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Politics
5:34 am
Sun August 5, 2012

A Democrat's View: Why Women Should Vote For Obama

Women will be a key voting group in this tight presidential election. This weekend, the Obama campaign is hosting two summits for women voters in Florida. Guest host Linda Wertheimer speaks with Debbie Wasserman Schultz, chairwoman for the Democratic National Committee and Congresswoman for Florida's 20th District, about the issues at hand.

Europe
5:34 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Summer Weddings Buoy Economy Of Small Greek Island

The Greek economic crisis has barely grazed the tiny island of Folegandros. It lives off boutique tourism and island weddings that keep its small hotels, windmill houses and tavernas full. Joanna Kakissis sends a postcard of a very multinational wedding on the island.

Participation Nation
5:26 am
Sun August 5, 2012

The People's Boutique In Washington, D.C.

Credit Courtesy of Caroline Lacey
Zaniyah sleeps while her mom shops at the Bread for the City boutique.

This month we are collecting your stories about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Some of your contributions will become blog posts and the project will end with a story that weaves together submissions to make a story of Americans by Americans for Americans.

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It's All Politics
5:16 am
Sun August 5, 2012

The Youth Vote 2012: Once Again, With Enthusiasm?

Credit John Raoux / AP
Aubrey Marks (left) helps a University of Central Florida student to register to vote in Orlando, Fla., on July 31.

Christina Sanders, who organizes young voters, has a message for those under-30 with political grievances: "There is no Superman coming."

Trying to convince members of the notoriously non-voting age-group to head to the polls on Nov. 6 for the presidential election, she tells them: "You are a part of the American system."

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Animals
4:11 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Bat Calls Make Eerie Comeback As Techno-Like Beats

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 5:34 am

For the past five years, bats have been disappearing at an alarming rate, falling prey to a mysterious disease called white-nose syndrome. But they're making an eerie comeback in a new audio exhibit at a national park in Vermont. The exhibit features manipulated recordings of bat calls that are funneled through glass vessels hanging from a studio ceiling.

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Joe's Big Idea
4:11 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Scientists Look To Martian Rocks For History Of Life

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 9:41 am

NASA has sent rovers to explore Mars before. But three words explain what makes this latest mission to Mars so different: location, location, location.

The rover Curiosity is slated to land late Sunday in Gale Crater, near the base of a 3-mile-high mountain with layers like the Grand Canyon. Scientists think those rocks could harbor secrets about the history of water — and life — on the Red Planet.

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Presidential Race
4:10 am
Sun August 5, 2012

Back Scratch? Romney Has An Ally In Indiana

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock, right, applauds as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks during a campaign event at Stepto's Bar-B-Q Shack in Evansville, Ind., Saturday.

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 5:48 pm

Republican Mitt Romney campaigned this weekend in a state that has not seen much of either presidential candidate. Nobody considers Indiana a toss-up in the presidential race.

But the Senate contest there is a different story. It's a very close race, and the result could determine which party controls the Senate next year. So Romney showed up at a barbecue shack in Evansville to give the conservative Republican candidate a boost.

'Help Me Elect This Guy'

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Around the Nation
4:06 pm
Sat August 4, 2012

How America's Losing The War On Poverty

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
Members of the Dolan family walk home with bags of food from the Southern Tier Mobile Food Pantry in Oswego, N.Y., in June. Food banks across the nation are reporting giant spikes in demand.

Originally published on Mon August 6, 2012 11:53 am

While President Obama and Gov. Romney battle for the hearts and minds of the middle class this election season, there's a huge swath of Americans that are largely ignored. It's the poor, and their ranks are growing.

According to a recent survey by The Associated Press, the number of Americans living at or below the poverty line will reach its highest point since President Johnson made his famous declaration of war on poverty in 1964.

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Sports
2:52 pm
Sat August 4, 2012

That's No Swimsuit, That's A Racing System

Originally published on Sun August 5, 2012 4:24 am

In 2008, Speedo got too good at making swimsuits.

Ninety-eight percent of medal winners that year wore the company's LZR Racer, a zip-sealed full-body suit that carried many top athletes — including Michael Phelps — to gold.

But after those games, the sport's international governing body changed the rules to outlaw the LZR by banning zippers and restricting mens' suit coverage from the navel to the knees. So Speedo went back to the drawing board and spent years developing what's now known as the Fastskin3 system.

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Analysis
2:52 pm
Sat August 4, 2012

Week In News: Presidential Race

Originally published on Sat August 4, 2012 4:30 pm

Transcript

GUY RAZ, HOST:

It's WEEKENDS on ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Guy Raz.

(SOUNDBITE OF POLITICAL AD)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: He tried. You tried. It's OK to make a change.

RAZ: Part of a TV ad paid for by the Republican National Committee co-opting the theme of change from Barack Obama's 2008 campaign and using it against him. James Fallows of The Atlantic joins us now as he does most Saturdays. Hello, Jim.

JAMES FALLOWS: Hello, Guy.

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