5:32pm

Fri March 9, 2012
It's All Politics

Romney Mocks Pro-Obama 'Infomercial" And Its Celebrated Filmmaker

Credit Rogelio Solis / AP

Campaigning in Mississippi on Friday, Mitt Romney took a pre-emptive swipe at a new 17-minute video about President Obama to be distributed next week by Obama's re-election campaign.

"The Road We've Traveled" was created by filmmaker Davis Guggenheim, who won an Academy Award for the 2006 Al Gore climate-change documentary, An Inconvenient Truth.

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5:09pm

Fri March 9, 2012
Performing Arts

Mike Nichols: 'Salesman' By Day, Always An Artist

Robert Siegel talks with 80-year-old director Mike Nichols, whose Broadway revival of Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman premieres March 15. Over his more than 60-year career, Nichols has directed, written and produced for Broadway, TV and film.

4:49pm

Fri March 9, 2012
National Security

Experts: A Strike On Iran Poses Many Challenges

Credit AFP/Getty Images

The question hanging over Washington for months has been this: Will Israel strike the Iranian nuclear program?

The Obama administration seems to have bought some time this week after rounds of meetings and speeches with Israeli officials in Washington.

Still, the president assured Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that the U.S. will do all in its power to prevent Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon.

So the military option is still on the table.

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4:48pm

Fri March 9, 2012
Shots - Health Blog

LSD Gets Another Look As Alcoholism Treatment

Credit iStockphoto.com

You might be tempted to chuckle about some Norwegian researchers peering back at experiments done during the '60s and '70s with LSD as a treatment for alcoholism.

But don't.

Their rigorous analysis, combining data from six different studies, concludes that one dose of the hallucinogenic drug might just help.

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4:45pm

Fri March 9, 2012
The Salt

Is It Safe To Eat Pink Slime?

Credit Daniel Acker / Landov

4:44pm

Fri March 9, 2012
Music Interviews

Anthony Hopkins Lives Out A Long-Deferred Musical Dream

Credit Courtesy of the artist

Anthony Hopkins has been knighted by Queen Elizabeth II, and has played Richard I, Richard Nixon, monarchs, statesmen, geniuses and heroes. He won an Academy Award playing one of the most notorious movie villains in history: Hannibal Lecter, the criminal cannibal with an affinity for Bach. Now, Hopkins is making his own music.

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4:38pm

Fri March 9, 2012
The Two-Way

Mining Company Pleads Guilty In 2007 Utah Mine Disaster Case

Coal mining company Genwal Resources has pleaded guilty to corporate criminal charges stemming from the 2007 Crandall Canyon mine collapse in Utah that left nine miners and rescuers dead.

Federal prosecutors say a plea agreement includes a provision that no criminal charges will be filed against any individuals in the case.

Federal and congressional investigators blamed the an initial mine collapse on "retreat mining," in which pillars of coal holding up the roof of the mine are dug out, causing collapse of the mine behind them.

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4:33pm

Fri March 9, 2012
Music Interviews

Carolina Chocolate Drops: Hooked On Old-Time Sounds

Credit Crackerfarm

Carolina Chocolate Drops breathed new life into old-time music with the 2010 album Genuine Negro Jig, which put a contemporary spin on Southern string tools from the late 19th and early 20th centuries. That collection went on to win a Grammy for Best Traditional Folk Album.

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4:32pm

Fri March 9, 2012
Rebuilding Japan

Crippled Japanese Reactors Face Decades Of Work

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 10:58 am

Credit Yoshikazu Tsuno / AFP/Getty Images

The earthquake and tsunami that hit Japan on March 11, 2011, lasted for many terrifying minutes. But the multiple nuclear meltdowns that followed created an emergency that lasted for weeks and a legacy that will last for decades.

Here's how the event unfolded. The tsunami knocked out power to the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power plant. As a result, the cooling systems failed and three reactors melted down. Steam laced with radioactive material poured into the air. Water contaminated with radiation also flowed into the sea.

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4:28pm

Fri March 9, 2012
The Two-Way

Mormon Church Limits Access to Controversial Baptism Records

Persistent pressure and criticism have prompted the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to erect a new "technological barrier" in the system used for controversial posthumous or proxy baptisms.

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