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The Two-Way
10:25 am
Fri November 16, 2012

FHA Announces Moves Designed To Avoid Taxpayer Bailout

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
HUD Secretary Shaun Donovan in May of 2012.

Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 11:40 am

The Federal Housing Administration is on track to run out of money next September and may need a taxpayer bailout, an audit released today found.

Responding to the audit, however, the Obama administration announced a series of measures that they hope will raise enough revenue to keep the agency from seeking government help.

The Wall Street Journal explains:

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Humans
10:03 am
Fri November 16, 2012

Are We Getting Dumber? Maybe, Scientist Says

Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 12:02 pm

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

This is SCIENCE FRIDAY, I'm Ira Flatow. Turn on reality TV, and it may not be long before you ask yourself: Are we getting dumber? A new study may have some genetic answers to that question. Provocative research published this week in the journal Trends in Genetics suggests that human intelligence may have peaked thousands of years ago.

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Science
10:03 am
Fri November 16, 2012

James Watson: The Double Helix and Beyond

Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 12:02 pm

Transcript

IRA FLATOW, HOST:

Well, luckily that we lost Dr. Crabtree that - I'm sorry that we did lose him, but fortunately for us we have our next guest with us here, it's Dr. James Watson, sitting right here with us. Welcome to the program.

JAMES WATSON: I'm glad to be back with you.

FLATOW: Well, let me begin our interview a little bit early. You are certainly not unknown, Watson and Crick, and you have also a new book out now called "The Double Helix," and it's got all kinds of annotations, and what's new about this version of the book?

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Movie Reviews
9:33 am
Fri November 16, 2012

In 'Silver Linings Playbook,' Lawrence Is Golden

Originally published on Fri November 16, 2012 12:14 pm

The best thing about David O. Russell is that he cultivates his disequilibrium. In Silver Linings Playbook, his hero is disturbed and his heroine possibly more so, and his other characters have a grip on reality that is only marginally more secure. Russell might have made them seem the dreaded "q" word — quirky — and OK, he does, a bit, at the end, which broadly conforms to the rom-com template. But until then, Bradley Cooper's Pat Solatano is someone you'd be less likely to dream about than get a restraining order against.

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The Salt
9:24 am
Fri November 16, 2012

Twinkies' Hostess Brand May Die, But The Iconic Snack Cakes Never Will

The Hostess brand, home of the Twinkie, Sno Ball, Ding Dong, and those fun cupcakes with the swirly lines on top and filling in the middle, is shutting down, as our colleagues over at The Two-Way blog report. The purveyor of iconic calorie-rich but nutrient-poor snacks says a labor dispute has forced it to go out of business.

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