The Torch
3:33 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Live Blog: The Opening Ceremony

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 11:30 pm

Queen Elizabeth II declared the London Games open. The Olympic cauldron is lit.

It came after a staggering and cinematic opening ceremony that celebrated all aspects of British life — from its bucolic beginnings to the industrial revolution to modern-day Britain.

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The Torch
3:32 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

London Opens Up, In Danny Boyle's 'Warm-Up Act' For The Summer Olympics

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 5:33 pm

Every recent opening ceremony of the Olympics went for glitter and glamour, in an escalating war of excess. Ceremony fanatics consider the Beijing opening ceremony the gaudiest of all — and Oscar-winner Danny Boyle (the director of Slumdog Millionaire) had $42 million to try to outdo the Chinese organizers.

Instead, Boyle says, "You can't get bigger than Beijing. So that, in a way, kind of liberated us. We thought, 'Great. Oh good. We'll try and do something different, then.' "

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Middle East
3:24 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Battle For Syria's Largest City Draws Closer

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 5:02 pm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

And I'm Audie Cornish.

A battle for Syria's largest city appears to be drawing closer. After nearly a week of fighting in the streets of Aleppo, both government and rebel forces are arming and reinforcing their ranks for a decisive showdown. Aleppo has two and a half million residents.

And as NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports from Beirut, there are worries that civilian casualties could be heavy.

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Planet Money
3:24 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Losing With LIBOR: One Trader's Story

Credit Oli Scarff / Getty Images
London-based Barclays Bank agreed to pay a $453 million fine over charges it manipulated the London Interbank Offered Rate — LIBOR — a key global interest rate.

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 5:02 pm

We've been talking a lot lately about what's been dubbed the "LIBOR rate fixing scandal," where some of the biggest banks in the world have been accused of manipulating a key global interest rate.

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The Record
3:24 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

The Race To Create A Music Superlabel Still Faces Hurdles

Credit Alex Wong / Getty Images
Chairman and CEO of Universal Music Group Lucian Grainge (left) and Roger Faxon, the CEO of EMI Group, testify during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on Universal's proposed merger with EMI.

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 6:26 pm

It's been a tough decade for the music industry. Revenues have tumbled — from more than $14 billion in 1999 down to $7 billion last year. EMI, one of the big four record labels, was taken over by venture capitalists and then taken over again, after they defaulted, by Citigroup. Now, Universal Music Group wants to buy the recorded music division of EMI for $1.9 billion. But critics say if the two companies merge it will create a superlabel that will dominate the music industry.

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The Two-Way
3:13 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Google Admits It Did Not Delete Data Taken From Wi-Fi Devices

Credit Daniel Mihailescu / AFP/Getty Images
The camera mounted on a Google Street View car used to photograph whole streets obscures part of the U.S. Internet giant's logo.

We told you before about the Google Street View vehicles that illegally collected data from unprotected Wi-Fi devices while they took pictures of the streets in Europe, Australia and the United States.

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It's All Politics
3:12 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Obama Pre-Empts Romney's Israel Visit With Security Aid Bill Signing

Credit Susan Walsh / AP
President Obama is flanked Friday by congressional sponsors and officials with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee at a signing ceremony in Washington, D.C., for legislation increasing U.S. security aid to Israel.

Originally published on Tue July 31, 2012 8:47 am

It may have just been a coincidence that on the eve of Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's visit to Israel, President Obama signed legislation that increases U.S. military and security aid to the Jewish state.

But the timing was nonetheless fortuitous for the president, and showed once again the benefits of incumbency in an election year.

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Live Fridays From XPN
3:12 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

The Tallest Man on Earth In Concert

Originally published on Fri September 7, 2012 1:34 pm

Swedish singer-songwriter Kristian Matsson is the epitome of a modern-day troubadour. Known for his crooning voice and acoustic folk tunes, Matsson recently released his fourth full-length album under the name The Tallest Man on Earth, entitled There's No Leaving Now.

However simple his formula may seem, The Tallest Man on Earth is much more than just a man with a guitar. His intricate fingerpicking, thoughtful lyrics and big voice give his work great height — and help him live up to his stage name.

Set List

  • To Just Grow Away
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Shots - Health Blog
3:07 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

A Walk Through The AIDS Conference's Global Village

Originally published on Fri July 27, 2012 4:04 pm

The 19th International AIDS Conference is wrapping up today in Washington, and it's been an exciting one.

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Economy
2:57 pm
Fri July 27, 2012

Will A Slowing GDP Nudge The Fed To Do More?

The Commerce Department's latest report confirms that economic growth was as lousy this spring as you suspected it was.

Now the question is: Can anyone do anything to make it better in the year's second half?

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