Education
6:42 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Home-Schooled Students Fight To Play On Public School Teams

Credit Stephen Brashear / AP
Advocates of allowing home-schooled students to play on public school teams have dubbed legislation allowing it "Tim Tebow bills," after the former NFL quarterback who was home-schooled in Florida.

Legislative battles are being fought around the country over whether or not to let home-schooled students play on public high school teams.

Roughly half of U.S. states have passed laws making them eligible to play on the teams. Advocates have dubbed them "Tim Tebow bills," after the NFL quarterback who was home-schooled when he played on a high school team.

But an attempt by Indiana to find a middle ground may not have solved the problem in that state.

Somewhere In The Middle

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The Two-Way
6:32 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

A Field Guide To Jimmy Hoffa Searches

Credit Carlos Osorio / AP
Law enforcement officials search an area in Oakland Township, Mich., on Tuesday for the remains of Jimmy Hoffa. The former Teamsters president was last seen at a Detroit-area restaurant in 1975.

The mystery of Jimmy Hoffa's final resting place was opened yet again Monday, when the FBI began digging up a field near Detroit in the hopes of finding the former Teamsters president, who was last seen on July 30, 1975.

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The Two-Way
6:13 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

'We Were Told To Lie,' Say Bank Of America Employees

Credit Chuck Burton / AP
Employees say Bank of America encouraged them to lie and falsify records to push more accounts into foreclosure.

Six former employees and one contractor say Bank of America's mortgage servicing unit consistently lied to homeowners, fraudulently denied loan modifications and offered bonuses to staff for intentionally pushing people into foreclosure, according to a Salon.com report.

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The Two-Way
5:34 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Perk Backlash: Do Surprise Upgrades Make Us Uneasy?

Credit iStockphoto.com
A new study finds that while "receiving unearned preferential treatment does generate positive reactions, it is not always an entirely pleasurable experience." Examples include getting a free upgrade on a hotel room.

Whether it's a free upgrade on a hotel room or skipping ahead in the check-in line, many businesses give preferential treatment to some customers, hoping to make them more loyal. The practice often works — but a new study suggests that when we get perks we didn't earn, negative feelings can result. And they can make a surprise deal a little less sweet.

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The Two-Way
5:05 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

The 'Standing Man' Of Turkey: Act Of Quiet Protest Goes Viral

Credit Petr David Josek / AP
Erdem Gunduz (center) stands in Instanbul's Taksim Square early Tuesday. After weeks of clashes with police, many Turkish protesters were inspired to emulate Gunduz, and stand silently.

As protests against the Turkish government enter their third week, activists are taking increasingly creative measures to maintain their momentum.

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It's All Politics
4:26 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Obama's Unplanned NSA Discussion

Credit Evan Vucci / AP
President Obama listens to French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 4:58 pm

You have to wonder if President Obama ever thought, when he first ran for the White House, that he would need to defend himself from accusations his presidency would be a mere extension of his Republican predecessor.

But there he was with journalist Charlie Rose having to explain why his approach to national security wasn't really like that of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

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The Two-Way
4:22 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

'Days Of Rambo Are Over': Pentagon Details Women's Move To Combat

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
Women in the U.S. military will be integrated into front-line combat units by 2016, the Pentagon says. Here, female Marine recruits stand in formation during pugil stick training in boot camp earlier this year at Parris Island, S.C.

Women in America's armed services will have new options for what units they can join in coming years, the Pentagon says. The military said in January that it will end its combat exclusion that set a minimum size for units in which women could be deployed; the limit kept many women away from front-line combat units. The shift means women could join elite forces such as the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs.

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The Salt
4:06 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

The Mystery Of the Ridiculously Pricey Bag Of Potatoes

Credit iStockphoto.com
How much for that bag of potatoes?

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 5:39 pm

On Monday we told you about allegations that America's potato growers had banded together in a price-fixing Potato Cartel.

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Shots - Health News
3:53 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

FDA Backs Off On Regulation Of Fecal Transplants

Credit Janice Carr / CDC/dapd
Bad bug: The bacterium Clostridium difficile kills 14,000 people in the United States each year.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 12:34 pm

Federal regulators are dropping plans to tightly control a procedure that is becoming increasingly popular for treating people stricken by life-threatening infections of the digestive system.

The Food and Drug Administration says the agency will exercise enforcement discretion and no longer require doctors to get the agency's approval before using "fecal microbiota for transplantation."

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All Tech Considered
3:52 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Mexico's Tech Startups Look To Overcome Barriers To Growth

Credit Mónica Ortiz Uribe for NPR
Enrique Lima is a co-founder of Publish 88, a Mexican startup that develops software for publishing companies.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 6:18 pm

In the past decade, Mexico's tech industry has flourished, growing three times faster than the global average. Most of that growth has been fueled by demand from the United States. But as Mexico's startups strive to make it in foreign markets, they say they need more engineers and ways to finance their growth.

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