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The Salt
1:42 pm
Fri February 24, 2012

Menu Math: When Counting Fast Food Calories Requires A Calculator

Credit Ed Ou / AP
Calorie counts like the one on this McDonald's drive-thru in New York are intended to help people make healthier choices. But researchers say they're often too confusing.

It's a simple enough idea: Know how many calories are in those fast food meals, and you'll make a better choice between them.

But when students at the Columbia University School of Nursing tried to nail down the calories on 70 menus at 12 eateries in New York's Harlem neighborhood, they found it pretty much impossible, even with a calculator.

One big problem: Many items are listed with a calorie range, but with no clues as to how those ranges are determined. For example:

  • A bucket of chicken was 2,200 to 5,860 calories.

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It's All Politics
1:36 pm
Fri February 24, 2012

Fred Who? He's Republican, He's Gay, And He's Competing For Michigan Delegates

Middle East
1:25 pm
Fri February 24, 2012

Syrian Official Says Media Coverage Is Manipulated

Melissa Block talks to Zouheir Jabbour, Chief of Mission of the Syrian Embassy in Washington, DC, about the call for a ceasefire in Homs and the allegations of atrocities by the Syrian regime.

The Two-Way
12:44 pm
Fri February 24, 2012

U.N. Report: Iran Has Ramped Up Production Of Enriched Uranium

A new report by the United Nations' nuclear agency claims that Iran has ramped up production of a purer form of enriched uranium over the past few months. The report by the International Atomic Energy Agency was obtained by The Associated Press and other news outlets and it's likely to further suspicions from Western countries that Iran might be working on a nuclear weapon.

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National Security
12:29 pm
Fri February 24, 2012

Hezbollah Suspect May Face U.S. Military Commission

Credit Wsthiq Khuzaie / AP
U.S. Brig. Gen. Kevin Bergner speaks in Baghdad in July 2007 near a poster of Ali Musa Daqduq. Daqduq was captured in Iraq in March 2007, and is accused of orchestrating the killings of five U.S. soldiers. The U.S. left Daqduq in Iraqi custody when U.S. troops formally withdrew in December. But the Obama administration is seeking to try him before a military commission.

The Obama administration is seeking to try a Lebanese man linked to Hezbollah in a military commission, expanding the reach of the military tribunal beyond al-Qaida and Taliban suspects for the first time.

The man at the center of the case is Ali Musa Daqduq. He was the last detainee held by American forces in Iraq and had been turned over to Iraqi custody when U.S. forces formally withdrew from Iraq in December.

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