NPR News

The three planets are not only in what's considered to be the "habitable" zone, but they are also near Earth-sized.

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Scientists say the sun is now in an active period, creating more space weather that could interfere with the satellites we depend on for TV, cellphones and weather forecasts. From member station KQED, Lauren Sommer reports that researchers are taking advantage of the weather to learn more about the Earth's magnetic field.

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In what has been described as a revenge plot, Eric Williams and his wife are charged with the murders of a Kaufman County district attorney, his wife and an assistant prosecutor. Williams is already in custody for allegedly making a terroristic threat.

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The planets orbiting far-off stars are close to Earth-sized and are a distance from their suns that makes their surfaces neither too hot nor too cold. Since launching in 2009, the Kepler telescope has identified more than 100 planets.

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Older people are much more likely than youngsters to be killed crossing the street, according to new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. And men are more likely to be killed than women, regardless of age.

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The National Weather Service says the system is threatening to bring severe weather from the Tennessee Valley all the way to the Gulf Coast, tonight. It will move east Friday.

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Bipartisan bonhomie broke out Thursday afternoon when four Democratic and four Republican senators made a case for their comprehensive immigration overhaul proposal. "America is an idea; nobody owns it," said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. "We've got to create order out of chaos."

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Jokes were not on funny guy Ray Magliozzi's mind Thursday when he talked with WBUR. Instead, the Car Talk co-host wanted to focus on the acts of bravery and selflessness at the scene of Monday's bombings.

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Dog owners have similar germs growing on their skin: a signature blend of bacteria from canines' tongues and paws. Scientists couldn't find an analogous signature for cat owners. Perhaps cats are just being selfish.

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Investigators have said the key clue is likely to come from photos or video taken by the public, and social media sites are buzzing with theories about possible suspects. But with so many images out there, it's like trying to find the one slightly off-white pingpong ball buried under 10,000 white pingpong balls.

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The study looked at about 10,000 British children born at the turn of this century and found no developmental problems among those whose mothers drank moderately during pregnancy. But even the study's authors caution that abstaining from alcohol is still best for mothers-to-be.

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Police say former Pakistani military ruler Pervez Musharraf sped away from a court ito avoid arrest after his bail was revoked. Policemen were deployed at the court building in Islamabad on Thursday, but Musharraf's security team rushed him out and put him in a black SUV before they could detain him.

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"Small, stunted individuals who would destroy instead of build" do not understand Americans, the president said at an interfaith service in Boston. The event was both to remember the victims of Monday's marathon bombings and to praise the bravery and spirit of those who rushed to help the injured.

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A fertilizer plant exploded near Waco, Texas, Wednesday night. Officials report between five and 15 people were killed, and more than 160 wounded.

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Hundreds of people gathered at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross in Boston's South End, about a mile from the bombing site, for an interfaith memorial service Thursday.

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Gun control advocates are regrouping after the Senate's failure to pass new gun regulations on Wednesday. Host Michel Martin talks about the political news of the week with analysts Maria Teresa Kumar, Lenny McAllister and NPR's senior Washington editor, Ron Elving.

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Alcohol has bolstered many writing sessions throughout history — not just as a drink but as an ink. For most of the last millennia, writers, artists and kings alike relied on an ink that commonly included wine. Now some people are trying to bring this tradition back.

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When volunteer firefighters in the city of West, Texas, about 20 miles north of Waco, arrived to battle a fire at a fertilizer plant, they encountered a disaster in the making. Steve Inskeep and David Greene have more details on the explosion that followed Wednesday night.

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Pyongyang insists that sanctions be lifted and the U.S. and South Korea end joint military exercises.

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A push to make narcotic painkillers harder to abuse means that generic versions of OxyContin won't be allowed. But drugs that are more resistant to abuse are expensive and can still be addictive.

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