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Election 2012
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

For A Billionaire, $2M Gets You Superdonor Status

Credit Vince Bucci / AFP/Getty Images
Bill Koch (center) celebrates his team's 1992 America's Cup win. Koch, the brother of billionaire GOP donors Charles and David, has given $2 million to the superPAC backing Mitt Romney.

Originally published on Mon May 28, 2012 9:25 am

In the world of high-dollar politics, the billionaire industrialists David and Charles Koch are famous for their lavish funding of conservative politicians and causes. But there's another Koch brother — William — who is passionate about many things, but only recently about politics.

Bill Koch is an avid yachtsman, and he set out to win the 1992 America's Cup. It would take four boats, more than 260 team members and single-minded determination.

David Rosow was the team's business manager and is a longtime friend of Koch's.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Patients Find Each Other Online To Jump-Start Medical Research

Credit Emily Bogle / NPR
Katherine Leon says she spends up to 12 hours a day online interacting with others who share her rare heart condition.

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 10:17 am

People with extremely rare diseases are often scattered across the world, and any one hospital has a hard time locating enough individuals to conduct meaningful research.

But one woman with an extremely rare heart condition managed to do what many hospitals couldn't. Katherine Leon connected with enough people online to interest the Mayo Clinic in a research trial.

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Shots - Health Blog
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Patients Crusade For Access To Their Medical Device Data

Originally published on Tue May 29, 2012 7:19 am

Dead Stop
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

The Graveyard Of Shelved Ice Cream Flavors

Originally published on Thu June 7, 2012 9:19 am

The first installment in Dead Stop, Morning Edition's summer road trip series about interesting gravesites in America.

When the Ben and Jerry's ice cream company kills a flavor, it's treated with respect — including a burial in the company's "Flavor Graveyard."

"I think we've got the best, and the not-best, up here," Sean Greenwood, Ben and Jerry's Grand Poobah of Publicity, says from the cemetery in Waterbury, Vt.

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Europe
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Spanish Lender Gets $24 Billion Lifeline

Spain's third largest lender, Bankia, is getting a $24 billion lifeline from the Spanish government. The move is a part of Madrid's effort to return some stability to the country's struggling financial sector.

Around the Nation
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Secrets To A Happy Marriage: Matching Outfits?

Originally published on Mon May 28, 2012 5:24 am

Mel and Joey Schwanke have been married 64 years. The Fremont, Neb., couple appears to be the perfect match — perhaps their secret is matching outfits. The Schwankes told Omaha's KETV they've dressed alike for decades. They've got a closet full of 146 combinations. Mel's tie always matches the patterns on Joey's dresses.

Around the Nation
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Controversy Rages Over Farm Safety Rules For Teens

Originally published on Mon May 28, 2012 5:25 am

Farm worker advocates and top Obama administration officials have been pushing hard for new regulations that would improve safety for teenagers working on farms. But facing fierce opposition from the agriculture industry and its allies in Congress, the Department of Labor abruptly withdrew a set of rules that advocates said could save dozens of lives every year.

Business
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Subprime Market Aids Car Industry Growth

The average credit score for new- and used-car buyers has taken a fall since the days of the financial crisis in 2008. It's fallen especially in the last two quarters. Brands such as Kia and Dodge are gobbling up a disproportionate number of subprime buyers. An increasing number of new-car buyers are getting loans with interest rates higher than 10 percent.

Science
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

Summer Science: An Introduction

David Greene speaks with NPR's Joe Palca about Morning Edition's upcoming series, "Summer Science."

Around the Nation
4:49 am
Mon May 28, 2012

A Conversation With Chief Of Hurricane Center

David Greene talks to Rick Knabb, the newly named head of the National Hurricane Center. Knabb is currently the Weather Channel's resident hurricane expert. When he previously worked at the National Hurricane Center as a meteorologist, he was one of the lead forecasters for Hurricane Katrina.

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