NPR News

Wisconsin has the highest number of binge drinkers in the nation, and they cost the state $6.8 billion in 2012. Most of that economic burden is from lost productivity — missing work, premature mortality, incarceration, and absenteeism.

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Islamist brigades are competing with pro-democracy civilians to shape Syria's future. In many areas in rebel-held northern Syria, Islamists have set up religious courts that deliver rulings under Shariah, or Islamic law.

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Some Parisians worry that an avenue once considered the most beautiful in the world is starting to take on the character of an American shopping strip.

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Nelson Kanuk, an 18-year old Yup'ik Eskimo, has seen the permafrost his home is built on melt, and in a year or two the house could be gone. Kanuk argues the state needs to take more action on climate change.

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The exchange came as an assault weapons ban bill worked its way through the Senate Judiciary Committee. At issue: whether Congress has the right to determine, which guns are legal.

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So-called "haul videos" are the YouTube version of a time-honored tradition: showing off the spoils from a trip to the shopping mall. Some haulers have garnered thousands of followers, as well as relationships with retailers who compensate the young fashionistas for promoting their products.

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Irish cookbook author Rachel Allen shares a recipe for Molly Malone chowder, a soup inspired by the Irish folk song about a doomed fishmonger.

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Irish cookbook author Rachel Allen shares a recipe for Molly Malone Chowder, a soup inspired by the Irish folk song about a doomed fishmonger.

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Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has finally put together a coalition that appears focused on domestic issues rather than security questions or negotiations with the Palestinians.

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Bartender Scott Prouty has stepped out of the shadows. The recording he made shook up the 2012 presidential campaign. Republican Mitt Romney's bid for the White House was dealt a blow. Now Prouty is telling liberal newssites about what he did.

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Earlier this month, Michigan's governor declared that the city is in a financial emergency. The city government is running a huge deficit and faces huge debts. Now, a lawyer with experience in bankruptcies is coming in to try to straighten things out.

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The job is hard, she told an Argentine news station, and the world is also tough. She asked the world to pray for her brother.

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The new pope is a big fan of the Argentine team San Lorenzo, from his home town of Buenos Aires. Known as "Los Cuervos" ("The Crows"), the team has enthusiastically adopted Francis as its "papa."

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The discovery of thousands of dead pigs floating in the waters around Shanghai has turned up disturbing reports: of pig dumping and the sale of meat from diseased animals among pig farmers. In the village where some of the pigs came from, we found serial denials.

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Nearly 70 percent of American drivers say they talked on their cell phones while driving at least once in the previous month, according to a survey by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And about a third admitted to reading or sending texts or emails while driving.

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Jeb Bush got headlines last week when he opened the door to a presidential run, after years of insisting he was not interested. So it's of some note that when attendees at this week's Conservative Political Action Conference vote in the group's straw poll for 2016, they will not find his name on the ballot.

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The Jesuits are the single-largest Catholic order, known for their dedication to education and devotion to the poor. But in the past, they have also proved controversial.

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The orange-and-black butterflies that winter in massive numbers in central Mexico each year have declined precipitously since a census count began 20 years ago.

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A new Pew survey finds that an equal number of working moms and dads — 48 percent — wish they could quit their jobs to raise their kids.

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Alabama's Gov. Robert Bentley has signed a sweeping education bill that gives tax credits to parents who want to transfer their children from a failing public school to another public or private school. The bill became law one day after the Alabama Supreme Court ruled a lawsuit against it was premature.

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