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Middle East
1:24 am
Fri September 14, 2012

Inciting Outrage, Film Spurs Delicate U.S. Response

Credit Alex Brandon / AP
Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the State Department in Washington Wednesday, Sept. 12 on the recent deaths of Americans in Libya.

Originally published on Fri September 14, 2012 8:43 am

As U.S. embassies and consulates face protests in the Muslim world over an anti-Islamic film, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton is walking a fine line. She is distancing herself and the State Department from the video that has sparked anger among Muslims, but stressed the US commitment to free speech.

"To us, to me personally, this video is disgusting and reprehensible," she said Thursday in Washington, D.C. "It appears to have a deeply cynical purpose: to denigrate a great religion and to provoke rage."

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StoryCorps
7:03 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

From Strip Club To Biology: A Love Story

Originally published on Thu November 15, 2012 8:56 am

The Two-Way
4:05 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

Have Foreign Policy Questions? 'Weekend Edition' Will Try To Answer Them

Our friends at Weekend Edition are trying something different starting this weekend. They're calling on NPR reporters to answer some of your questions on different topics.

Here's how they explain it:

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The Two-Way
3:41 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

Was The American Consulate Attack In Benghazi Planned?

Credit Gianluigi Guercia / AFP/Getty Images
Broken furniture outside the U.S. consulate building in Benghazi on Thursday, following an attack on the building late on September 11.

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 3:54 pm

One of the biggest questions still outstanding about the attack on a United States consulate in Libya is whether it was planned or whether it was the result of a protest against a U.S.-made film that criticizes the Prophet Muhammad.

The attack killed four Americans, including Ambassador Chris Stevens.

The bottom line is that nothing is firm. But NPR's Leila Fadel reports that Libya's Deputy Interior Minister, Wanis al Sharef, said this was a sophisticated two-prong attack.

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The Two-Way
2:57 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

The First Amendment: Why The Muhammad Film Is Protected Speech

Credit Nasser Nasser / AP
Protesters carry an American flag pulled down from the U.S. embassy in Cairo, Egypt on Tuesday.

The First Amendment guarantee of free speech is in the spotlight this week. If you haven't kept up, a U.S.-produced film depicting the Prophet Muhammad in a less than flattering way has inflamed the Arab world.

In a lot of ways, the story is showing how the sweeping nature of the First Amendment puts the United States at odds with most of the world.

That rift was perhaps most evident when you compare the statements of Egypt's Islamist President Mohamed Morsi and that of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

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Law
2:20 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

Stand Your Ground Law Likely To Remain

Credit J Pat Carter / AP
Sandra Boden holds a photo of her son, Jason, during a Task Force on Citizen Safety and Protection hearing. Prosecutors told Boden that Florida's Stand Your Ground law prevented them from filing charges against the person who shot and killed Jason.

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 8:19 pm

A panel in Florida tasked with examining the state's "Stand Your Ground" law is unlikely to suggest that any major changes are needed.

Since it was convened in May, members of the task force have held meetings at locations around the state. At almost every meeting, they've heard impassioned testimony from people like David Boden, whose son, Jason, was killed in a shooting. Prosecutors in West Palm Beach told Boden that Florida's Stand Your Ground law prevented them from filing charges against the shooter.

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Shots - Health Blog
1:54 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

Death Toll Climbs In Congo Ebola Outbreak

Credit Stephen Wandera / Associated Press
A medical worker from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention works at the laboratory in Uganda where Ebola specimens were tested at the start of the latest outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

As health workers try to contain an Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the death toll has increased to 31.

The deaths from the hemorrhagic fever outbreak doubled in the past week. World Health Organization spokesman Tarik Jasarevic tells Shots that's because they have discovered more people who were originally infected.

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It's All Politics
1:46 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

Romney Reframes Foreign Policy Pitch After Flap Over Libya Remarks

Credit Molly Riley / UPI /Landov
Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney speaks Thursday in Fairfax, Va.

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 2:41 pm

Appearing in Virginia on Thursday, Republican Mitt Romney tried to bring his campaign back to the issues he has focused on before in the swing state: the nation's economy and strengthening the military.

A day after Romney ignited a debate over his criticism of President Obama's handling of events in Libya and Egypt, the Republican presidential nominee largely steered clear of discussing unrest in Egypt and the attack on an American consulate in Benghazi, Libya, that left four Americans dead.

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Education
1:37 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

Teacher Evaluation Dispute Echoes Beyond Chicago

Credit Robert Ray / AP
One of the primary disputes in the Chicago Public Schools teachers' strike is over Mayor Rahm Emanuel's proposal to link teacher pay to student performance.

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 8:19 pm

One of the primary issues at the heart of the the Chicago teachers' strike is whether student test scores should be used to evaluate teachers and determine their pay. Mayor Rahm Emanuel is pushing that approach, as are other officials around the nation.

But many teachers insist that it's inherently unfair to grade their teaching based on their students' learning.

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It's All Politics
1:02 pm
Thu September 13, 2012

Can A Republican Win A Senate Seat In Blue Hawaii?

Originally published on Thu September 13, 2012 8:19 pm

Republican hopes of capturing the Senate in November rest on a handful of tossup races in states like Montana, Missouri and Virginia.

Surprisingly, some analysts also are putting Hawaii in the tossup column.

Hawaii is the bluest of blue states; it hasn't elected a Republican to the Senate since 1970. But with the retirement of 22-year incumbent Daniel Akaka, Republicans believe they have a chance.

And regardless of who wins, the state will have its first female senator come January.

In Hawaii, the language of politics is a little different.

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