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Music Interviews
1:28 pm
Mon April 2, 2012

Hello? Is This The Country Album You're Looking For?

Credit Alan Silfen / UMG Nashville
"If I had to have another title for this record besides Tuskegee," Lionel Richie says, "it would be called All the Songs That They Told Me Would Ruin My Career."

Originally published on Mon April 2, 2012 3:12 pm

You know who's got a country album out right now? Lionel Richie. The same Lionel Richie who started his career in the funk band The Commodores — that's right, the group that made "Brick House."

But on his new album, titled Tuskegee, country artists from Tim McGraw to Darius Rucker re-imagine the ballads that made Richie famous. These are the songs that have become slow-dance staples at proms and weddings everywhere.

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Africa
1:12 pm
Mon April 2, 2012

Once-Thriving Egyptian Port Suffers After Soccer Riot

Originally published on Mon April 2, 2012 3:12 pm

The Egyptian city of Port Said is the northern gateway to one of the world's key shipping lanes, the Suez Canal connecting the Mediterranean Sea with the Red Sea. With its ornate buildings and clean streets, the sprawling city has one of the highest standards of living in Egypt.

But this year, Port Said has become known for something more sinister: It was the site of Egypt's deadliest soccer riot.

Many of the city's officials and residents say the tragedy has destroyed Port Said's reputation and left them in financial trouble.

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The Two-Way
12:35 pm
Mon April 2, 2012

ABC News: Enhanced Video Shows Injury To Zimmerman's Head

Credit ABC News
From the enhanced version of the video, showing what may be a gash on George Zimmerman's head.

Reporting that it has had the video "clarified" by a forensics company, ABC News is now saying that a police surveillance recording of George Zimmerman "shows the neighborhood watch captain with an injury to the back of his head."

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The Salt
12:19 pm
Mon April 2, 2012

French Muslims Ease Cultural Tensions With French-Halal Food

Credit Les Enfants Terrible
Sofiane, left, and Kamel Saidi, right, are French-Algerian brothers who own Les Enfants Terrible.

On a recent evening, Les Enfants Terribles, a Paris restaurant that serves French cuisine cooked with halal meat, was brimming with customers.

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Middle East
12:05 pm
Mon April 2, 2012

Syrian Exiles Seek To Spread Word On Internet Radio

Credit Rodrigo Abd / AP
Protests in Syria have carried on despite the crackdown by the government's security forces. New Start Radio, an Internet radio station, has reported on events by speaking to citizen journalists around the country. Here, protesters take part in a March 2 demonstration in northern Syria.

Originally published on Mon April 2, 2012 3:12 pm

We can't tell you where Hussam and Rania live, but we can tell you they used to live in Syria's capital, Damascus.

Hussam was a creative director at a small marketing company he founded with a friend. Rania was the morning host for a radio station owned by the cousin of Syrian President Bashar Assad.

Then came the protests all around Syria. Then came the phone call.

"The radio station called me, at home, and they said, 'Rania we have to say the truth,' " Rania says.

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