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Afghanistan
11:01 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Killings A Blow To U.S. Strategy In Afghanistan

Credit Allauddin Khan / AP
A U.S. soldier, part of the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force, stands outside a military base in Panjwai, Kandahar province, south of Kabul, on Sunday.

The killings of some 16 civilians in Afghanistan on Sunday allegedly by a U.S. soldier are raising new questions about U.S. military strategy: whether the surge of American troops worked, and whether the U.S. troops have won over the Afghan people or alienated them.

The place where the killings happened was a "no-go zone" for American and even Afghan troops as recently as two years ago — it was Taliban country.

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Looking Up: Pockets of Economic Strength
11:01 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Record-High Food Prices Boost Farmers' Bottom Lines

Part of a series

Thanks to high commodity prices and surging productivity, U.S. farmers earned a net income of nearly $98 billion last year — a record, according to the Food and Agricultural Policy Research Institute.

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Shots - Health Blog
11:01 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

As Cholera Season Bears Down On Haiti, Vaccination Program Stalls

Credit John Poole / NPR
Thousands of doses of cholera vaccine sit in a refrigerated trailer in a United Nations compound in Saint-Marc, Haiti. Vaccination was supposed to begin last week, but bureaucratic problems have delayed the start. April is the beginning of Haiti's rainy season, which will likely intensify Haiti's cholera outbreak.

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 1:07 pm

The vaccine — $417,000 worth of it — is stacked high in refrigerated containers to protect it from the Haitian heat.

Hundreds of health workers are trained and ready to give the vaccine. They're armed with programmed smartphones and tablet computers to keep track of who has been vaccinated and who needs a second dose.

And 100,000 eager Haitians, from the teeming slums of Port-au-Prince to tiny hamlets in Haiti's rice bowl, have signed up to get the vaccine.

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Money & Politics
11:01 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Low-Profile SuperPAC Targets Powerful Incumbents

Credit YouTube
The superPAC Campaign for Primary Accountability is taking aim at Alabama Republican Rep. Spencer Bachus and other congressional incumbents.
Opinion
11:01 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

A Talk To Remind You Of What You Believe In

As the presidential primary season marches on around the country, the nasty political ads and robo calls are taking their toll. Many people are, to paraphrase former Vice President Al Gore, getting snippy about their political differences. If we're going to make it till Election Day, commentator Gwen Thompkins thinks we'd better all learn how to disagree without being disagreeable.

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Author Interviews
11:01 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Jodi Picoult Turns Tough Topics Into Bestsellers

When you think about blockbuster best-sellers, genres like mystery, crime and romance typically come to mind. Ethical or moral fiction? Not so much. But that's how Jodi Picoult, who has 33 million copies of her books currently in circulation, describes her novels. So how did an author who writes about divisive issues get so popular?

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NPR Story
8:54 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Shooter Latest

NPR's Tom Bowman has the latest news on the U-S soldier who apparently went on a shooting rampage in Afghanistan over the weekend.

Election 2012
5:10 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Even For Romney, Delegate Math Still A Problem

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Mitt Romney waits to speak while being introduced Monday during a campaign stop in Mobile, Ala.

For many following the Republican presidential contest, the big question is who's winning.

That's not easily answered if you go only by who has won each state's primary or caucus. But if you measure who's won the most pledged convention delegates, former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney is clearly in the lead.

So much so, in fact, that Romney's campaign insists there's no way his rivals can catch up or keep him from getting the 1,144 delegates needed for securing the nomination in Tampa this summer during the Republican National Convention.

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Middle East
5:04 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Israel: Rocket Shield Is Deflecting Gaza Attacks

In the Gaza Strip on Monday, Palestinian families mourned their dead.

Those killed included a 65-year-old farmer who was watering his tomatoes and checking on his greenhouses, his 35-year-old daughter, and a 15-year-old boy.

Israel says Palestinian militants were hiding among the local population and firing rockets from northern Gaza into southern Israel. Palestinians in one Gaza community told NPR that militants had been operating in the area but said the civilians were innocent.

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The Two-Way
4:55 pm
Mon March 12, 2012

Journalist Marie Colvin Laid To Rest In New York

Credit Stan Honda / AFP/Getty Images
Rosemarie Colvin, mother of slain Times of London correspondent Marie Colvin, walks behind the casket of her daughter after a funeral at St. Dominic's Catholic Church on Monday in Oyster Bay, New York.

The American journalist killed while on assignment in Syria was laid to rest in New York today.

At a ceremony in Oyster Bay, New York, Marie Colvin, who worked for the British paper The Sunday Times, was remembered as an "outstanding reporter" who took risks because she thought what she did was important.

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