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Energy
2:33 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

How To Find A New Nuclear Waste Site? Woo A Town

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Credit Jeff T. Green / Getty Images
Without a centralized national repository for nuclear waste, the radioactive material is currently being kept at various sites across the country. Above, large concrete canisters, each holding 14 55-gallon drums of waste, are loaded on a truck in Richland, Wash., in June 2005 where they were later shipped to a facility in New Mexico.
Credit Isaac Breekken / AP
An underground train emerges from the entrance to the planned Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository in this April 13, 2006, file photo. The government has since abandoned the site as a location for the long-term storage of nuclear waste.
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A panel of experts today set forth a plan for getting rid of thousands of tons of highly radioactive nuclear waste.

Most of it is spent fuel from nuclear power reactors. It was supposed to go to a repository in Nevada called Yucca Mountain, but the government has abandoned that plan.

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The Two-Way
2:10 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

McCain Says History Will Judge Obama Harshly On Policy Toward Iran

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Sen. John McCain, right, as he endorsed Mitt Romney's bid for the presidency earlier this month.
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President Obama has made the case that his administration spoke out forcefully when Iran's government used deadly force to suppress protests in the spring of 2009.

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Presidential Race
2:08 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Gingrich Fights Against The Lobbyist Label

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Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks Thursday during a Lakeside Inn Tea Party rally in Mount Dora, Fla.
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In the race for the Republican presidential nomination, former House Speaker Newt Gingrich continues to fend off accusations that he should wear the scarlet "L" — for "lobbyist." This week, he released two of his consulting contracts and said they didn't call for any lobbying.

Like many other former lawmakers, Gingrich was advocating for paying clients, while not officially registering as a lobbyist.

The two contracts disclosed this week came from Gingrich's work for Freddie Mac, the mortgage giant. Between 1999 and 2007, Freddie Mac paid his firm $1.6 million.

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Author Interviews
2:04 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

'Birmingham': A Teen Take On The Civil Rights Era

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Credit University of Michigan-Flint / Yearling
Christopher Paul Curtis spent years working in automobile plants in Flint, Mich., but dreamed of becoming a writer.
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Originally published on Fri January 27, 2012 10:40 am

Welcome to the fourth installment of NPR's Backseat Book Club, where we select a book for young readers — and invite them to read along with us and share their thoughts and questions with the author.

Our selection for January — The Watsons Go to Birmingham – 1963 by Christopher Paul Curtis — describes the civil rights era from the perspective of a young (and extremely mischievous) boy and his family.

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The Salt
1:51 pm
Thu January 26, 2012

Ex-Foes Stage Coop D'Etat For Egg-Laying Chickens

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Credit Big Dutchman
At the JS West egg farm, south of Modesto, Calif., one chicken house has the new, spacious cages that egg producers and animal welfare advocates say keep chickens happier.
Credit Big Dutchman
The new cages at JS West feature enclosed spaces, shown in red, called nest boxes. The spaces seem really popular among the hens.
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By Dan Charles

When I first saw the press release, I figured it had to be an April Fool's joke. The Humane Society of the United States, a voice of outrage against all heartless exploitation of animals, joining hands with the United Egg Producers, which represents an industry that keeps 200 million chickens in cages?

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