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The Two-Way
11:11 am
Wed December 26, 2012

'Fiscal Cliff' Deadline Looms, But Sense Of Urgency Seems To Be Lacking

Credit Larry Downing / Reuters /Landov
Will the lights be on late at the White House for the next few nights, or will talks about the "fiscal cliff" be less than dramatic?
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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 11:49 am

President Obama is "cutting short" a vacation that he'd already said he would cut short. "See you next week," he told reporters last week before leaving for Hawaii. The president is now due back at the White House on Thursday, which is pretty much what was expected. His family will stay in Hawaii until after the New Year.

Senators are also coming back to Washington, but many aren't likely to get to the Capitol until Thursday evening.

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NPR Story
10:59 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Measuring The Impact Of Your Charitable Donations

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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 11:56 am

As the year comes to a close, many people turn attention to giving back through charitable donations. With the economic recovery, many are seeking out more information to be sure that the donations go to the intended cause.

NPR Story
10:59 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Political Highlights Of 2012 And The Pint-Sized Pundit

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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 11:46 am

NPR's Political Junkie Ken Rudin recaps the week in politics and reflects on some of the significant political moments of the year. He also faces off in a trivia battle with burgeoning political junkie Gabe Fleisher, a fifth grader who drafts a political newsletter everyday before school.

NPR Story
10:59 am
Wed December 26, 2012

When The Holiday Season Is Transformed By Loss

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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 11:54 am

Alcestis 'Cooky' Oberg lost her father-in-law unexpectedly on Christmas Day in 1982. For the first few years, it meant that Christmas was a somber time. Oberg, a contributor to USA Today, talks about how the mood of the holidays evolved for her family over time.

Movie Reviews
10:21 am
Wed December 26, 2012

In Paris, Misery And Music Blended For The Big Screen

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Credit Laurie Sparham / Universal Pictures
Jean Valjean and young Cosette (Isabelle Allen), two of the most iconic characters in contemporary musical theater, come to the big screen.
Credit Laurie Sparham / Universal Pictures
Hugh Jackman uses his Broadway-tested voice to give life to reformed criminal Jean Valjean in an epic adaptation of the stage musical Les Miserables.
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Originally published on Mon December 24, 2012 2:03 pm

Half an hour into Tom Hooper's adaptation of the long-running stage musical Les Miserables, he fixes his camera on Anne Hathaway's tortured, tear-streaked face, and she delivers what ought to become one of the great moments in musical cinema history — right up there with Dorothy singing wistfully of a land far away, Gene Kelly swinging happily around damp lamp poles, and a problem like Maria singing to the grassy Austrian hillsides. She's that good.

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Middle East
9:54 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Syria's War Leaves Its Scars On The Children

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Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Maysam Selmo, 8, during her first week at Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children in Antakya, Turkey. She and her extended family fled their village in northwestern Syria, and now live in a crowded apartment.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Principal Sally Albunni enrolls Nureddin, 11, (right) who arrived in Antakya with his mother after his father was killed two weeks earlier in Syria.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teacher Rahaf Al Tinawie sets up a DVD player to show a video-story to her students. Tinawie teaches human resources at Albashayer and tries to help the children overcome the trauma most have experienced.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Cousins Suleiman Selmo, 9, and Kawthar Selmo, 10, receive donated clothes on their second day at the school. Many Syrian children and families are in need of basic supplies.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teacher Emine Kusa leads a Turkish class for eighth-graders. Albashayer opened nearly two years ago when refugees began arriving in southern Turkey. A second building was recently opened to accommodate the growing number of students.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Children often show signs of trauma from their experiences inside Syria. A U.N. team interviewing Syrian kids in a refugee camp found that most lost a loved one in the fighting, and almost half have post-traumatic stress disorder.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teachers at the school are mostly devout Muslims. Between classes, teachers Rahaf Al Tinawie and Rola Kadi take a break to pray.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Children play during recess. The school is overcrowded with 500 students and new students constantly arriving. In one recent week, 115 new students enrolled.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Many children wrestle and participate in aggressive play during recess, while others eat snacks and socialize. This rough play can be common with traumatized children.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Rola Kadi, a Syrian-American from Michigan, has been volunteering as an art teacher at the school.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Children wait for minibuses to take them home after school. The school is free for Syrian children living in Turkey.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Maysam Selmo, 8, during her first week at Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children in Antakya, Turkey. She and her extended family fled their village in northwestern Syria and now live in a crowded apartment.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Some Syrian children play at wrestling and fighting during recess at the Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children. This type of play can be common among children who have witnessed traumatic events.
Credit Jodi Hilton for NPR
Teacher Rahaf Al Tinawie counsels a student outside class at the Albashayer School for Syrian Refugee Children. Al Tinawie says many children show signs of trauma and she sometimes meets with parents to discuss the problems the children are facing.
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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 4:57 pm

The war in Syria is taking a huge toll on the children. An international team of researchers that interviewed Syrian kids in a refugee camp in Turkey found that 3 out of 4 have lost a loved one. Almost half have post-traumatic stress disorder and elevated levels of depression.

There are efforts to help, but it's challenging. In the southern Turkish city of Gaziantep, the bell rings at 8 a.m. at the Friendship Elementary School. Syrian kids, in fresh school uniforms, cram into desks, with more than 40 students in every classroom.

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The Two-Way
9:33 am
Wed December 26, 2012

N.Y. Website Posts Map Of People With Gun Permits, Draws Criticism

Credit The Journal News
The Journal News' map of gun owners in Rockland County, N.Y. At its website, the image is interactive so that users can see who has handgun permits and where they live.
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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 11:49 am

The website of New York's Journal News newspapers has posted an interactive map showing the names and addresses of people with licenses to own handguns in three counties just to the north of New York City — Westchester, Rockland and Putnam.

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Movies
8:37 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Will Hollywood Catch Up To A Changing Audience?

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Transcript

CELESTE HEADLEE, HOST:

Switching gears now. The year is winding down and that means Oscar season is winding up. Some movies are already getting buzz, like "Lincoln," "Argo" and "Zero Dark Thirty." That last film is about the search for Osama bin Laden. Here's a clip.

(SOUNDBITE OF MOVIE, "ZERO DARK THIRTY")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN ##1: (as character) Do you really believe this story? Osama bin Laden?

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: (as character) Yeah.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: (as character) What convinced you?

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NPR Story
8:37 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Would Armed Guards Make School Safer?

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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 9:03 am

The Beauty Shop ladies weigh in the ongoing gun control debate, including the National Rifle Association's suggestion to post armed guards at schools. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with Maria Teresa Kumar from Voto Latino, Bridget Johnson of PJ Media, economist Julianne Malveaux, and attorney Gayle Trotter.

Music
8:37 am
Wed December 26, 2012

Baltimore Singer's Big Voice Touches Siberia

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Credit MJ Smets / Lea Gilmore
Credit MJ Smuts / Lea Gilmore
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Originally published on Wed December 26, 2012 8:47 am

"My Mom said, 'life isn't either, or, it's and.' And I think that's why I do so much, maybe too much."

Lea Gilmore was pregnant and married at 18. She describes herself as a "statistic." But, she tells NPR's Celeste Headlee, lessons learned from a family of "very strong Southern women" meant that she did not allow that to dictate her circumstances.

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