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Election 2012
11:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

'President Gingrich' Promises Permanent Moon Base

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate and former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich outlines his vision for the U.S. space program at a Space Coast town hall meeting in Cocoa, Fla., Wednesday.

Newt Gingrich is a self described space nut. He traveled to Florida's Space Coast near Cape Canaveral Wednesday to outline what he described as a bold program that would send Americans back to the moon and beyond.

Gingrich outlined his vision to a crowded hotel ballroom in Cocoa, not far from the Kennedy Space Center. He talked of coming of age at the time of Sputnik, which was the first satellite launched in 1957 by the Soviet Union. He recalled reading science fiction, author Isaac Asimov and Missiles and Rockets magazine.

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Space
11:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Want To Make A Giant Telescope Mirror? Here's How

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:05 am

The world's largest mirrors for the world's largest telescopes are made under the football stadium at the University of Arizona.

Why there? Why not?

"We wanted some space, and it was just used for parking some cars, and this seemed like a good use," says Roger Angel.

Angel is the master of making big mirrors for telescopes. For 30 years he has been using a method called spin casting to make the largest solid telescope mirrors in the world.

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Middle East
11:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

For Turkish Journalists, Arrest Is A Real Danger

Originally published on Thu January 26, 2012 10:42 am

In the wake of the Arab Spring, some Muslims in North Africa are looking across the Mediterranean to Turkey as a potential model of a state that can be modern, Islamic and democratic.

But some analysts in the region say that model is flawed, and they are questioning Turkey's human-rights record and its dealings with the press.

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Business
11:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Quiznos Gives Up Control To Stave Off Bankruptcy

Credit Rob Kim / Landov
A man walks by a Quiznos franchise in New York City. The sandwich chain has given up part of its ownership to a private equity firm in order to restructure its debt and avoid bankruptcy.

Quiznos narrowly avoided bankruptcy this week when the sandwich chain shifted ownership to private equity firm Avenue Capital in exchange for erasing some debt.

The recession and poor management have hit the Denver-based sub-maker hard. The company once boasted more than 5,000 restaurants, but 40 percent of them have now shut their doors.

Andre Bonyadian owns nine Quiznos franchises in and around Los Angeles.

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Business
11:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

To Grow Business, Starbucks Thinks Outside The Cup

Credit Ted S. Warren / AP
Barista Nicole Adams serves up a drink in March at a Starbucks in downtown Seattle. The company is expanding its coffee options to include a light roast and plans to create a new health and wellness brand.

Just four years ago, Starbucks seemed to be losing its mojo. Howard Schultz, the man who made Starbucks a household name, returned to the company as CEO. He closed hundreds of stores, streamlined operations and set the company on a path to record revenues and strong profits.

Starbucks serves 60 million beverages a week, which adds up to big profits. The company reports its earnings Thursday. In a bid to further expand its consumer base, Starbucks has a new roast and plans to produce more retail products to sell outside of its coffeehouses.

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Middle East
11:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Growing Pressures Prompt Plunge In Iranian Currency

The value of Iran's currency — which had been sliding steadily for months — took another plunge this week. Faced with new economic sanctions from the U.S. and Europe, the rial now seems to be in free fall.

But at least part of the dive could be linked to currency manipulation by the government itself in an effort to fund candidates in upcoming elections.

In images posted on the Internet, hundreds of Iranians are seen gathered outside the headquarters of the Bank Melli in Tehran Monday. They wanted to buy dollars, but there were no dollars to be had.

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Planet Money
11:01 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

No, Hedge Funds Can't Foreclose On The Acropolis

Credit DIMITAR DILKOFF / AFP/Getty Images

Originally published on Mon May 7, 2012 11:12 am

Greece is broke. But there's no blueprint for a country to declare bankruptcy, so Greece's creditors are sort of making things up as they go along.

"You're taking some sort of loss," Hans Humes of Greylock Capital Management told me. "But it's like, how much of a loss do you take? There's this thing called sovereign immunity. You can't go in and take the Acropolis."

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The Two-Way
5:40 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Dick Tufeld, Voice Of The Robot in 'Lost In Space,' Has Died

The man who made "danger, Will Robinson!" a phrase that some of us will never forget has died.

Dick Tufeld, the voice of the robot in the classic '60s TV show Lost in Space, passed away Sunday in Los Angeles, The Associated Press reports. He was 85.

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Music Interviews
5:35 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Michelle Kwan's Slow And Steady Workout Jams

Credit Matthew Stockman / Getty Images
Michelle Kwan performs at an exhibition in 2005.
The Salt
5:20 pm
Wed January 25, 2012

Alice Waters: Picture Perfect As The Constant Gardener

Credit John Rose / NPR
Chefs Jose Andres and Alice Waters pose along side her newly installed portrait, by photographer Dave Woody, at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, on Jan. 20, 2012.

Alice Waters has moved from the kitchen to the garden to the soap box in her 40 years as a pioneer of the sustainable and locally grown food movement. But on one recent night, The Salt found her "hanging" in the National Portrait Gallery in Washington.

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