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The Two-Way
4:34 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

HP Will Cut 8 Percent Of Workforce Or 27,000 Jobs

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 4:49 pm

As part of what it calls "a multi-year restructuring," Hewlett-Packard announced it was cutting 27,000 jobs or 8 percent of its workforce.

HP said the cuts would happen over an extended period and should be done by the end of 2014.

"The restructuring is expected to generate annualized savings in the range of $3.0 to $3.5 billion exiting fiscal year 2014, of which the majority will be reinvested back into the company," the company said in a statement.

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Music Reviews
4:30 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

By This 'Beak And Claw,' A Trio Shall Synthesize

Credit Illustration by John Ciambriello
Left to right: Son Lux, Serengeti and Sufjan Stevens collaborate on a sometimes humorous but mostly beautiful EP.

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:55 pm

Sufjan Stevens is a classically trained singer-songwriter whose recent work has leaned symphonic. Son Lux is a classically trained beatmaker whose solo albums do indeed evoke luxury. Serengeti is a self-trained rapper who creates voices for a panoply of full-fledged characters who range from scufflers to yuppies. Billed as s / s / s, this ad hoc trio has just released an EP called Beak and Claw that somehow synthesizes their specialties.

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It's All Politics
4:08 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

Former Romney Adviser Grenell: Gay Marriage Shouldn't Determine Vote

Credit Fox News
Richard Grenell, Mitt Romney's former adviser, speaks with Fox News on Wednesday.

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 4:46 pm

Richard Grenell, the former campaign staffer for Mitt Romney who resigned after some conservatives criticized the hiring of an openly gay adviser who favors same-sex marriage, said Wednesday that the issue should not determine how most Americans vote.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:33 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

Will Men And Their Doctors Change Course On PSA Tests?

Credit Chris Hamilton / American Cancer Society
Dr. Otis Brawley, chief medical officer of the American Cancer Society, predicts that doctors and patients will continue to be "unscientific" when deciding on testing for prostate cancer.

Originally published on Thu May 24, 2012 3:52 pm

The dust is nowhere near settled over advice that men of all ages should forgo a routine blood test to detect prostate cancer.

The harms, such as false alarms and unnecessary surgeries that leave some men impotent and incontinent, outweigh the benefits of the PSA test, according to the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force.

So the influential group this week made an official recommendation against a regular PSA.

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The Salt
3:27 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

Many Americans Say Doing Taxes Is Easier Than Eating Right

Filing your taxes may be a dreaded task. But eating healthy can be an even bigger struggle for many Americans.

According to the results of a new survey of more than 1,000 Americans, almost half of us think its harder to eat right than do our taxes. And genderwise, 55 percent of men say it's harder to figure out what you should be eating than it is to figure out how to do your own taxes. For women, it's slightly lower, at 48 percent. The survey comes from the folks at the International Food Information Council Foundation.

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The Two-Way
3:22 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

Poachers Can Be Shot, Officials In India Declare

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
An Indian tiger looks out from a camouflaged cover in the Ranthambhore National Park. (March 2000 file photo.)

Poachers caught hunting tigers in India's Maharashtra state are on notice that they could be shot on sight.

The Times of India says the "stern stand against poachers" means "if the forest officials fire upon the poachers injuring or killing them, the action will not be considered a crime." Prior to this week's announcement by state officials, those guards were subject to prosecution for such actions.

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The Two-Way
2:59 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

MIT Engineers Solve An Everyday Problem: A Backed-Up Ketchup Bottle

Credit Screen Shot / Fast Company
Pouring ketchup out of a bottle is easy.

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 8:49 pm

We've all been there: Banging the back of a glass ketchup bottle, begging it to give you a dollop of the good stuff or battling with a plastic bottle coercing it into giving up the last of its contents.

Maybe that will be a thing of the past.

Six MIT researchers say they've solved that problem as part of an entrepreneurship competition. The result is a bottle coated with "LiquiGlide," a non-toxic material so slippery that the ketchup or for that matter mayonnaise just glides out when you turn it over.

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Theater
2:51 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

Mike Nichols Warns 'Death' May Be His Last Job

Credit Ida Astute /
Mike Nichols' directing credits include Spamalot on Broadway, the movies Working Girl and The Birdcage, and HBO's Angels in America.

Originally published on Thu May 24, 2012 11:55 am

Mike Nichols has won every major entertainment award over a decades-long career that includes theater, comedy, television and film. He performed as half of the comedy team Nichols and May, won his first Academy Award directing The Graduate, and returned to Broadway with a revival of Death of a Salesman, which picked up seven Tony nominations. Nichols warns that the production may be his last.

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Politics
2:35 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

VP Contenders: Pawlenty And Martinez

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. Pop quiz, Ken: Name the primary opponent who got 42 percent of the vote against President Obama in Kentucky yesterday.

KEN RUDIN, BYLINE: That would be Mr. Wolf.

CONAN: No, that would be uncommitted.

RUDIN: Oh, uncommitted.

CONAN: Uncommitted would be the...

RUDIN: Oh, I should be committed.

CONAN: You should be committed.

RUDIN: I'm sorry.

CONAN: In which state with Dennis Kucinich run for Congress this year?

RUDIN: None.

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Planet Money
2:24 pm
Wed May 23, 2012

Where Dollars Are Born

Originally published on Fri May 25, 2012 9:05 am

DALTON, Mass. – If you were driving through this small town along the Housatonic River in the Berkshires, here's something you might not think about: All the bills in your wallet are visiting their birthplace.

The paper for U.S. currency, the substrate of everyday commerce, has been made here since 1879 by the Crane family.

Crane & Co. vice president Doug Crane represents the eighth generation descended from Stephen Crane, who was making paper before the American Revolution.

He gave NPR reporters a behind-the-scenes tour and talked about his company.

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