The Two-Way
11:40 am
Fri May 24, 2013

New Jersey Shore Is Ready For Visitors, Gov. Christie Says

Credit Jeff Zelevansky / Getty Images
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie earlier this month.
The Two-Way
10:25 am
Fri May 24, 2013

Amphibians' Population Decline Marked In New U.S. Study

Credit Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images
Populations of frogs and other amphibians are declining at an average rate of 3.7 percent each year, according to a new U.S. Geological Survey study.

Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 11:37 am

Populations of frogs, salamanders and other amphibians are declining at an average rate of 3.7 percent each year, according to a U.S. Geological Survey study released this week. Researchers say the study is the first to calculate how quickly amphibians are disappearing in the United States.

"If the rate observed is representative and remains unchanged, these species would disappear from half of the habitats they currently occupy in about 20 years," according to the USGS.

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The Two-Way
10:22 am
Fri May 24, 2013

There's No Place For Sex Assaults In Military, Obama Says

Credit Larry Downing / Reuters /Landov
President Obama delivering the commencement address Friday at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md.

Saying that "those who commit sexual assaults are not only committing a crime, they threaten the trust and discipline that make our military strong," President Obama on Friday urged Naval Academy graduates to help bring an end to a disturbing series of such offenses.

"They've got no place in the greatest military on earth," Obama said during the commencement address he delivered at the academy's Annapolis, Md., campus.

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Music Reviews
9:44 am
Fri May 24, 2013

Kobo Town: A Haunted 'Jukebox' Filled With Caribbean Sounds

Credit Paul Wright / Courtesy of the artist
The Toronto band Kobo Town plays a mix of old-school calypso, ska and West Indian styles.

Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 4:03 pm

Throughout Kobo Town's new album Jumbie in the Jukebox, frontman Drew Gonsalves declares his love for the past even as his feet are firmly planted in the present. The music of the Toronto band can drift between classic Caribbean pop styles and even verge on hip-hop, but the singer's perspective remains sharply focused, wry and witty. The song "Postcard Poverty," for example, ribs tourists for whom tropical slums become an exotic backdrop to fun-in-the-sun adventures.

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U.S.
8:58 am
Fri May 24, 2013

Why Former Gitmo Chief Left In Protest

President Obama is once again calling for the prison at Guantanamo Bay to be shut down, even though new polls suggest most Americans want it to stay open. But the chorus of critics has gained one surprising member: former Guantanamo Chief Prosecutor Morris Davis. Host Michel Martin talks with Davis about why he now feels the facility should be closed.

Shots - Health News
8:57 am
Fri May 24, 2013

Health Insurance At 'Good Prices' Coming To Calif. Exchange

Credit Rich Pedroncelli / AP
Peter Lee, executive director of Covered California, unveiled the plans and prices that will be offered by private insurers at a media briefing in Sacramento on Thursday.

Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 2:12 pm

California just unveiled a wide array of choices for the 5.3 million people expected to qualify to buy coverage through its online marketplace established by the federal health overhaul.

It's the first disclosure of prices in the nation's most populous state for individual health insurance that complies with the Affordable Care Act, and the menu of affordable options surprised some consumer advocates and analysts who had been expecting premiums to be much higher.

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The Two-Way
8:23 am
Fri May 24, 2013

James Joyce Coin-troversy Reportedly Could Have Been Averted

Credit Irish Central Bank
A commemorative 10-euro coin featuring James Joyce bears an image of the author that his literary estate did not approve. It also misquotes his work.

Irish banking officials should have known there were problems with the controversial 10-euro coin commemorating James Joyce, according to Ireland's RTE News. The coin misquotes the author's Ulysses, and bears an image of Joyce that his estate did not approve.

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The Two-Way
8:15 am
Fri May 24, 2013

2 Men Arrested After Pakistani Jet Is Diverted Over U.K.

Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 12:49 pm

Two men were arrested and removed from a Pakistan International Airlines passenger jet Friday. It had been on its way from Lahore, Pakistan, to Manchester, England, when something that happened aboard led authorities to scramble Royal Air Force fighter jets and divert the passenger plane to London Stansted Airport.

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The Two-Way
7:16 am
Fri May 24, 2013

British Soldier Hacked To Death Was 'Our Hero,' Family Says

Credit Dave Thompson / Reuters /Landov
As Ian Rigby spoke Friday about his stepson Lee, a British soldier who was murdered on a south London street this week, the young man's widow, Rebecca (right), and his mother, Lyn, reached out.

Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 9:37 am

The Two-Way
6:34 am
Fri May 24, 2013

Developing: Explosion, Gunfire In Kabul

Credit Omar Sobhani / Reuters /Landov
A wounded Afghan police officer is helped from the scene of Friday's explosion and gunfire in Kabul.

Originally published on Fri May 24, 2013 3:50 pm

  • NPR's Sean Carberry, reporting from Kabul

(We most recently updated the top of this post at 6:45 p.m. ET.)

An explosion followed by gunfire in Kabul on Friday claimed the lives of at least two attackers and wounded a small number of civilians. The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack, which appeared to have been aimed at offices of the International Organization for Migration and stretched over several hours as Afghan security forces tried to hunt down those responsible.

As night fell in Kabul, it was unclear whether the incident was over or not.

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