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Business
4:00 am
Mon January 30, 2012

The Last Word In Business

Steve Inskeep has business news.

Middle East
4:00 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Syrian Forces Storm Rebellious Areas Near Damascus

Originally published on Mon January 30, 2012 5:44 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Fighting in Syria has intensified within a few miles of the capital city. Damascus has remained under firm government control, but in the suburbs, the army has sent in tanks to retake areas that had been under the affective control of rebels. Activists inside Syria say more than 60 people have been killed in the past day. NPR's Kelly McEvers is monitoring the situation from Beirut. She's on the line. Hi Kelly.

KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: Hello.

INSKEEP: How did this fighting develop in the suburbs?

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Business
4:00 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Business News

Facebook will file the paperwork on Wednesday for what's widely expected to be one of the biggest initial public stock offering debuts, according to The Wall Street Journal and the Financial Times. Facebook could raise as much as $10 billion. A Facebook IPO was rumored for much of last year, but the company's been tight-lipped.

Around the Nation
12:01 am
Mon January 30, 2012

The Clash Over Fingerprinting For Food Stamps

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
A sign in a New York City market window advertises that it accepts food stamps.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo wants New York City to stop requiring fingerprinting of its food stamp recipients, a stance that puts him at odds with the city's mayor, who favors the practice.

Cuomo says fingerprinting stigmatizes needy people and stops them from applying for help. In a recent State of the State speech, Cuomo pledged to stop fingerprinting food stamp recipients this year.

But New York City Michael Bloomberg says without fingerprinting, fraud would escalate.

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Your Money
12:01 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Employees To Face 'Term Limits' At Casino

A new casino set to open in Atlantic City, N.J., has announced it will set term limits for its front-line staff. When employees' terms run out, they'll have to go through the hiring process again. The casino says the policy will keep its service fresh. Others say the company is taking advantage of a tough job market.

From bellhops to dealers, employees of the new casino — called Revel — will be hired for terms from four to six years. After that, they have to reapply for their jobs and compete against other candidates.

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Author Interviews
12:01 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Strange Bedfellows: Democracy And The Internet

While the Internet may aid the spread of democracy, democracy doesn't necessarily mean a free and open Internet. In her new book Consent of the Networked: The Worldwide Struggle for Internet Freedom, Rebecca MacKinnon, senior fellow at the New America Foundation and co-founder of Global Voices, a citizen media network, investigates the corrosion of civil liberties by the governments and corporations who control the digital world.

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Shots - Health Blog
12:01 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Could A Club Drug Offer 'Almost Immediate' Relief From Depression?

There's no quick fix for severe depression.

Although antidepressants like Prozac have been around since the 1970s, they usually take weeks to make a difference. And for up to 40 percent of patients, they simply don't work.

As a result, there are limited options when patients show up in an emergency room with suicidal depression.

The doctors and nurses at Ben Taub General Hospital in Houston say they see this problem every day.

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Religion
12:01 am
Mon January 30, 2012

'Obedient Wives Club' Irks Some Muslims In Malaysia

Last June, some employees at the Global Ikhwan Café, in the Malaysian capital of Kuala Lumpur, established the Obedient Wives Club. Global Ikhwan (Ikhwan is Arabic for "brotherhood") owns businesses in several countries.

Since then, it has been castigated for what Muslim and non-Muslim critics call a "medieval and oppressive interpretation of Islam."

The controversy surprised club organizer Dr. Azlina Jamaluddin. She says that her group is merely suggesting a way to deal with social problems in Malaysia such as a rising divorce rate.

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Digital Life
5:28 pm
Sun January 29, 2012

Public Or Private: Keeping Google From Being 'Evil'

Credit Mark Lennihan / AP
A sign for Google is displayed behind the Google android robot, at the National Retail Federation, in New York. The announced changes to Google's privacy policy has drawn both positive and negative attention.

Let's start with a quick Google experiment.

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Africa
3:00 pm
Sun January 29, 2012

Attacks By Nigerian Muslim Group Stirs Fear

A radical Islamist group in northern Nigeria has claimed responsibility for a series of deadly bombing attacks last week that left more than 200 people dead. Boko Haram's campaign of violence has left minority Christians on edge in the city of Kano.

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