Ongoing Coverage:
Europe
5:03 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Will The New AK-47 Be As Popular As The Original?

Originally published on Wed May 23, 2012 9:59 am

The Kalashnikov assault rifle, or AK-47, is one of the most dangerous and widely used weapons in the world. For more than 60 years, nations, rebels, gangsters and child soldiers have wielded the gun.

And now, Russian officials say it's outdated. As part of a $700 billion army modernization program, the country has announced a redesign of the rifle.

New York Times foreign correspondent C.J. Chivers — author of The Gun, a book about the Kalashnikov — tells NPR's Audie Cornish that the updates are mostly cosmetic.

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Business
4:57 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Columbia Mayor aims to upgrade Columbia Regional Airport

Columbia Mayor Bob McDavid says offering additional air service to travel hubs like Chicago, Dallas and Atlanta is a major goal of city and regional planners.

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The Salt
4:35 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Seattle's First Urban Food Forest Will Be Free To Forage

If you're a regular reader of The Salt, you've probably noticed our interest in foraging. From San Francisco to Maryland, we've met wild food experts, nature guides and chefs passionate about picking foods growing in their backyards.

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The Two-Way
4:30 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Suspect In Ohio School Shooting Charged With Three Counts Of Murder

Credit Mark Duncan / AP
In this Tuesday, Feb. 28, 2012 photo, seventeen-year-old T.J. Lane is led from Juvenile Court by Sheriff's deputies in Chardon, Ohio.

Prosecutors have officially charged 17-year-old T.J. Lane in the shooting rampage at an Ohio high school.

The charges — three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of aggravated attempted murder and one count of felonious assault — were filed in juvenile court, but the AP adds that this could be the first step toward charging him as an adult.

A hearing is set next week in Geauga County to determine whether he'll be charged as an adult.

The AP reports:

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Education
4:18 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Missouri House endorses quicker intervention in schools

State education officials could step in quicker to assist failing Missouri school districts under legislation backed in the House.

Districts that lose state accreditation currently are given two years to improve before the state officials can intervene. The new legislation removes the waiting period.

When the state Board of Education revokes a district's accreditation, it then would decide whether to set conditions for the local school board to remain in place or determine when an alternative governing system for those schools would take effect.

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Agriculture
4:12 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Missouri Senate rejects farm tax increases

 Missouri lawmakers have rejected a plan that would have increased property taxes on the state's best farmland.

Property taxes for farms are based on the land's "productive value." Farms are divided into eight categories based on land quality. The State Tax Commission recommended increasing productive values for the four highest grades.

The Senate voted 19-8 on Thursday to reject the proposal. The property tax changes were for 2013 and 2014.

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Middle East
4:02 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Syrian Army Drives Out Rebels In Embattled City

Originally published on Thu March 1, 2012 11:17 pm

A key rebel stronghold in the central Syrian city of Homs has fallen to the Syrian army.

Residents fled as government forces bombarded the city's Baba Amr neighborhood for nearly a month. On Thursday, the rebels withdrew.

When the Syrian uprising began nearly a year ago, Baba Amr saw regular, daily protests. Then after months of being shot, detained and tortured, protesters began taking up arms. Those armed civilians were later joined by defectors from the Syrian military, and together, they called themselves the Free Syrian Army.

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Shots - Health Blog
3:50 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Air Pollution In An Unlikely Spot: An Indoor Hockey Arena

Ah, hockey.

Ice chips spray as a player skates to a stop and digs for a puck in the corner. A cool breeze wafts over the rink in the wake of opposing players rushing down the ice to stop him.

And then there's the yellowish blanket of nitrogen dioxide, a toxic gas that's an ingredient in smog, hovering over the ice.

Say what?

Early last year, 31 people got sick after spending time at an unnamed indoor ice arena owned by a private school in New Hampshire.

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Around the Nation
3:38 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Teen Charged As Juvenile In Ohio School Shooting

A teenager was charged Thursday with killing three students in a U.S. school shooting, the first step in proceedings that could see him charged as an adult and face the possibility of life without parole if convicted.

The charges accuse T.J. Lane, 17, of killing three students and wounding two others in the shooting Monday morning at Chardon High School, about 30 miles east of Cleveland.

He is charged in Geauga County juvenile court with three counts of aggravated murder, two counts of attempted aggravated murder and one count of felonious assault

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World Cafe
3:30 pm
Thu March 1, 2012

Kevn Kinney And Golden Palominos On World Cafe

Credit Brittny Smith
Kevn Kinney (left) and Anton Fier have been friends and occasional collaborators since the 1980s.

Kevn Kinney of Drivin N Cryin and Anton Fier of The Golden Palominos combine the twangy side of their respective rock bands for an album aptly titled A Good Country Mile. Through the '80s rock scene, Kinney and Fier became friends and collaborators, and the trend continues more than 20 years later.

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