Melody wakes up very early in the morning to produce regional content for Morning Edition. She began at VPR as a part-time production assistant and was promoted to full-time in 2007. She has also served as a news and editorial assistant for The Burlington Free Press. After graduating from Skidmore College, she spent a year in France working as a high school teaching assistant. Melody grew up on a dairy farm in Addison County. She spends her free time gardening, cooking, and being outside as much as possible.

Law
2:24 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Osama Bin Laden's Son-In-Law Set To Appear In N.Y. Court

Credit Elizabeth Williams / AP
Osama bin Laden's son-in-law, Sulaiman Abu Ghaith (center), pleaded not guilty to a charge of conspiracy to kill Americans on March 8. He is set to appear in a federal court Monday.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 9:32 am

Osama bin Laden's son-in-law and former al-Qaida spokesman Sulaiman Abu Ghaith is expected to appear in a New York courtroom Monday afternoon.

Abu Ghaith was captured by U.S. officials in February, and his arrest is considered important not just because he was so close to bin Laden, but also because the Obama administration has decided to try him in a federal court instead of using a military commission at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

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It's All Politics
2:23 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Fears Of Government Tyranny Push Some To Reject Gun Control

Credit Rick Hartford / MCT/Landov
Hundreds of gun owners and enthusiasts attend a rally at the Connecticut Capitol in Hartford on Jan. 19.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 9:09 am

As the Senate returns from a two-week spring recess Monday, topping its agenda is legislation to try to curb the kind of gun violence that took the lives of 20 first-graders in Connecticut last December.

Recent polls show broad popular support for enhanced background checks and bans on military-style guns and ammunition. But many members of Congress side with gun-rights advocates who oppose such measures.

And those advocates are increasingly making the case that Americans need guns to fight government tyranny.

'A Fringe Idea' Goes Mainstream

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It's All Politics
2:21 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Why Politicians Want Children To Be Seen And Heard

Credit Mark Wilson / Getty Images
President Obama signs a series of executive orders on gun control Jan. 16 surrounded by children who wrote letters to the White House about gun violence. They are, from left, Hinna Zeejah, Taejah Goode, Julia Stokes and Grant Fritz.

Originally published on Tue April 9, 2013 6:36 pm

The Salt
2:20 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Vermont Finds High-Tech Ways To Sap More Money From Maple Trees

Originally published on Wed April 10, 2013 3:35 pm

In Vermont, maple syrup is growing jobs and allowing farmers to make a profit.

When most people imagine maple syrup production, they think of buckets hanging from trees collecting sap. But these days, most of that sap is collected by pipeline and vacuum pumps.

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Business
2:19 am
Mon April 8, 2013

What Drives Us? Car Sharing Reflects Cultural Shift

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Car2Go vehicles lined up in Washington, D.C., as the company prepared to launch service there last year. The car sharing service is also in Europe and other American cities, including Seattle; Austin, Texas; Miami; and Portland, Ore.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 9:09 am

As car sharing continues to gain traction among American drivers, Car2Go is one company benefiting from the changing way we use cars.

Seattleite David Stewart doesn't own a car. Instead, the managing partner of a small social media company relies on Car2Go for getting around.

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Shots - Health News
2:18 am
Mon April 8, 2013

Listen Up To Smarter, Smaller Hearing Aids

Credit Kevin Rivoli / AP
Composer Richard Einhorn lost most of his hearing several years ago, but that hasn't held him back, thanks to state-of-the-art digital hearing aids.

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 9:17 am

One day in the fall of 2010, composer Richard Einhorn woke up and realized there was something horribly wrong with his hearing.

"There was an enormous, violent buzzing in my ears," he says. "And I realized that my right ear had gone completely deaf."

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The Two-Way
4:46 pm
Sun April 7, 2013

Broadcasters Struggle To Tap Into The "Zero TV" Crowd

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 7:39 am

Broadcasters will convene this week in Las Vegas to discuss how to win back the "Zero TV Crowd": a rapidly growing demographic of people who don't subscribe to cable or satellite TV services.

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U.S.
4:29 pm
Sun April 7, 2013

After Years Of Struggle, Veteran Chooses To End His Life

Originally published on Mon April 8, 2013 9:19 am

After a dozen years at war, an estimated 2 million active-duty service members will have returned home by the end of 2013. Some reintegrate without much struggle, but for others it's not so easy. The psychological wounds of war can sometimes prove to be just as fatal as the physical ones.

For injured veterans such as Tomas Young, life is a daily struggle. But this Iraq War veteran, who says his physical and emotional pain is unbearable, has decided to end his life.

At War

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Television
2:38 pm
Sun April 7, 2013

Pirates Steal 'Game Of Thrones': Why HBO Doesn't Mind

Credit Helen Sloan / HBO
Richard Madden plays Robb Stark in HBO's Game of Thrones.

Originally published on Sun April 7, 2013 4:42 pm

More than 1 million fans illegally downloaded the first episode of Game of Thrones Season 3 this week, within 24 hours of its premiere.

That set a record, according to TorrentFreak, a blog that reports the latest trends on file-sharing. The blog also named the popular HBO series the most illegally downloaded television show of 2012.

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