Health
2:44 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Sole Abortion Clinic In Miss. Fights Law To Stay Open

Credit Rogelio V. Solis / AP
Abortion opponents demonstrate outside Mississippi's only abortion clinic in Jackson.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 9:26 pm

A new Mississippi law requires doctors who perform abortions in the state to be board-certified OB-GYNs. They also must have privileges to admit patients at a local hospital.

The law is regulatory in nature, but at a bill-signing ceremony in April, Mississippi Lt. Gov. Tate Reeves was clear about the intent.

"We have an opportunity today with the signing of this bill to end abortion in Mississippi," he said.

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Asia
1:34 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

A Portrait Of Chinese Corruption, In Rosy Pink

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 9:26 pm

Corruption is usually thought to be a bad thing. But in China, the answer is no longer crystal clear.

For decades, the country's Communist Party has declared that corruption threatens its very survival. But there are signs that this is changing. Recently, the state-run media have begun arguing that corruption can't be stamped out, so it should be contained to acceptable levels. And some corruption appears to be tacitly condoned.

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World Cafe
1:32 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

M. Ward On World Cafe

Credit Courtesy of the artist
M. Ward.

In recent years, indie-folk singer-songwriter M. Ward has dabbled in the retro pop sounds of She and Him with Zooey Deschanel and joined forces with Conor Oberst and Jim James in Monsters of Folk.

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The Two-Way
12:51 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

House Passes Bill That Will Keep Student Loans Interests From Rising

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 1:19 pm

By a vote of 373-52, the House passed a massive bill that among other things keeps the interest rate on student loans from doubling on July 1.

"The U.S. House of Representatives passed a massive bill on Friday combining funding for transportation programs, low-interest student loans, and the National Flood Insurance Program," the Reuters reports.

The Washington Post reports:

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Deceptive Cadence
12:51 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Around The Classical Internet: June 29, 2012

Credit FRED DUFOUR / AFP/Getty Images
Myanmar pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi visits Paris' Louvre Museum on June 29, 2012.
  • How many contemporary political figures have a piano prize named after them? Here's one: Burmese opposition leader and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. A gold medal will be awarded in her honor at the Leeds International Piano Competition. Playing the piano was one of her coping mechanisms during 15 years of house arrest.
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Piano Jazz
12:39 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Helen Sung On Piano Jazz

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Helen Sung.

Pianist Helen Sung appeared on Piano Jazz on the heels of her second release, Helenistique. Critics loved the energy, the intelligence and, as pianist Benny Green put it, "the life-affirming joy" that emanated from Sung's playing on that album. Marian McPartland, too, was seduced by Sung's "dazzling and passionate" approach.

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The Two-Way
12:26 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Chief Justice's Critics Don't Understand What Judges Do, Gonzales Says

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Sept. 29, 2005: Then-Attorney General Alberto Gonzales, at lower right, watches as Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts speaks after being sworn in.

Originally published on Fri June 29, 2012 12:31 pm

Conservative critics who say that Chief Justice John Roberts is some kind of traitor to their movement because he was the deciding vote in favor of upholding the Obama administration's Affordable Care Act "don't understand how these judges are supposed to discharge their responsibilities," Bush-era Attorney General Alberto Gonzales told NPR this morning.

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The Two-Way
12:18 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Assange Will Stay In Ecuadorian Embassy, Ignoring Surrender Notice

Julian Assange will defy a British Police notice to surrender. A member of his defense fund said the WikiLeaks founder will remain in the Ecuadorian Embassy in London because asylum law take precedence over an extradition order.

Saying he was afraid of persecution from the United States government and that his extradition to Sweden could hasten that, Assange has sought refuge and asylum from Ecuador.

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Deceptive Cadence
11:58 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Jonathan Biss Embraces Beethoven

Credit Mito-Habe Evans / NPR

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 3:26 pm

Every musician practices differently. Some turn their own living rooms into rehearsal spaces. Others, like pianist Jonathan Biss, prefer to step out of the comforts of home and into a studio. "It's a more productive way of working," Biss told us as we barged in with cameras and microphones.

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The Two-Way
11:53 am
Fri June 29, 2012

Chief Justice Roberts Jokes He's Headed To 'An Impregnable Fortress'

Credit Jim Watson / AFP/Getty Images
Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts surprised the country yesterday by siding with the liberal wing of the court in the health care decision.

Roberts was appointed by President George W. Bush and has reliably taken conservative positions. But after yesterday's decision, you can bet his welcome from conservatives who saw him as a hero has chilled.

Speaking to a conference of judges and lawyers outside of Pittsburg, Roberts acknowledged his predicament.

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