Law
4:15 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Firm Leaves Miss. After Its Prison Is Called 'Cesspool'

Originally published on Mon April 30, 2012 8:06 pm

One month after a federal court ordered sweeping changes at a troubled juvenile prison in rural Mississippi, the private company managing the prison is out. A report by the Justice Department describes "systemic, egregious and dangerous practices" at the Walnut Grove Youth Correctional Facility.

As those words imply, the official report is scathing.

Federal Judge Carlton Reeves wrote that the youth prison "has allowed a cesspool of unconstitutional and inhuman acts and conditions to germinate, the sum of which places the offenders at substantial ongoing risk."

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Programming
4:00 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Morning Edition on Wednesday, April 25: "The Blood Sugar Solution" by Dr. Mark Hyman

Do you suffer from 'diabesity'? Almost 50 percent of Americans do and probably don't even know it. Dr. Hyman talks about the reasons why so many of us are either diabetic or on the verge of becoming diabetic. He also talks about how easy it is to reverse diabesity and not only lose weight, but become healthier overall. It's all about cooking and eating.

 

Find out more at www.DrHyman.com.

World Cafe
3:57 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Ben Howard On World Cafe

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Ben Howard is a no-nonsense, no-frills singer-songwriter.

A surfer and songwriter, Ben Howard's two loves intertwined when the English surfing world became the first audience for his quiet, meditative music. At the encouragement of friends, Howard released two EPs and was soon invited to tour with Xavier Rudd. Howard is a talented artist in the vein of labelmate and influence Nick Drake, with similarly dark and soulful lyrics.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:38 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Los Angeles Bets On Crusading Doc To Turn Around Public Health

Credit Michael Wilson / L.A.County Health Services Dept.
Dr. Mitch Katz rides his bike to work, defying the commuting norm in Los Angeles.

Originally published on Tue April 24, 2012 9:24 pm

It would be easy to confuse Dr. Mitch Katz with any other doctor at the Roybal Comprehensive Health Center in East Los Angeles. His desk in a closet-sized, windowless office is littered with patient records, X-rays and cans of Diet Coke.

His everyman demeanor belies his stature. As director of the county's Department of Health Services, Katz, 52, oversees Los Angeles' public hospitals and clinics, the health care of last resort for millions of low-income Angelenos. He oversees 22,000 employees and a $3.7 billion-dollar budget.

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The Two-Way
3:34 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

USDA: New Case Of Mad Cow Disease Confirmed In California

Originally published on Tue April 24, 2012 6:25 pm

The U.S. Department of Agriculture says it has confirmed a case of Mad Cow disease in a cow in central California. It is the fourth case found in the country in recent years.

The animal was a dairy cow and "at no time presented a risk to the food supply or human health," U.S.D.A. Chief Veterinary Officer John Clifford said in a statement.

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The Two-Way
2:55 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Cardboard Prom Dress Is Just The Right Fit For This Young Woman

Credit Steve Pozek (her dad)
Maura Pozek in her latest creation.

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:51 am

Why did Missouri teen Maura Pozek make her prom dress out of cardboard and paper bags?

Because after fashioning the previous two years' outfits out of Doritos bags and soda can tabs, "I had to top myself somehow."

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The Two-Way
2:38 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

With 'Drive,' Google Joins The Cloud Storage War

Credit Google
Google Drive.

Originally published on Tue April 24, 2012 2:44 pm

Shots - Health Blog
2:25 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Bird Flu Scientist Has Applied For Permit To Export Research

The Dutch scientist at the center of the controversy over recent bird flu experiments says that his team applied for government permission today to submit a paper describing their research to a science journal.

The Dutch government has asserted that the studies, which describe how to make bird flu virus more contagious, fall under regulations that control the export of weapons technology.

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Shots - Health Blog
2:07 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Americans' Cholesterol Drops, Despite Surge In Obesity

Credit iStockphoto.com
Americans are heavier than ever, yet the amount of cholesterol in our blood is on the decline.

Originally published on Fri April 27, 2012 9:47 am

A curious — and good — thing has happened on the road to Obesity Nation: the share of the U.S. adult population with high cholesterol has dropped.

Data just out from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that only 13.4 percent of adults in this country have high cholesterol, according to data collected in 2009 and 2010.

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The Two-Way
1:55 pm
Tue April 24, 2012

Cuban Actors, In Movie About Defecting, Appear To Have Defected

As many news outlets have put it, this might be a perfect case of life imitating art: Two Cuban actors, who star in a movie about about teenagers who decide to defect to the United States, have gone missing shortly after arriving in the United States for the Tribeca Film Festival premiere of Una Noche.

Six days later, Javier Núñez Florián and Anailín de la Rúa de la Torre are still missing and assumed to have defected.

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