7:30am

Fri March 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Bin Laden Fathered 4 Children, Hid In 5 Safe Houses While On Run, Wife Says

Credit AFP/Getty Images

During nine years on the run in Pakistan, Osama bin Laden used at least five safe houses and fathered four children, the youngest of his three wives has told Pakistani investigators, according to The New York Times.

Amal Ahmad Abdul Fateh, now 30, married bin Laden in 2000.

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7:29am

Fri March 30, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

New York Bans 'Synthetic Marijuana'

Credit Kelley McCall / AP

There will be no more "Mr. Nice Guy" in New York. No more "K2," "Skunk" or "Zohai" either.

The New York State Health Department banned the sale of synthetic marijuana products like those on Thursday. So all kinds of wacky stuff that's made to get people high — but is often disguised as potpourri, incense or some mixture of herbs — is now verboten.

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7:02am

Fri March 30, 2012
Author Interviews

Harry Crews On Writing And Feeling Like A 'Freak'

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 9:20 am

This interview was originally broadcast on May 23, 1988.

Writer Harry Crews had a hard life and didn't made it any easier for the characters in his novels. He died Wednesday at age 76.

Crews' novels were filled with freaks and losers with unusual gifts. In Naked in Garden Hills, there was the 600-pound man with a penchant for dietary supplements. The Gospel Singer featured lunatics and carnival characters. Car showcased a man who literally ate a Ford Maverick, several ounces at a time.

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6:33am

Fri March 30, 2012
It's All Politics

Friday Political Grab Bag: Rep. Paul Ryan Endorses Mitt Romney Etc

Credit Manuel Balce Ceneta / AP

Rep. Paul Ryan's endorsed Mitt Romney Friday just ahead of Tuesday's Wisconsin primary. In an interview with the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Ryan said: "I think he deserves to be the nominee. I think he earned it. He has emerged as the best candidate." Ryan, a rising star in the party who many wanted to run for president and who is seen as a vice presidential possibility, said a further protracted primary would weaken the party's chances of beating President Obama in November.

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6:25am

Fri March 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Brother: George Zimmerman Would Be Dead If He Hadn't Defended Himself

Credit CNN.com

"There would have been George dead had he not acted decisively and instantaneously in that moment when he was being disarmed," the brother of George Zimmerman told CNN's Piers Morgan last night in one of the most extensive interviews yet with someone from the family of the man who shot and killed Florida teenager Trayvon Martin on Feb. 26.

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5:56am

Fri March 30, 2012
It's All Politics

Wisconsin Voters Face Onslaught Of 'Negative, Negative, Negative' Ads

Originally published on Mon April 2, 2012 1:03 pm

Credit Darren Hauck / Reuters /Landov
  • Listen to the Story on Morning Edition

With a GOP presidential primary coming up on April 3, Wisconsin voters have found themselves besieged by political ads, reports NPR's David Schaper on Friday's Morning Edition.

Talking to voters in La Crosse, Schaper found that residents have grown weary of the onslaught. It has been massive: The Red, White And Blue Fund — the superPAC supporting Rick Santorum — has so far spent almost a half-million dollars on ads attacking front-runner Mitt Romney.

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5:42am

Fri March 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Consumer Spending Jumped Up In February, Incomes Rose Just A Little

There was a 0.8 percent rise in personal spending in February from January, the Bureau of Economic Analysis just reported. It was the strongest gain in seven months, according to The Associated Press.

But personal income rose just 0.2 percent, the bureau adds. And "disposable personal income," what's left after personal taxes, also rose only 0.2 percent.

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5:40am

Fri March 30, 2012
KALW ALMANAC

Friday March 30,2012

  • 90th Day of 2012 / 276 Remaining
  • 82 Days Until Summer Begins
  • Sunrise:6:57
  • Sunset:7:32
  • 12 Hr 35 Min
  • Moon Rise:12:13pm
  • Moon Set:2:08am
  • Moon’s Phase: First Quarter
  • The Next Full Moon
  • April 6 @ 2:20pm
  • Full Pink Moon
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5:15am

Fri March 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Reports: Rep. Ryan To Endorse Romney

Credit Erin Schwartz / NPR

One day after fellow Republicans in the House ensured passage of his version of a 2013 federal budget, there are reports that Wisconsin Rep. Paul Ryan is about to endorse Mitt Romney's bid for the GOP presidential nomination.

The Associated Press says it has been told by two Republican officials that "Ryan's endorsement could come as soon as Friday, when Romney is scheduled to give an economic speech in Appleton, Wis."

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4:45am

Fri March 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Mega Millions Mania: What If You Win? Then What Do You Do?

Originally published on Fri March 30, 2012 9:27 am

Everybody, it seems, is talking about tonight's Mega Millions lottery drawing because the jackpot's up to a record $640 million. (Update at 12:15 p.m. ET: Officials just increased the estimated jackpot, which began today at an already record $540 million.)

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