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Shots - Health News
5:06 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Patients Lead The Way As Medicine Grapples With Apps

Credit Heather Rousseau / NPR
How many calories in that bite? My Fitness Pal and other fitness and nutrition apps can help find the answer.

Christine Porter is hooked on the MyFitnessPal app. In October, after deciding to lose 50 pounds, Porter started typing in everything she eats, drinks and any exercise she gets.

"This is my main page here," says Porter. "It's telling me I have about 1,200 calories remaining for the day. When I want to record something I just click the 'add to diary' button. I'm on it all day either through my phone or through the computer."

She says she's lost 42 pounds in nine months.

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The Two-Way
5:05 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

The 'Standing Man' Of Turkey: Act Of Quiet Protest Goes Viral

Credit Petr David Josek / AP
Erdem Gunduz (center) stands in Instanbul's Taksim Square early Tuesday. After weeks of clashes with police, many Turkish protesters were inspired to emulate Gunduz, and stand silently.

As protests against the Turkish government enter their third week, activists are taking increasingly creative measures to maintain their momentum.

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It's All Politics
4:26 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Obama's Unplanned NSA Discussion

Credit Evan Vucci / AP
President Obama listens to French President Francois Hollande during the G-8 summit at the Lough Erne golf resort in Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, on Tuesday.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 4:58 pm

You have to wonder if President Obama ever thought, when he first ran for the White House, that he would need to defend himself from accusations his presidency would be a mere extension of his Republican predecessor.

But there he was with journalist Charlie Rose having to explain why his approach to national security wasn't really like that of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney.

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The Two-Way
4:22 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

'Days Of Rambo Are Over': Pentagon Details Women's Move To Combat

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images
Women in the U.S. military will be integrated into front-line combat units by 2016, the Pentagon says. Here, female Marine recruits stand in formation during pugil stick training in boot camp earlier this year at Parris Island, S.C.

Women in America's armed services will have new options for what units they can join in coming years, the Pentagon says. The military said in January that it will end its combat exclusion that set a minimum size for units in which women could be deployed; the limit kept many women away from front-line combat units. The shift means women could join elite forces such as the Army Rangers and Navy SEALs.

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The Salt
4:06 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

The Mystery Of the Ridiculously Pricey Bag Of Potatoes

Credit iStockphoto.com
How much for that bag of potatoes?

On Monday we told you about allegations that America's potato growers had banded together in a price-fixing Potato Cartel.

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All Tech Considered
3:52 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Mexico's Tech Startups Look To Overcome Barriers To Growth

Credit Mónica Ortiz Uribe for NPR
Enrique Lima is a co-founder of Publish 88, a Mexican startup that develops software for publishing companies.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 4:51 pm

In the past decade, Mexico's tech industry has flourished, growing three times faster than the global average. Most of that growth has been fueled by demand from the United States. But as Mexico's startups strive to make it in foreign markets, they say they need more engineers and ways to finance their growth.

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Shots - Health News
3:42 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

FDA Backs Off On Regulation Of Fecal Transplants

Credit Janice Carr / CDC/dapd
Bad bug: The bacterium Clostridium difficile kills 14,000 people in the United States each year.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 3:57 pm

Federal regulators are dropping plans to tightly control a procedure that is becoming increasingly popular for treating people stricken by life-threatening infections of the digestive system.

The Food and Drug Administration says the agency will exercise enforcement discretion and no longer require doctors to get the agency's approval before using "fecal microbiota for transplantation."

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Parallels
3:29 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

British Leader: Trendsetter, Or A Bit Too Casual?

British Prime Minister David Cameron is sometimes picked on for his privileged background, and at the Group of Eight summit in Northern Ireland, he sought to go casual.

Not only did he ditch the tie, as did other leaders, Cameron also shed his jacket and even rolled up his sleeves.

Not everyone was won over.

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The Two-Way
2:22 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

Where's Jimmy Hoffa? Everywhere And Nowhere

If it's him, it's going to be a letdown.

For the better part of 40 years, the disappearance of former Teamsters President James Hoffa has been a source of fascination on par with Bigfoot, the Loch Ness Monster and the aliens in Roswell, N.M.

If the FBI finds and identifies his body, as agents are currently trying to do just outside Detroit, it will end the mystery and ruin the suspense, says Bob Thompson, a pop culture professor at Syracuse University.

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Parallels
2:11 pm
Tue June 18, 2013

U.S., Europe May Share Intelligence, But Not Privacy Rules

Credit Odd Andersen / AFP/Getty Images
Protesters demonstrate in Berlin on Tuesday on the eve of President Obama's visit to the German capital. Obama is expected to encounter a more skeptical Germany in talks on trade and secret surveillance practices.

Originally published on Tue June 18, 2013 3:55 pm

The United States and Europe stepped up cooperation on security issues after Sept. 11, 2001. But that doesn't mean they agree on everything. The latest point of friction: What are the rules when it comes to privacy rights?

The revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs not only touched off a ferocious debate in the U.S. but also struck a nerve in Europe.

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