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4:54 am
Sat June 30, 2012

In 'Gold,' Olympic Rivalry Is Personal, Professional

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:32 am

More than 10,000 athletes are headed to London this summer to run, swim, cycle, shoot, fence and compete in the events of the Olympic Games. Each of them has a story — what they've won, what they've lost and what they've sacrificed just to get their chance to get there.

Chris Cleave's latest novel, Gold, tells the stories of three world-ranked cyclists — Zoe, Jack and Kate — who are training for their last chance at Olympic gold. Zoe and Kate are friends as well as rivals; Jack and Kate are raising an 8-year-old who suffers from leukemia.

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Latin America
4:53 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Youthful Candiate Favored To Be Mexico's President

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:26 pm

As Mexicans prepare to elect a new president Sunday, the clear front-runner is Enrique Pena Nieto, who is seeking to return his PRI party to power after 12 years.

The PRI, or Institutional Revolutionary Party, ruled Mexico for more than 70 years before being ousted in 2000. Most polls show Pena Nieto with a comfortable double-digit lead in the race.

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Sports
4:52 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Silent And Unsung, Ball Boys Keep Wimbledon Rolling

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:32 am

If you watch the action at Wimbledon this weekend, you'll see the camera closely tracking Serena Williams and David Ferrer.

But you'll also notice smaller, less celebrated figures darting on and off the court. Their training may not be as rigorous as the tennis pros', but it's plenty demanding.

Fair and accurate calls from the chair umpire are critical to the smooth running of Wimbledon. So, too, are the six young girls and boys flying around each court.

'A Sport In Itself'

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American Dreams: Then And Now
4:51 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Buried In Debt, Young People Find Dreams Elusive

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:32 am

Growing up near Philadelphia, Michelle Holshue's dream was to serve those in need. Applying to nursing school at the University of Pennsylvania seemed like a smart move — in 2007.

Nursing jobs were plentiful. The students' running joke was that hospital executives would soon be stopping them in the street, begging them to come to work.

Then the economy tanked. For a time, Holshue was an Ivy League grad on unemployment and food stamps.

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Europe
4:51 am
Sat June 30, 2012

European Leaders Cling To Ideal Of Integration

Credit Bertrand Langlois / AFP/Getty Images
German Chancellor Angela Merkel talks with European Central Bank President Mario Draghi (left) and Italian Prime Minister Mario Monti (right) during a summit of European leaders in Brussels. They reached an agreement on a growth plan for the continent, and world markets surged.

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:32 am

It has taken several years of financial upheaval and nearly 20 summits, but the prospect of Europe's disintegration has apparently frightened leaders into working together.

This seems to be the larger message emerging from the European summit in Brussels, Belgium, where EU leaders agreed Friday to a $150 growth plan for the struggling economies across the continent. The deal sent stock markets surging in Europe, the U.S. and elsewhere.

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The Two-Way
4:46 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Egypt's First Civilian President To Take Oath Of Office

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:51 am

Egypt swore in its first civilian president today. The Muslim Brotherhood's Mohammed Morsi took the oath before the Constitutional Court.

Before the official oath, however, Morsi preempted the swearing-in ceremony by appearing before thousands of supporters in Tahrir Square on Friday and taking a symbolic one.

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Fresh Air Weekend
1:43 am
Sat June 30, 2012

Fresh Air Weekend: Alec Baldwin, College Tuition

Credit Sony Picture Classics
In Woody Allen's To Rome with Love, Alec Baldwin lives vicariously through the lives of three younger people.

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 12:05 pm

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

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The Two-Way
11:56 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Storms Lash Out After Sweltering Heat

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
Branches and power lines littered the nation's capital after bruising storms swept through the Mid-Atlantic region on Friday night.

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:13 pm

Friday's record-setting heat and brutal storms left much of the Midwest and Eastern U.S. cleaning up damage and waiting for crews to restore power on Saturday.

The AP reports 13 people dead and more than 3 million without power after a day where temperatures in cities from St. Louis to Washington, D.C., hit triple-digits.

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Movies
11:03 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

Eugene Levy Stays Smart, Even In The Cheapest Gag

Originally published on Sat June 30, 2012 6:32 am

George Needleman is the chief bean counter of an investment bank who, in Madea's Witness Protection, is too consumed with family problems to realize he's being set up to take the fall for a Ponzi scheme. When he grasps what's going on, he's placed in witness protection — at Madea's house.

Tyler Perry, who wrote and directed the movie, plays Madea, as well as most other members of her family. Needleman, the latest fussy, funny, bushy-eyebrowed, precise and put-upon man, is portrayed by Eugene Levy.

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The Two-Way
5:29 pm
Fri June 29, 2012

U.S. Anti-Doping Agency Formally Charges Armstrong

Credit Thao Nguyen / AP
Lance Armstrong.

The U.S. Anti-Doping Agency said that one of its panels reviewed the evidence against Lance Armstrong and decided to formally charge the seven-time Tour de France winner with doping.

The AP reports if Armstrong fights the charges, the case goes to an arbitration panel, which will decide the merits.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

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