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The Two-Way
1:10 pm
Tue November 22, 2011

Obama Gets Heckled, Occupy-Style

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A protester shouts during a speech by President Obama today in Manchester, N.H.
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Politics
12:47 pm
Tue November 22, 2011

Postmaster: Postal Service In Dire Financial Straits

Credit Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images
U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe said Monday that the Postal Service is in "a deep financial crisis" because it has a "business model that is tied to the past."
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Originally published on Wed November 23, 2011 12:07 pm

U.S. Postmaster General Patrick Donahoe appealed to Congress on Monday to help him reform the Postal Service.

"We're in a deep financial crisis today because we have a business model that is tied to the past. We are expected to operate like a business, but do not have the flexibility to do so," he said at the National Press Club.

Donahoe also rejected the postal reform bills that have passed committees of the Republican-controlled House and the Democratic Senate.

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The Two-Way
12:26 pm
Tue November 22, 2011

Too Sweet A Deal? British Cupcake-Maker Says She Was Burned By Groupon

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Sites like LivingSocial and Groupon offer big discounts at a variety of retailers, like cupcake bakeries.
Credit Mark Lennihan / AP
Andrew Mason, founder and CEO of Groupon, attends his company's IPO at Nasdaq in New York.
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Originally published on Tue November 22, 2011 12:31 pm

Sometimes, there is such a thing as too sweet a deal. A British cupcake-maker decided to offer a Groupon deal that she says wiped out any profits she had made all year. If you're not familiar, Groupon is an Internet coupon company in which businesses offer deals to lure new customers into their shops.

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Living Large: Obesity In America
11:58 am
Tue November 22, 2011

School Transforms Teens' Lives, One Pound At A Time

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Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Wellspring students do high steps on the tennis court. Exercise is paramount at Wellspring, and a little rain doesn't get in the way of outdoor activities.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Students do high steps on the tennis court. Exercise is paramount at Wellspring, and a little rain doesn't get in the way of outdoor activities.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Healthful dieting is more than half the battle. Every calorie and gram of fat is strictly monitored by the staff at Wellspring and carefully recorded by the students. Here, Savannah Davis finishes her dinner with broccoli.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Wellspring students wear pedometers and are required to take a minimum of 10,000 steps each day.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
A board in the cafeteria breaks down the calories and fat grams for each meal. A full salad bar is always offered.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Students aim to consume 1,200 to 1,400 calories per day, a dramatic change for most of them.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Jade Tapia, 14, cries as she says goodbye to her father just after arriving on the Wellspring campus in August. If students make enough progress in the first eight weeks, they earn the right to go home for the weekend or to go out to eat with their visiting families.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Academics are rigorous at Wellspring. Here, students sit in a math class on campus. With a maximum campus enrollment of 50 students, class size is generally very small.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Savannah Davis calculates her calorie and fat intake during a free moment.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Wellspring students go for a swim in the lake just before sunset.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Bethany Gomez (from left), Ana Pierdant, Rachel Fujiyoshi and Jessica Wiegel swap stories and paint fingernails in their dorm before lights out.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Savannah Davis (second from right) walks with her friends to the cafeteria. In the five years of its existence, Wellspring has earned a reputation for teaching overweight children to prefer healthful food and exercise.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Students walk through the scenic campus of Wellspring Academy, a boarding school for overweight children, located near Asheville, N.C. In addition to taking regular academic classes, students learn to control weight through a healthful diet, exercise and counseling.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Haley Humphrey, 15, of Athens, Ala., lost about 34 pounds at a Wellspring camp last summer.
Credit Travis Dove for NPR
Wellspring student Bethany Gomez, 16, arrived in August from her home in Galveston, Texas. She had already spent two months at Wellspring last year as well as six weeks at a Wellspring summer camp and had lost about 65 pounds. "I'm about halfway there," she says.
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Originally published on Wed August 1, 2012 5:04 pm

First of two stories, which are part of an ongoing series on obesity in America. The first part begins in August as students start their weight-loss journey at Wellspring Academy, a boarding school in Brevard, N.C. The second checks in with the students a few months later.

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Shots - Health Blog
11:51 am
Tue November 22, 2011

When Weighing Painkillers, Americans Worry: 'Will I Become An Addict?'

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By Scott Hensley

Narcotic painkillers are among the most commonly prescribed drugs in the U.S., with more than 244 million prescriptions dispensed in 2010.

The drugs help ease the pain of tens of millions of people each year. But the potent narcotics also carry serious risks that can be heightened by chronic use or abuse.

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