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It's All Politics
1:55 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Obama Spreads (Tele)Phony Story About Long-Dead President

Credit AP
President Rutherford B. Hayes actually was a big fan of the telephone, despite President Obama's assertion otherwise.

Poor Rutherford B. Hayes. It wasn't bad enough that the 19th president, a Republican, was called "His Fraudulency" by Democrats during his one term in office (1877-1881) because of the unusual circumstances of how he "won."

Now, the current occupant of the White House, President Obama, was spreading a most assuredly inaccurate story, according to experts, about Hayes' reaction to an early telephone.

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The Salt
1:02 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Drunk On Biology For St. Patrick's Day

Credit Adam Cole / NPR

Have you ever wondered what would happen if Louis Pasteur joined The Clancy Brothers? Or if The Chieftains were more nerdy and less talented? Well, wonder no longer!

I wrote this song about the science of beer last year and the folks at The Salt asked me to dust it off in celebration of St. Patrick's Day.

In a vaguely Irish style, the song salutes that hero of beer production, the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and explains the biochemistry of inebriation.

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Law
1:00 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Rutgers Student Charged After Spying On Roommate

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

A former Rutgers University student was found guilty today on 15 counts, including a hate crime. Dharun Ravi face charges related to spying via computer while his roommate had an intimate encounter with a man. The roommate, named Tyler Clementi, committed suicide soon afterward. The court case centered on tweets and a digital cache of texts and instant messages. Nancy Solomon of New Jersey Public Radio tells us about the verdict.

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Law
1:00 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Supreme Court Allows Same-Day Audio In Healthcare Case

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Here's one more piece of legal news. The U.S. Supreme Court will make same-day audio available of the upcoming arguments on the health care overhaul. The court says it's responding to extraordinary public interest in the case. Here's NPR's Nina Totenberg.

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Afghanistan
1:00 pm
Fri March 16, 2012

Soldier Accused Of Killing 16 Afghans Headed To U.S.

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