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It's All Politics
2:04 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

New Yorker Cover Puts New Twist On Old Romney Shaggy Dog Story

Credit New Yorker cover

Robert Staake, the cover artist for the New Yorker's March 12 cover took a story that's an oldie but goodie — Mitt Romney strapping the kennel containing Seamus the family dog atop the family car during a vacation road trip — and gave it a new spin with Rick Santorum filling in for the dog.

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News
2:00 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

Holder Addresses Killing Of American Terrorism Suspects

Attorney General Eric Holder spoke in Chicago on Monday on the legal rationales for targeting and killing Americans suspected of terrorism overseas. Carrie Johnson talks to Melissa Block.

The Two-Way
1:45 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

In Egypt These Days, Lying About A Nose Job Can Bring A Politician Down

It was more than 30 years before Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak lost his grip on power, though many of his people had long suffered under his oppressive regime.

It took less than a week for "a newly minted ultra-conservative Islamist member" of the post-Mubarak parliament in Egypt to be forced to resign because he lied about getting a nose job.

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The Two-Way
1:37 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

E.U. Mulls Mandatory Quotas To Close Gender Gap At Executive Level

Credit Yves Logghe / AP
European Commissioner for Justice, Fundamental Rights and Citizenship Viviane Reding addresses the media at the European Commission headquarters in Brussels on Monday.

The European Union's justice commissioner says companies have not done enough voluntarily to narrow the gender gap at the top of publicly traded European firms.

Viviane Reding said self regulation has not worked, so it may be time to consider quotas.

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The Two-Way
1:15 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

Report: 'McCain To Call For Air Strikes On Syria'

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., will later today become the first senator to call for U.S.-led air strikes on the forces of Syrian President Bashar Assad, Foreign Policy magazine's The Cable blog reports:

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Education
1:02 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

Tough-Love Reading Laws Target Third-Graders

Credit Chris Hondros / Getty Images
A student reads at a public elementary charter school in New York City. Educators like to say third grade is when students go from learning to read, to reading to learn.

There's little dispute among educators that kids are not reading as well as they should be, but there's endless debate over what to do about it. Now, a growing number of states are taking a hard-line approach through mandatory retentions — meaning third-graders who can't read at grade level will automatically get held back.

To those pushing the idea, it's equal doses of tough and love: You are not doing kids any favors, they say, by waiving them on to fourth grade if they aren't up to snuff on their reading.

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It's All Politics
12:56 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

Pollster: Romney Surges Despite More GOP Ohioans Agreeing With Santorum

Credit Gerald Herbert / AP
Mitt Romney greets supporters in Youngstown, Ohio, Monday, March 5, 2012.

Suffolk University has a new poll out of Ohio that reminds us that in politics as in life, timing is everything; Rick Santorum would have been much better off if Super Tuesday had been two weeks ago.

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The Two-Way
12:42 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

Toola, An Otter Pioneer Who Raised Orphan Pups, Has Died

Credit Randy Wilder / Monterey Bay Aquarium
Toola, the southern sea otter, with a surrogate pup.

Originally published on Mon March 5, 2012 12:50 pm

Toola may not be a household name, but she made quite an impression on the staff of the Monterey Bay Aquarium, where she lived most of her adult life.

Just look at how Dr. Mike Murray, an aquarium veterinarian, described the sea otter:

"I will argue that there is no other single sea otter that had a greater impact upon the sea otter species, the sea otter programs worldwide, and upon the interface between the sea otters' scientific community and the public."

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The Two-Way
12:20 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

Should NFL's Gregg Williams Be Banned, Fined Or Pardoned For Bounties?

Credit Chris Graythen / Getty Images
Gregg Williams, then the defensive coordinator for the New Orleans Saints, in August 2010.

Gregg Williams, who has spent time as an assistant or head coach at six NFL teams, is meeting with league investigators today to talk about what he's admitted was "a bounty pool of up to $50,000 over the last three seasons that rewarded players with thousand-dollar payoffs for knocking targeted opponents out of games while he was the New Orleans Saints' defensive coordinator," The Associated Press reports.

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NPR Story
12:00 pm
Mon March 5, 2012

Teller Talks: Magicians Use Science To Trick You

Credit Courtesy of Penn & Teller
Penn & Teller, performing at the Rio in Las Vegas in 2008.

On stage, Teller, half of the magician team of Penn & Teller, rarely says a word.

But now he's talking, explaining how magicians harness scientific research on deception to trick audiences into falling for their illusions. And their work, in turn, makes them interesting to brain researchers.

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