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Classics in Concert
11:42 am
Wed June 19, 2013

Mozart's Violin Comes To Boston, Live In Concert

Credit WGBH
Daniel Stepner performs on the violin once owned by Mozart himself.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 12:07 pm

Mozart never made it to America: getting seasick crossing the English Channel put an end to any of his seafaring fantasies. But America was frequently on Mozart's mind. In fact, his closest collaborator, librettist Lorenzo Da Ponte, actually immigrated to these shores and became the first professor of Italian at Columbia University in New York.

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The Salt
11:28 am
Wed June 19, 2013

The Martini: This American Cocktail May Have An International Twist

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 11:50 am

There's no cocktail more distinctly American than the martini. It's strong, sophisticated and sexy. It's everything we hope to project while ordering one.

Baltimore-born satirist H.L. Mencken is said to have called the martini "the only American invention as perfect as the sonnet." But is the martini perfectly American? Maybe not entirely.

So in honor of National Martini Day on Wednesday, we decided to dig into the drink's muddled past.

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Shots - Health News
11:04 am
Wed June 19, 2013

AMA Says It's Time To Call Obesity A Disease

Credit NPR

While the American Medical Association may not have the clout it once did, it's still the largest single group of doctors making waves about health and the practice of medicine.

So it's not nothing when the AMA's House of Delegates approves a measure to label obesity a disease. The group's deliberative democratic body passed a measure in Chicago Tuesday that broadly, if vaguely, says obesity is a medical condition:

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It's All Politics
9:34 am
Wed June 19, 2013

IRS Staffer: "What I Did Was Not Targeting"

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 11:18 am

Another interview with a key IRS employee, another oblique connection to Washington, D.C., and yet still no explosive revelations in the scandal surrounding the agency's targeting of Tea Party groups.

That, it seems, was precisely the point of Rep. Elijah Cummings' decision to release 205 pages of redacted interview transcripts Tuesday (here and here).

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The Two-Way
9:13 am
Wed June 19, 2013

In Germany, Obama Defends NSA Surveillance Programs

Credit Timur Emek / Getty Images
President Obama speaks on the Pariser Platz in front of the Brandenburg Gate on Wednesday in Berlin.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 11:25 am

Update at 10:20 a.m. ET. 'Peace With Justice':

Speaking at Brandenburg Gate in Berlin — the same spot where John F. Kennedy made his famous speech almost 50 years ago — President Obama on Wednesday called on the global community to fight for democracy and freedom everywhere.

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The Two-Way
8:49 am
Wed June 19, 2013

In Brazil, Protests Continue As Some Cities Cut Bus Fares

Credit Daniel Guimaraen / AFP/Getty Images
Students block an avenue in São Paulo, Brazil, on Tuesday night, during a protest against a recent rise in public bus and subway fare.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 11:33 am

For a second night in a row, tens of thousands of Brazilians took to the streets to protest everything from the cost of living to government corruption.

The AP reports that during Tuesday's demonstrations:

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The Two-Way
7:58 am
Wed June 19, 2013

Book News: Kim Jong Un Reportedly Gave 'Mein Kampf' As Gifts

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 9:52 am

The daily lowdown on books, publishing, and the occasional author behaving badly.

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The Two-Way
7:12 am
Wed June 19, 2013

Heat, Spurs Headed To Game 7 After Stunning Game 6

Credit Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images
LeBron James (right) of the Miami Heat snatches the ball from Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs during overtime in Game 6 of the NBA Finals at the American Airlines Arena in Miami.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 10:14 am

We'll let LeBron James do the talking. He said about the sixth game of the NBA finals between the Heat and Spurs:

"It's by far the best game I've ever been a part of."

And it certainly was a stunner: The Heat's Ray Allen hit a three-pointer with just 5.2 seconds on the clock to tie the game, denying the Spurs their fifth NBA title. The game went into overtime and remained airtight, but eventually the Heat prevailed 103 to 100.

ESPN has highlights:

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The Two-Way
6:38 am
Wed June 19, 2013

Taliban Attack Kills 4 Coalition Soldiers; Afghan Govt. Suspends Talks

Credit Rahmat Gul / AP
Afghan President Hamid Karzai speaks during a ceremony Tuesday at a military academy on the outskirts of Kabul.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 10:17 am

In the hours following an announcement by the Taliban and the United States saying they were ready to begin peace talks, we received reminders of just how tenuous that situation is: On Tuesday night the Taliban said they fired two rockets near Bagram airbase in Kabul. The International Security Assistance Force said four service members were killed by "an indirect fire attack."

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Sweetness And Light
3:23 am
Wed June 19, 2013

Tick Tock: Make The Serve, Pitch, Putt Or Shot

Credit Tom Lynn / Getty Images
Two fans catch a nap during a game between the Milwaukee Brewers and St. Louis Cardinals last month in Milwaukee.

Originally published on Wed June 19, 2013 6:12 am

In Milwaukee, cartoon characters dressed up like various sausages race at each Brewers' game; in Washington, five of our beloved presidents do their own bratwurst ramble. But the character I want to appear at every baseball game –– and at a couple of other sports, too, is ...

tick-tock,tick-tock

... the crocodile from Peter Pan who swallowed a clock and shadows a terrified Capt. Hook.

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