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The Two-Way
7:41 am
Thu August 2, 2012

Near Collision Near D.C.: Planes Were 12 Seconds From Possible Impact

Credit Paul J. Richards / AFP/Getty Images
A passenger jet preparing for takeoff from Reagan National Airport in 2002.

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 1:42 pm

  • Radio traffic between pilot and controller

Update at 2:40 p.m. ET. FAA Disputes Report:

The Associated Press writes that "none of the three commuter jets that flew too close together near Washington was ever on course to collide head-on with the others, U.S. officials said Thursday. "During a news conference, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood strongly disputed media reports characterizing the incident as a near-miss."

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The Two-Way
7:13 am
Thu August 2, 2012

Psychiatrist Was Alarmed By Aurora Shooting Suspect's Behavior, Media Report

Credit RJ Sangosti / Getty Images
James Holmes, who's accused of killing 12 people and wounding 58.

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 11:50 am

A University of Colorado Denver psychiatrist was so worried about James Holmes' behavior that in early June she began the process of getting the school's "threat assessment" team involved in his case, sources with knowledge of the investigation into the movie theater shooting suspect are telling two Denver news outlets.

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Participation Nation
6:56 am
Thu August 2, 2012

They Take The Cake in Boise, Idaho

Credit Emilie Ritter Saunders for NPR
Sweetness: Kathy Plaisance and about 50 other bakers use their skills to bring sweet treats to people who might otherwise be overlooked.

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 1:02 pm

This month we are collecting your stories about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Some of your contributions will become blog posts and the project will end with a story that weaves together submissions to make a story of Americans by Americans for Americans.

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The Record
6:21 am
Thu August 2, 2012

On Bob Dylan And Jonah Lehrer, Two Fabulists

Credit Fiona Adams / Redferns/Getty Images
Bob Dylan at a press conference at the Savoy Hotel in London in 1966.

Originally published on Tue September 18, 2012 6:24 pm

Yesterday my husband and I had the same thought at the same time. It's not an uncommon occurrence for two writers who've spent decades arguing and enthusing about pop music. I mention it, in part, to stave off accusations that I'm plagiarizing from a nearby source, but also because I think what we reflected upon in light of the writer Jonah Lehrer's fatal mistake was probably in the minds of many music obsessives.

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Pop Culture
6:13 am
Thu August 2, 2012

R Grammar Gaffes Ruining The Language? Maybe Not

Credit Sharon Dominick / iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 11:32 am

Good grammar may have came and went.

Maybe you've winced at the decline of the past participle. Or folks writing and saying "he had sank" and "she would have went." Perhaps it was the singer Gotye going on about "Somebody That I Used to Know" instead of "Somebody Whom I Used to Know." Or any of a number of other tramplings of traditional grammar — rules that have been force-fed to American schoolchildren for decades — in popular parlance and prose.

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New In Paperback
6:03 am
Thu August 2, 2012

New In Paperback July 30-Aug. 5

Credit

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 10:32 am

Nonfiction releases from Scott Wallace, Joshua S. Goldstein, Catherine Salmon, Katrin Schumann and Julie Salamon.

Copyright 2012 National Public Radio. To see more, visit http://www.npr.org/.

National Security
5:25 am
Thu August 2, 2012

Drones: From War Weapon To Homemade Toy

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 3:19 pm

Drones transformed the battlefield in Iraq and Afghanistan. But their use has been extremely limited in U.S. skies. The Federal Aviation Administration essentially bans the commercial use of drones, and government use is still highly restricted.

But that's changing.

For a long time, drones, which are formally known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs, were exotic, expensive and out of reach for all but military users. Today, however, a clever hobbyist can have his own eye in the sky.

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Destination Art
4:32 am
Thu August 2, 2012

Marfa, Texas: An Unlikely Art Oasis In A Desert Town

Originally published on Thu August 2, 2012 5:36 pm

This tiny town perched on the high plains of the Chihuahua desert is nothing less than an arts world station of the cross, like Art Basel in Miami, or Documenta in Germany. It's a blue-chip arts destination for the sort of glamorous scenesters who visit Amsterdam for the Rijksmuseum and the drugs.

"They speak about Marfa with the same kind of reverent tones generally reserved for the pilgrimage of the Virgin of Lourdes," notes Carolina Miranda, a writer who covers the art world.

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Food
4:32 am
Thu August 2, 2012

Name That (New) Grape

Researchers at Cornell University will be releasing two new wine grape varieties next year from the university's agricultural breeding program. And they're asking the public to create names for them.

Strange News
4:32 am
Thu August 2, 2012

Will You Marry Me? Wait, Where Are You?

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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