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The Two-Way
7:48 am
Tue January 31, 2012

Stephen Colbert Says His Super PAC Raised $1 Million

Credit Richard Ellis / Getty Images
Comedian Stephen Colbert at a campaign stop in Charleston, South Carolina.

"I'm rolling seven digits deep!" is what Stephen Colbert told the Federal Election Commission in his superPAC's filing this morning.

The comedian said that as of January 30, his political action committee had collected $1,023,121.24 in donations.

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The Two-Way
6:44 am
Tue January 31, 2012

VIDEO: Mitt Romney Sings 'America The Beautiful'

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, campaigns at The Villages, Fla. on Monday.

Maybe it's the latest poll numbers. Maybe it was being among a crowd of a few thousand supporters.

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Around the Nation
6:17 am
Tue January 31, 2012

Protesters Sue Utility After TVA Bans Costumes

Last July, people protested the Tennessee Valley Authority's plan to finish a nuclear plant. They came to a board meeting dressed as zombies. The TVA then banned costumes. The Knoxville News Sentinel says this explains how the TVA is now being sued by Santa Claus and a pirate.

The Two-Way
6:11 am
Tue January 31, 2012

As Florida Votes, Polls Put Mitt Romney Comfortably Ahead

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney greets people during a grassroots rally with supporters at Lake Sumter Landing on Monday.

Odds are that today's Republican primary in Florida won't be nearly as dramatic as the previous contest in South Carolina. Polls have been predicting a comfortable win for Mitt Romney and, as The Washington Post reports, a Quinnipiac University poll released, yesterday, gave Romney a 14-point lead over Newt Gingrich.

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Around the Nation
6:06 am
Tue January 31, 2012

Air Travelers In San Francisco Can Relax With Yoga

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Where else would it start but San Francisco? Yoga has joined the food courts and massage stations as a pre-flight experience. San Francisco International Airport is now offering a yoga room. Travelers can stretch and de-stress before squeezing into those painfully crowded planes. It's equipped with mats, warm lights kept low and walls painted a serene blue. But if that's not what relaxes you, there is always the bar. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Business
3:35 am
Tue January 31, 2012

Sotol Maker Tries To Break Into U.S. Spirits Market

Americans drank more than 100 million liters of tequila in 2010. It's no wonder then, that a little-known spirit from Mexico is trying to make its name in the United States. Introducing Sotol — a smoky smooth liquor distilled in the Mexican state of Chihuahua.

Sports
11:01 pm
Mon January 30, 2012

It's A Good Time To Be An LA Clippers 'Superfan'

Credit Lisa Blumenfeld / Getty Images
"Clipper Darrell" dances with the "Clipper Spirit" during a game against the Memphis Grizzlies at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California in 2002.

For a long time, Los Angeles has been a Lakers town, but thanks to some of the NBA's brightest young stars it's now the perennially-ridiculed Clippers that have the better record, and much of the city's attention. That's especially gratifying for one die-hard Clippers fan.

Darrell Bailey, better known as "Clipper Darrell," has missed only one Clipper game in the past 11 seasons. "I was in the hospital," he says. "That's the only reason they kept me out."

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Europe
11:01 pm
Mon January 30, 2012

In Italy, Art As A Window Into Modern Banking

Credit Courtesy of Palazzo Strozzi
Oil painting by Marinus van Reymerswaele.

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

As Italy and much of Europe struggle with their finances, the city of Florence has staged an art exhibition looking at the critical — and controversial — role that financial institutions have played for centuries.

The recent Money and Beauty exhibit, held in the majestic 15th-century Palazzo Strozzi, illustrated how Florentine merchants got around the Catholic Church's ban on money-lending and bankrolled the Renaissance.

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Law
11:01 pm
Mon January 30, 2012

GOP Seeks Big Changes In Federal Prison Sentences

Credit iStockphoto.com

Every year, federal judges sentence more than 80,000 criminals. Those punishments are supposed to be fair — and predictable. But seven years ago, the U.S. Supreme Court threw a wrench into the system by ruling that the guidelines that judges use to figure out a prison sentence are only suggestions.

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Shots - Health Blog
11:01 pm
Mon January 30, 2012

'I Wanted To Live:' New Depression Drugs Offer Hope For Toughest Cases

A club drug called "Special K" is generating a lot of buzz among researchers who study depression.

That's because "Special K," which is actually an FDA-approved anesthetic named ketamine, can relieve even suicidal depression in a matter of hours. And it works on many patients who haven't responded to current antidepressants like Prozac.

Those traditional drugs, which act on the brain's serotonin system, can take more than a month to kick in, and don't work for up to 40 percent of people with major depression.

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