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May 20, 2013

Conn. Gov. To Commuters: Stay In NYC This Week

Metro North employees, in orange vests, help transfer westbound commuters at the transportation center in Bridgeport, Ct., to buses Monday, May 20, 2012, after a train collision on Friday injured 72 people and disrupted rail service into New York City. (Mark Lennihan/AP)

Connecticut Governor Dan Malloy is telling commuters heading into New York City to pack an overnight bag, after a train collision disrupted the country’s busiest rail corridor.

IRS Scandal: Some Context And History

(Dennis Brack/Landov)

Why was the IRS scrutinizing social and political action groups in the first place? We ask Donald Tobin, an expert on the intersection of tax and campaign finance laws.

Afghan Activists Demand Rights For Disabled

An orthopedist works on a small prosthetic leg for a polio patient at the ICRC physical rehabilitation center in Kabul, Afghanistan, May 27, 2012. (Anja Niedringhaus/AP)

Afghanistan isn’t an easy place to make a living even if you’re healthy. But for those with disabilities — including thousands maimed during decades of conflict — it’s a downright hostile environment.

More Tornadoes Forecasted For Plains And Midwest

Residents of Edmond, Okla., survey storm damage from a tornado that hit their neighborhood Sunday, May 19, 2013. (Sean Murphy/AP)

The outbreak of deadly tornadoes that struck the nation’s midsection over the weekend is expected to continue today. Oklahoma has been the hardest hit, with one person killed.

‘Watergate: The Video Game’ Puts Player In Woodward’s Shoes

(watergategame.com)

If you find yourself waxing nostalgic for the kind of 1970s investigative journalism that led to the Watergate hearings, you can now relive the chills and thrills of the Washington Post investigation.

Longtime Everest Climber Calls Mountain A ‘Powder Keg’

Mount Everest as seen from an aircraft from airline company Drukair in Bhutan. (Wikimedia Commons)

This year’s Mount Everest climbing season has already been marked by conflict. Mountaineer Peter Athans, who has reached the summit seven times, explains why.

Music From The Show

From Kanye West to Beach House.

H&N Favorites

(Flickr/mpimentel001)

The discovery of three kidnapped Cleveland women has parents thinking about how to protect their kids.

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Just-picked asparagus from Kathy Gunst's yard. (Kathy Gunst/Here & Now)

Here & Now resident chef Kathy Gunst brings us five recipes, including an Asian asparagus salad, braised artichokes with roasted asparagus and an upside down rhubarb cake.

7 Comments | more »
Caroline Shaw is a violinist, singer, and Pulitzer Prize-winning composer. (Pulitzer Prize Board)

At 30, Caroline Shaw is the youngest – and one of only a few women – to have won the Pulitzer Prize for Music. Before last month, she was known primarily as a violinist and singer.

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This undated photo shows Dr. Kermit Gosnell. (Philadelphia District Attorney's Office via AP)

Longtime abortion provider Dr. Kermit Gosnell has been found guilty of killing three babies. Ethicist Art Caplan says the case points to the need for widely-available contraceptives.

4 Comments | more »
Honda Civic Natural Gas badge. (Honda)

More drivers are turning to natural gas vehicles because the fuel is half as expensive as gasoline is at the pumps right now. What are these cars like to drive and own?

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(AP)

To mark the coming arrival of the cicadas, we speak with David Rothenberg, who makes music out of the cicada buzz.

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Katherine Gekas, (left),  a mother in Newton, a wealthy suburban Boston town, and Tina Chery, (right), a mother whose son was killed in 1996 by cross-fire. She is founder of the Louis D. Brown Institute. (Robin Lubbock/Here & Now)

When a number of Massachusetts communities were on lockdown following the Marathon Bombings, some suburban moms gained a new understanding of the fear their inner-city counterparts live with all the time.

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The mother of Here & Now producer Alex Ashlock. (Courtesy Alex Ashlock)

Here & Now’s Alex Ashlock lost his mother in 2003, but not a day goes by that he doesn’t want to call her.

6 Comments | more »
Carey Mulligan as Daisy Buchanan and Leonardo DiCaprio as Jay Gatsby in a scene from "The Great Gatsby." (AP/Warner Bros. Pictures)

As the sixth film adaptation of “The Great Gatsby” opens in theaters across the country, literary critic Steve Almond says he re-reads the book every summer.

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Suhaib Webb, (left), the imam for the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center and Yusufi Vali, executive director of the Islamic Society of Boston Cultural Center at Here & Now studios at WBUR in Boston. (Robin Lubbock/Here & Now)

As investigators continue to look into what radicalized the Boston Marathon bombing suspects, a local Imam explains his role in monitoring mosque members.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Dr. John S. Wilson, Jr. is president of Morehouse College in Atlanta. (Morehouse College)

President Obama delivers the commencement address this weekend at Morehouse College, the all-male historically black college. The school’s president discusses recent controversies and challenges.

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Thursday, May 16, 2013
Mark with Houston at Houston's high school graduation in 2009. (Courtesy of Mac McClelland)

Failures in mental health care mean that often the only way to get help for a loved one is to call the police. We speak with a journalist about the tragic consequences for her family.

19 Comments | more »
Thursday, May 16, 2013
"I Drive Your Truck" screenshot.

In 2011, a Nashville songwriter heard Alex Ashlock’s interview with Paul Monti, who lost his son in Afghanistan. It inspired her to write “I Drive Your Truck.”

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