Ongoing Coverage:
Health & Wealth Update
7:05 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Missouri's health slips to 40th in the nation

Credit americashealthrankings.org
Missouri's health ranking dropped from 24th in 1990 to 40th in 2011.

Each year, the United Health Foundation ranks states' health. And almost every year, Missouri drops in the rankings. This year, the Show Me State fell from the 39th spot, to 40th. In this week's Health & Wealth update, why we're getting less healthy and what we can do about it. I speak with Thomas McAuliffe, policy analyst with the Missouri Foundation for Health.

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The Two-Way
7:00 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Cheetah, One Of Tarzan's Chimpanzee Sidekicks, Has Died

One of the chimpanzees who played Cheetah, Johnny Weissmuller's sidekick in the Tarzan movies of the 1930s and '40s, has died. He was said to be 80 years old and succumbed to kidney failure on Christmas Eve, according to the Suncoast Primate Sanctuary in Palm Harbor, Fla., where he had been living since the early 1960s.

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The Two-Way
6:15 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Weeping, Wailing And Imagery In Pyongyang For Kim Jong Il's Funeral

Credit North Korea's official Korean Central News Agency / AFP/Getty Images
Kim Jong Un, center, walks with his hand on the limousine bearing his father Kim Jong Il's body earlier today in Pyongyang.
Around the Nation
5:50 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Money Inside Safe Will Pay Deceased Woman's Bills

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep. Sally Daher settled her medical bills a decade after her death. The Massachusetts woman left behind unpaid nursing home costs and a shoe store she'd owned. In 2008, the store's new tenant got rid of a heavy old safe there. A tow truck driver dumped the safe in an empty lot. And then authorities found $178,000 inside. Now a judge has decided who gets the money. It will pay her old debts, and her son says he's ecstatic. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Pop Culture
5:41 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Rare Motorcycle Goes Up For Auction Next Month

The 1906 Indian Camelback hasn't been ridden in 40 years. It has both pedals and a motor but no brakes or clutch. The rust-covered bike is likely to fetch up to $75,000.

Middle East
4:54 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Judaism Strands Could Be Tearing Israel Apart

It's being called a battle for the soul of Israel, with even Israel's President Shimon Peres saying the country's democracy is under threat. The fight is between Israel's increasingly large and powerful ultra-orthodox community and other Jews who say they won't be dictated.

Asia
4:16 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Pyongyang Stages Dramatic Funeral For Kim Jong Il

For analysis of the political dynamics at play during the funeral of North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, Steve Inskeep talks to Stephen Bosworth, Dean of the Fletcher School at Tufts University. From 2009 until October 2011 he was the U.S. Special Envoy to North Korea.

Asia
4:13 am
Wed December 28, 2011

North Korea's Power Transfer Moving Smoothly

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

Capping more than a week of public mourning, North Korea staged a dramatic state funeral for its late leader, Kim Jong Il. Leading the ceremonies was Kim's third son and apparent successor, Kim Jong Un.

North Korean media reports portray the younger Kim, who is reportedly in his late 20s, in full control of the impoverished, nuclear-armed country. But while consolidating his political power may be easy, establishing his legitimacy will be tougher.

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Business
3:09 am
Wed December 28, 2011

New England Fishermen Brace For Cod Restrictions

Three years ago, scientists found plenty of cod in the region but data this season indicates just the opposite. Federal regulators say stocks are at such dangerously low levels, cod fishing might need to be shut down. Fishermen say they don't believe the reports.

Election 2012
3:00 am
Wed December 28, 2011

Iowa's GOP Voters Bring Up Overhauling Immigration

GOP presidential candidates are touring Iowa ahead of next week's caucuses. The main issue for many voters there is the economy, but another hot topic is emerging: overhauling immigration policies. Iowa's Hispanic population is surging, and Republican candidates are struggling with how best to deal with voter concerns.

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