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The Two-Way
5:37 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

Pew: More Americans See 'Too Much' Religious Talk In Politics

Originally published on Thu March 22, 2012 12:59 pm

According to a new survey, 38 percent of Americans say there is too much "expression of religious faith and prayer from political leaders."

Thirty percent say there is too little and 25 percent say there's just the right amount.

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Million Dollar Donors
5:01 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

Lots Of GOP Money Flowing From The Texas Two

Originally published on Thu March 22, 2012 9:50 am

The latest reports from the Federal Election Commission shed new light on the political largesse of two Texas businessmen who have become common names in the world of Republican fundraising.

With a $1 million check in February to the superPAC backing Rick Santorum, Dallas nuclear waste dump owner Harold Simmons and his wife, Annette, have now contributed to groups supporting all three of the top GOP candidates.

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It's All Politics
4:53 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

Republicans Charge High Gas Prices Part Of A Plan To Decrease Consumption

Credit Paul Sakuma / AP
A driver pumps gas into his Toyota Prius hybrid at a gas station in Sunnyvale, Calif., in 2007.

As gasoline prices rise, some Republicans are making a provocative claim about President Obama. They say higher energy prices are actually part of the administration's agenda and they point to some comments made by the president before he took office.

Presidential candidate Mitt Romney was the latest Republican to make the charge about President Obama, and he did so on Fox News Sunday this past weekend, saying, "There's no question that when he ran for office he said he wanted to see gasoline prices go up."

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The Two-Way
4:34 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

'Million Hoodie March' Planned In New York To Protest Killing Of Trayvon Martin

Credit RM Lopez / via Facebook
One of the many pictures posted to the Million Hoodie March Facebook page.

Originally published on Thu March 22, 2012 6:43 am

At 6 p.m. ET., a "Million Hoodie March" is set to begin winding through the streets of New York City, from Union Square to the United Nations.

One of the organizers, Daniel Maree, told News One that the march was intended to protest "the absurdity of Trayvon [Martin's] murder."

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Space
4:09 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

Messenger Probe Sends Back New Data From Mercury

Credit NASA/Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory/Carnegie Institution of Washington
The Messenger spacecraft is depicted over the Calvino Crater on Mercury in this enhanced-color image of the planet's surface.

Originally published on Wed December 12, 2012 5:40 pm

There's a small spacecraft called Messenger that's been orbiting the planet Mercury for a year. Today, at the Lunar and Planetary Science Conference in Houston, astronomers revealed what they've learned about the innermost planet in our solar system, and some of the new knowledge is puzzling.

Maria Zuber, a planetary scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, studied a large crater 900 miles across called Caloris.

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Law
4:02 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

High Court Expands Defendants' Plea Bargain Rights

Credit Evan Vucci / AP
Supreme Court Justice Anthony Kennedy, shown on Capitol Hill in April 2011, wrote the court's ruling Wednesday that for the most part, plea bargaining determines "who goes to jail and for how long. It is not some adjunct to the criminal justice system. It is the criminal justice system."

For the first time, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that defendants have a constitutional right to effective assistance of counsel in plea bargains. In a 5-4 decision Wednesday, the court went further, declaring that when a lawyer acts unethically or gives clearly wrong advice, the defendant may be entitled to a second chance at accepting a plea offer.

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Middle East
4:00 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

As Illegal Immigrants Increase, Israel Plans To Act

Originally published on Sun March 25, 2012 8:08 am

The place is Tel Aviv, but it doesn't look at all like Israel: Dozens of African men are sitting on broken stools and plastic at a makeshift restaurant.

Sudanese fare is on the menu. The men scoop up the stews and salads that remind them of home.

Abdullah Mohammad Mustafa started this restaurant with a couple of other African men who arrived in Israel five years ago from Sudan's troubled Darfur region. They are among some 40,000 Africans who have come to Israel illegally, and many have congregated in neighborhoods in Tel Aviv.

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The Salt
3:30 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

Into The Wild Science Of Sourdough Bread-Making

Credit Chris Eichler for NPR
Margaret Palca in her bakery in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Originally published on Wed March 21, 2012 3:50 pm

My sister is no science writer, and I'm no baker, but recently our worlds melded in a surprising way.

Here's what happened: Last October, I attended a workshop on artisanal bread and cheese-making at Salt Water Farms in Lincolnville, Maine. Farm manager Ladleah Dunn introduced us to the concept of making sourdough bread with levain, or starter, instead of packaged yeast.

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It's All Politics
3:29 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

Romney Adviser's 'Etch-A-Sketch' Comment Shakes Up Criticism From Rivals

Credit iStockphoto.com
The Two-Way
3:07 pm
Wed March 21, 2012

Dutch Catholic Church Is Accused Of Castrating Boys

Dutch lawmakers are calling for a parliamentary hearing, today, after new allegations of abuse by the Catholic Church surfaced over the weekend. This time, an investigation by the newspaper NRC Handelsblad found that Catholic-run institutions had surgically castrated young boys.

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