U.S.

National

Tech Startup Harnesses Virtual Reality For Use In Architecture

10:46pm June 01, 2015

A startup company called The Third Fate envisions virtual reality as a way for architects and builders to offer tours of their designs before they're even constructed.

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Getting A Tattoo Is An Unlikely Rite Of Passage For This Teen

10:46pm June 01, 2015

by Katie Davis

Commentator Katie Davis helped with an unlikely coming of age ceremony for a young man she mentored and tutored for years. She took him to get his first tattoo.

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, who wrote for the court majority, said Moones Mellouli's crime should not be considered enough to remove someone from the country under federal law. In dissent, Justice Clarence Thomas wrote he sees "nothing absurd about remov

Supreme Court Sides With Immigrant Caught With Pills In His Sock

10:46pm June 01, 2015

by Carrie Johnson

The court ruled Monday that a law requiring the deportation of immigrants who violate any kind of drug regulation did not justify deporting a man who was caught with Adderall in his sock.

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The Allen Cell Types Database catalogs all sorts of details about each type of brain cell, including its shape and electrical activity. These cells, taken from the visual area of a mouse brain, are colored according to the patterns of electrical activity

A Database Of All Things Brainy

7:52pm June 01, 2015

by Jon Hamilton

Researchers in Seattle are busy cataloging what scientists have learned. For now that includes detailed information on 240 mouse cells. Next up: a data trove of details on human brain cells.

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The Daimler Freightliner Inspiration, a self-driving long-haul truck, is seen during an event at the Hoover Dam, May 5, 2015, near Boulder City, Nev.

National

Coming Soon To A Highway Near You: A Semitruck With A Brain

7:47pm June 01, 2015

by NPR Staff

Self-driving cars are hot news, with Google and others showing off their latest innovations. Now expand that concept from four to 18 wheels, and you get the Freightliner Inspiration.

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President Barack Obama might have just gotten his own Twitter account, but he's been tweeting for years, such as during this

President Gets His Own Twitter Account: 'It's Barack. Really'

7:33pm June 01, 2015

by Brian Naylor

Obama's bio on @POTUS says he is "Dad, husband and 44th President of the United States."

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Harriette Thompson, 92, and her son Brenny Thompson finish the Suja Rock 'n' Roll San Diego Marathon on May 31 in San Diego.

A 92-Year-Old Ran Her 16th Marathon And Broke A Record

7:28pm June 01, 2015

by Lucy Perkins

When Harriette Thompson signed up for her first marathon, she planned to walk. But when everyone else started running, she figured she might as well run, too.

Heather Quinlan searched for New York accents around the city for her documentary If These Knishes Could Talk. She holds up a sign at the Whitehall Ferry Terminal in Manhattan.

National

Fuhgeddaboudit: New York Accent On Its Way Out, Linguists Say

7:26pm June 01, 2015

by Hansi Lo Wang

New York City is home to more than 700 languages, including distinct "New Yorker" accents. A new exhibit examines how changes in the city's population are contributing to their decline.

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A Manifesto On Diversity In Public Media

6:53pm June 01, 2015

by Al Letson

The host of the award-winning programs State of the Re:Union and Reveal shares his ideas about making public radio sound more like America.

Competitive swimmers often practice breath holding to increase endurance.

Breath-Holding In The Pool Can Spark Sudden Blackouts And Death

4:57pm June 01, 2015

by Angus Chen

When you hold your breath underwater, you might pass out before you realize you need oxygen right now. Experienced swimmers have drowned as a result, and most people aren't aware of the risk.