Eagle Ford Shale
12:55 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

SARA Helping South Texas Counties Manage Water Needs Within Eagle Ford Shale

Credit South Texas Environmental Education and Research
Couties affected by the Eagle Ford Shale boom at working on ways to best manage natural resources.

The San Antonio River Authority has been conducting workshops throughout the San Antonio River Watershed area and is working on a holistic watershed master plan for Wilson, Karnes and Goliad counties. 

SARA officials said its new best practices handbook is another element in providing residents and community leaders with ideas that have worked for other communities going through sudden and rapid growth associated with oil and gas exploration.

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Social Entrepreneurs: Taking On World Problems
12:55 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

New Mortgage Program Helps Cambodia's Poor Find Better Homes

Originally published on Thu April 4, 2013 7:20 pm

If you've applied for a mortgage recently, you know how hard it can be. The bank demands all kinds of obscure documents and wants proof of almost every asset you own. But an innovative mortgage program halfway around the world will evaluate your application without any extra documentation — and if you're approved, it will give you a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage. There's just one catch: The mortgages are only for low-income people in Cambodia. The program is a throwback to the days when bankers got to know their customers — and trusted them.

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All Tech Considered
12:30 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

A Facebook Phone? Who Else Wants To Be In Your Pocket?

Credit Giorgio Magini / iStockphoto.com
Fill in the blank: Tell us who else you think should make a phone, in the comments section below.

Yes, April Fools' Day is SO three days ago, but we couldn't resist ...

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The Two-Way
12:24 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

Facebook Phone Is 'A Family Of Apps,' Zuckerberg Says

Credit Robert Galbraith / Reuters /Landov
CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Thursday's "Facebook phone" announcement.

Originally published on Thu April 4, 2013 2:06 pm

Facebook is going to "turn things around," CEO Mark Zuckerberg said Thursday, by turning "your Android phone into a great, simple social device" that is "designed around people."

He came on stage just after 1 p.m. ET at Facebook's Menlo Park, Calif., headquarters to talk about a very poorly kept secret — the so-called Facebook phone.

But, Zuckerberg said at the start of his talk, "we're not building a phone and we're not building an operating system."

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Author Interviews
12:23 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

Former Mormon Missionary Describes The Experience Of 'Elders'

Originally published on Thu April 4, 2013 3:47 pm

As a Mormon missionary, Ryan McIlvain spent two years ringing strangers' doorbells, even as he experienced doubts about his own faith. McIlvain left the church in his mid-20s. His debut novel, Elders, is based on the experiences he had trying to convert people to join the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. "Elder" is the term used for a young Mormon on his mission.

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Commentary
12:23 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

Even Dictionaries Grapple With Getting 'Marriage' Right

Credit iStockphoto.com
Geoff Nunberg says a good definition extends to the past as well as the present: It's not just about what "marriage" has come to mean; it's all the word has ever meant.

Originally published on Thu April 4, 2013 1:12 pm

It's a funny thing about dictionaries. First we're taught to revere them, then we have to learn to set them aside. Nobody ever went wrong starting a middle-school composition with, "According to Webster's ..." but that's not how you start an op-ed commentary about terrorism or racism. When it comes to the words that do the cultural heavy lifting, we're not about to defer to some lexicographer hunched over a dusty keyboard.

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The Two-Way
12:08 pm
Thu April 4, 2013

The Sky Isn't Falling Over Korea — Yet

Credit / Xinhua /Landov
In this photo released in March by the North's Korean Central News Agency (KCNA), leader Kim Jong Un is said to be using a pair of binoculars to look south during an inspection of army troops stationed on two islands.

Originally published on Thu April 4, 2013 1:04 pm

Almost every day, there's some new threat out of North Korea.

It's hard to determine how seriously to take these threats. War on the Korean Peninsula could be catastrophic, so the bluster can't be dismissed. On the other hand, North Korea has a long history of hyperbole, of making threats it doesn't follow through on.

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Texas Legislature
11:48 am
Thu April 4, 2013

Ted Nugent Lets Committee Have It On Bill To Regulate Deer Hunting

Credit Ryan Poppe / TPR
Outspoken 1970s rocker and gun rights activist took to the capitol.

The Motor City Mad Man turned McLennan County, Texas-resident testified against a bill that would prohibit the hunting of breeder deer for up to 60-days after they have been released into the wild.

"There is a pulse of numb-nuts in the country that would ban this commission, ban hunting, ban low-fence, ban high-fence, ban feeders, ban crossbows, ban muzzle loaders - they would ban it all under the scam of what they perceive to be fair-chase," Nugent said.

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Shots - Health News
11:23 am
Thu April 4, 2013

FDA Warns That 'Ninja Mojo' And 'Love Rider' Contain Hidden Drugs

Credit FDA
The Food and Drug Administration says its tests have found undeclared drug ingredients in supplements marketed for the enhancement of sexual performance.

Originally published on Fri April 5, 2013 1:10 pm

Even before the Food and Drug Administration's latest safety warning to men about dietary supplements that claim to enhance sexual performance, there were clues of trouble.

The label for Ninja Mojo, for instance, misspells herbal as "harbal" and says buyers of it should "keep out of reach form [sic] children."

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Around the Nation
11:15 am
Thu April 4, 2013

Hotels Hiding The Homeless

You may think you know who is homeless and where they live, but think again. Some homeless families are finding shelter in a surprising place: hotels. Host Michel Martin talks with Monica Potts, who's covered this issue for The American Prospect magazine.

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