012 9:01 pm

Today, Morning Edition begins a series of stories profiling the six new inductees into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. It's a diverse bunch, including two acts that originated in 1960s London: The Small Faces and Donovan.

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It's All Politics
3:09 pm
Wed March 28, 2012

White House Aide To Skeptical Journalists: No Contingency Plan On Health Law

Credit Susan Walsh / AP
White House Deputy Press Secretary Josh Earnest in February 2012.

No matter how many times he said it Wednesday, the White House press corps just didn't seem to be buying deputy press secretary Josh Earnest's assertion that Obama administration officials weren't working on contingency plans just in case the Supreme Court strikes down the Affordable Care Act.

They also weren't taking at face value Earnest's defense of Solicitor General Donald Verrilli's performance on behalf of the administration Tuesday which has been widely criticized as nervous, halting and all-around less-than-inspiring.

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