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Sweetness And Light
10:03 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

What's The Score On Spirited Sports Banter At Bars?

Credit iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Wed March 20, 2013 8:16 am

The more I travel, the more I see sports bars. They've been around for years, usually in obvious places, like in college towns or near arenas.

But now they're everywhere, even in airports and hotels, places where you'd expect generic bars. Sports bars are becoming ubiquitous and ordinary — merely, as my wife calls them, public man caves.

All bars, of course, have forever been places where men talk about sports. Other prime saloon subjects include women, the traffic and the weather.

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Religion
7:51 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Moorish Science Spin-Off Group Bucks Federal And State Laws

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

An intriguing story now that we read about today in The Washington Post: 28-year-old Lamont Butler lived briefly this winter in a mansion in Bethesda, Maryland. The house with 12 bedrooms and 6 kitchens was up for sale. Butler didn't own it. He simply walked in and lived there. But Butler says he wasn't breaking and entering. He claims the mansion was his because he's a Moorish American national, a sovereign citizen not subject to federal and state laws. He says he goes by the free national name Lamont Maurice El.

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The Two-Way
6:27 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

NFL Owners Pass Two New, Safety Related Rules

Credit Kathy Willens / AP
Trainers work on Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing during the first half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in 2012.

NFL owners passed two rules aimed at improving player safety, today.

The Associated Press reports:

"The owners outlawed peel-back blocks anywhere on the field; previously, they were illegal only inside the tackle box. A player makes a peel-back block when he is moving toward his goal line, approaches an opponent from behind or the side and makes contact below the waist.

"The penalty will be 15 yards.

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The Two-Way
6:07 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

What's Next For Congolese Warlord Now At U.S. Embassy?

Credit Abdul Ndemere / Reuters /Landov
Gen. Bosco Ntaganda addresses a news conference in Kabati, a village located in Congo's North Kivu province, on Jan. 8, 2009. He showed up at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali on Monday and asked to be transferred to The Hague where is wanted on war crimes charges.

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 6:19 pm

Bosco Ntaganda, the Congolese warlord and rebel leader wanted by the International Criminal Court, showed up at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali on Monday in a taxicab. He was apparently unexpected.

"We did not have any prior notice or consultations with him to indicate that he would do that," State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland said Tuesday. "He was a walk-in, in the truest sense of the word."

She said the U.S. is now "working to facilitate his request" to be transported to the Netherlands to stand trial.

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It's All Politics
6:04 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Scholar Outlines The Long, Rocky Road Of GOP Outreach Efforts

Credit AP
Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kan., speaks on Oct. 22, 1977, in Atlanta. A political scientist says the GOP has suffered some missteps in its outreach efforts to certain voters since at least the time of Dole.

One of the most interesting observations we've seen regarding the Republican National Committee's latest effort to win the hearts and minds of minorities, women and young voters was to be found on a blog that promotes a

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Business
6:04 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

Odd Political Bedfellows Agree: Banks Still Too Big To Fail

Credit Gary Cameron / Reuters/Landov
Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., questions Federal Reserve Board Chairman Ben Bernanke during a Senate hearing last month. Senators from both ends of the political spectrum argue that financial reforms are insufficient to protect taxpayers from potential risks posed by large banks.

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 7:51 pm

Amid Washington's dysfunction, one issue has united some liberal Democrats and conservative Republicans: a common concern that "too big to fail" is alive and well.

Despite the Dodd-Frank financial reforms, these lawmakers believe the nation's largest banks still pose a threat to the economy and that the government will step in to bail them out if they get in trouble.

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Around the Nation
4:58 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

With Headline Bus Tour, 'New York Post' Takes Manhattan

Originally published on Wed March 20, 2013 12:06 pm

One of the joys of living in New York City is laughing at the giant screaming headlines in the New York Post. When the former secretary of state knocked back a beer on one of her trips abroad: "Swillary." When the Lance Armstrong doping scandal broke: "Drug Pedaller." And when CIA director David Petraeus admitted having an affair? "Cloak And Shag Her."

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It's All Politics
4:58 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

How The Federal Budget Is Just Like Your Family Budget (Or Not)

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 7:51 pm

The House has begun debate on its budget resolution, with a vote expected later this week. And as supporters talk about this budget, there's one comparison you hear a lot.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio: "Every family in America has to balance their budget. Washington should, too."

Rep. Scott Garrett, R-N.J.: "You know, every family in America understands the necessity of a balanced budget."

Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis.: "This is how every family tries to live in good times and in bad. Your government should do the same."

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Guns In America: A Loaded Relationship
4:58 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

What's Worked, And What Hasn't, In Gun-Loving Switzerland

Originally published on Tue March 19, 2013 8:34 pm

Switzerland has an entrenched gun culture that is embraced by most of its 8 million citizens, some of them as young as 10 years old.

Every Swiss community has a shooting range, and depending on who is counting, the alpine country ranks third or fourth in the number of guns per capita.

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Guns In America: A Loaded Relationship
4:58 pm
Tue March 19, 2013

A Turning Point For Talking About Suicide And Guns In Wyoming

Credit Kirk Siegler / NPR
Connie Jacobson, coroner in Natrona County, Wyo., says suicide is one of the biggest public health problems facing the state. Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in the U.S., and two-thirds of suicides in the state are by firearm.

Originally published on Thu March 28, 2013 5:53 pm

Guns are a big part of everyday life in Wyoming, and many residents have been directly impacted by a suicide in which a gun was used. The state has the highest suicide rate in the nation, and three-quarters of Wyoming's suicides are by firearm.

The rural state's relationship with guns has long made suicide prevention efforts challenging. But that may be starting to change.

Lax Gun Laws

Last year, there were more suicides in Natrona County than anywhere else in Wyoming.

The soft-spoken county coroner saw them all.

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