2:14pm

Thu May 3, 2012
It's All Politics

Do Campaign Ads Seem More Negative This Year? It's Not Just You

Originally published on Wed May 9, 2012 7:43 am

If you thought the presidential primaries were extraordinarily negative, now there's statistical evidence that you were right.

A new analysis of TV ads finds that 70 percent of the messages were negative — a trend spearheaded by the heavily financed superPACs supporting the candidates. At this point in the 2008 election, 91 percent of TV ads were positive.

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2:11pm

Thu May 3, 2012
Environment

Greenland's Ice Melting More Slowly Than Expected

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 7:50 am

A new study has some reassuring news about how fast Greenland's glaciers are melting away.

Greenland's glaciers hold enough water to raise sea level by 20 feet, and they are melting as the planet warms, so there's a lot at stake.

A few years ago, the Jakobshavn glacier in Greenland really caught people's attention. In short order, this slow-moving stream of ice suddenly doubled its speed. It started dumping a whole lot more ice into the Atlantic. Other glaciers also sped up.

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2:10pm

Thu May 3, 2012
Business

Corn Farmers Hope, Cautiously, For A Bumper Crop

Originally published on Wed May 9, 2012 7:43 am

It's still too early to predict whether the 2012 corn harvest will set a record, but many corn farmers say the prognosis for a bumper crop is looking pretty good right now.

U.S. farmers are planting more acres of corn this year than they have in any year since the Great Depression. And with a mild spring across much of the nation's Corn Belt, many are hoping this autumn's yield will be one for the record books.

A Crop That 'Will Knock Your Socks Off'

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2:06pm

Thu May 3, 2012
Europe

Will French Election Mark A Reversal Of Austerity?

Originally published on Wed May 9, 2012 7:43 am

The possibility that French President Nicolas Sarkozy may lose the presidential election Sunday is making waves across Europe. Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel are the architects of Europe's new fiscal austerity pact.

But the man likely to replace Sarkozy has other ideas.

Socialist candidate Francois Hollande — who is favored in opinion polls by several percentage points — says Europe cannot emerge from the crisis based on austerity alone.

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2:02pm

Thu May 3, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

Why Do Bike-Share Riders Skip Helmets?

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 7:50 am

If you've ever shaken your head over urban bicyclists' apparent unanimous decision to forgo helmets, you're not far off the mark.

Among users of bike-sharing programs, like Capital Bikeshare in Washington, D.C., the problem is obvious.

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1:52pm

Thu May 3, 2012
Arts & Culture

Meet Your Neighbors: Batting lessons from a pro

Credit Photo courtesy of Flickr user Mot the barber

To many people in the Bay Area, the city of Burlingame is just a city straddling the 101, just south of San Francisco International Airport. As you drive by, you might see industrial warehouses and business parks- nothing too distinctive. 

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1:08pm

Thu May 3, 2012
The Two-Way

Student Forgotten In Holding Cell: 'Changes Have To Be Made'

Originally published on Wed May 9, 2012 7:43 am

Credit K. C. Alfred / UT San Diego

Daniel Chong, a California college senior, was forgotten in a federal holding cell without food or water for five days.

Today, he told All Things Considered's Audie Cornish that the five days tested his sanity and his resolve to live.

"I didn't stay sane," Chong said. "Eventually, by the second or third night ... I went completely insane and was just trying to get a grip on reality, on what's happening to me."

Chong said at one point he thought about using his glasses to cut into his arm and kill himself.

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To many people in the Bay Area, the city of Burlingame is just a city straddling the 101, just south of San Francisco International Airport. As you drive by, you might see industrial warehouses and business parks- nothing too distinctive.

But if you actually take the Millbrae exit and explore some of those warehouses, you can discover whole new worlds. That’s what KALW’s Ben Trefny did one day, when he was looking around for a softball cage to improve his swing. After an online search, he came across Adventure Pro, run by former big league ball player Terry Whitfield and Ed Ricks. They offered to open up their Burlingame batting cages so he decided to drop by.

12:42pm

Thu May 3, 2012
Cops & Courts

Criminal Justice Conversations with David Onek: Judge Wendy Lindley, Orange County Superior Court

 

In Episode #33, Orange County Superior Court Judge Wendy Lindley discusses her innovative Combat Veterans court, overcoming the initial resistance of other judges to collaborative courts, providing “one-stop” services at the courthouse, and how collaborative courts can make us safer.

Judge Wendy Lindley Interview Highlights

Lindley on Providing “One-Stop” Services at the Courthouse:

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12:19pm

Thu May 3, 2012
The Two-Way

Reports: Facebook Will Set IPO Pricing After Markets Close

Originally published on Thu May 3, 2012 1:45 pm

Update at 4:39 p.m. ET. $28 To $35:

The AP reports that Facebook has set a price range for its initial public offering between $28 and $35.

The AP adds:

"At the high end, this could raise as much as $11.8 billion. That's much higher than any other Internet IPO in the past, even Google Inc. in 2004."

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