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Author Interviews
5:25 am
Sat April 21, 2012

'Steinbeck In Vietnam': A Great Writer's Last Reports

Originally published on Sat April 21, 2012 9:46 am

The last piece of published writing from one of America's greatest writers was a series of letters he sent back from the front lines of war at the age of 64.

John Steinbeck's reports shocked readers and family so much that they've never been reprinted — until now.

Steinbeck won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1962 for a life's work writing about those who had been roughed up by history — most notably his Depression-era novels, Of Mice And Men and The Grapes of Wrath. Four years later, Steinbeck left for Vietnam to cover the war firsthand.

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Theater
5:25 am
Sat April 21, 2012

Blair Underwood On Stanley, Stella And 'Streetcar'

Originally published on Sat April 21, 2012 9:46 am

There's a lot of juicy material for an actor in Tennessee Williams' landmark drama A Streetcar Named Desire. Sex, booze, class, betrayal — all set in the seething French Quarter of 1940s New Orleans.

A new Broadway revival has added another set of layers to the play: The multiracial production stars Blair Underwood in one of the most iconic roles in American theater — Stanley Kowalski.

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Economy
5:23 am
Sat April 21, 2012

What's It Worth?: Historic Detroit Mansion For Sale

Credit Jessica J. Trevino / Detroit Free Press
Stone Hedge, a 10,000-square-foot Detroit mansion built in 1915 is listed at less than $450,000.

Originally published on Sun April 22, 2012 6:40 am

Even before the financial crisis, Detroit was known for its undervalued real estate. Now, a bad situation is even worse.

Michael Bradley and his sister Annette Foreman have spent the last several months cleaning their mother's home. She died on Christmas Eve last year, and they're putting her house up for sale.

The four-story house, known as Stone Hedge, was originally built for Walter O. Briggs in 1915. Briggs was in the car business. His company built auto bodies, and he owned the Detroit Tigers.

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Europe
5:22 am
Sat April 21, 2012

Amid Europe's Debt Crisis, A Sharp Rise In Suicides

Credit Simela Pantzartzi / EPA/Landov
Mourners gather at the spot in front of the Greek parliament in Athens where 77-year-old retired pharmacist Dimitris Christoulas shot and killed himself on April 4. Christoulas left a note saying he did not want to end up scrounging for food in garbage bins.

Originally published on Sat April 21, 2012 7:47 pm

The eurozone crisis has been under way for three years and has led to sharp welfare cutbacks and a credit crunch throughout the continent.

But one of the most serious effects of the financial crisis has been an alarming spike in suicides in debt-burdened Greece, Ireland and Italy.

Last Wednesday, about a 1,000 people gathered in central Rome for a candle-lit vigil to honor Italy's economic victims. Statics show that from 2009 and 2010, some 400 small-business owners took their lives.

There have already been 23 crisis-related suicides since January.

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Europe
5:22 am
Sat April 21, 2012

Emerging Markets Promise IMF Financial Firepower

Credit Charles Dharapak / AP
International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde announced Friday that the IMF had raised $430 billion, surpassing its stated goal.

Originally published on Sat April 21, 2012 9:46 am

International Monetary Fund officials and members of the G-20 nations announced Friday that member countries have pledged $430 billion to add to the Fund's crisis-fighting arsenal.

The Fund's managing director Christine Lagarde came into the annual World Bank-IMF spring meetings in Washington, D.C., with a goal of raising $400 billion from member states. She was clearly happy and relieved as she announced a number larger than that.

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Interviews
2:08 am
Sat April 21, 2012

Fresh Air Weekend: Carl Zimmer, The Three Stooges

Credit Peter Iovino / Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation
After they leave their orphanage for the first time, Curly (Will Sasso) bears a heavy burden — his fellow Stooges, Moe (Chris Diamantopoulos, left) and Larry (Sean Hayes).

Originally published on Sat April 21, 2012 10:58 am

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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A Blog Supreme
6:36 pm
Fri April 20, 2012

Around The Jazz Internet: April 20, 2012

Credit Verve Records
Cover art detail from Jazz Samba, released 50 years ago today.

Originally published on Fri April 20, 2012 6:38 pm

Here's what we posted on this date two years ago, while snickering like a teenager.

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The Two-Way
5:22 pm
Fri April 20, 2012

Three More Secret Service Agents Resign Over Prostitution Scandal

Originally published on Fri April 20, 2012 5:37 pm

Update at 6:19 p.m. ET. Three Secret Service Agents Step Down:

The Secret Service confirmed that three "additional employees have chosen to resign" and a twelfth employee has been implicated.

"At this point, five employees continue to be on administrative leave and their security clearances remain suspended pending the outcome of this investigation," the agency said in a press release.

The three dismissals today brings the total number of agents forced out of the agency because of the scandal to six.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:35 pm
Fri April 20, 2012

Couples Should Get Tested For HIV Together, WHO Says

Credit iStockphoto.com
What do you say we go get HIV tested together?

Originally published on Mon April 23, 2012 9:05 am

The World Health Organization is telling couples around the world to get tested together to see if either is infected with HIV.

If one of them is, that partner should start treatment with anti-HIV drugs – even if it's not yet medically necessary.

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It's All Politics
3:31 pm
Fri April 20, 2012

Presidential Fundraising Numbers Poised To Skyrocket

Originally published on Mon April 23, 2012 4:11 pm

The latest financial numbers are coming out Friday from the campaigns of President Obama and Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney — along with the superPACs that love them.

First, the easy numbers: $53 million was raised in March to re-elect Obama and $12.6 million was raised by the Romney campaign to win the Republican primaries.

But those easy numbers don't give a complete picture.

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