NPR News

How antitrust regulators decide whether to block a merger.

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In fashion's first hackathon, developers had just 24 hours to build an app for the industry — the finalists will be presented on the runway at New York's Fashion Week. "Right now the industry could really use some innovation," says Decoded Fashion founder Liz Bacelar.

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Forty years ago, New York enacted tough laws in response to a wave of drug-related crime. They became known as the Rockefeller drug laws, and they set the standard for states looking to get tough on crime. But a new debate is under way over the effectiveness of such strict sentencing laws.

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International aid agencies are pouring millions of dollars into a large industrial park on Haiti's north coast. The Caracol Industrial Park is intended to create 60,000 jobs and encourage people to move out of the overcrowded capital Port-au-Prince.

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Directors of both companies have approved the deal, which creates a company worth about $11 billion. It will be known as American Airlines.

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It wasn't that much of a surprise that Senate Republicans refused to end debate on Chuck Hagel's nomination, forcing Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., to try to find 60 votes to move the nomination forward to a final vote. And it's not clear whether Reid has those 60 votes.

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The environmental organization approved its first act of civil disobedience in its 120 year history. Executive Director Michael Brune said it was time for Obama to "seize this moment on Climate change."

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In the 2010 model year, the most dependable cars and trucks were either new to the market or had been through a major redesign, according to a study by J.D. Power and Associates. The finding contradicts the traditional stance that consumers should let carmakers work out the bugs in a new model before they buy.

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While some of the questions were pointed, Lew had an easier go of it than some recent nominees. Some of the toughest questioning centered around a nearly $1 million bonus he received from Citibank just as it got bailed out.

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Contaminated and counterfeit drugs can be more profitable than illegal ones, and they're spreading. This problem is killing people around the world, including in the U.S., and hampering efforts to control diseases like tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS.

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One company says it has a solution to long delays between flights: tiny suites where you can sleep, watch TV or work without leaving the airport. Minute Suites is currently operating in Atlanta and Philadelphia and is headed next for Chicago O'Hare and Dallas-Forth Worth.

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Japanese men aren't known for expressing their feelings. But at least a few are trying to do better by taking part in a high-volume display of romance: the annual love-your-wife shout-out.

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Florida Sen. Marco Rubio, like deft politicians before him, has managed with humor and a morning television prop (a water bottle, of course) to spin an awkward visual gone viral into gold — or at least political pyrite.

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Benedict made his first public appearance since he announced his resignation. The pope also delivered what is likely to be his final mass.

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Latin America's largest economy is growing fast and has plans to put up dozens of dams in the coming years. Environmentalists and residents in some areas are opposed, but the projects are moving ahead rapidly.

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The ACLU argues the portrait, hanging inside a Jackson, Ohio, middle school violates the Establishment Clause. The school says the portrait is not government speech, but protected speech by the students.

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President Obama is urging Congress to boost the federal minimum wage to $9 an hour. But other workers who make more than the minimum, currently at $7.25 an hour, could see their pay go up too as employers adjust their pay scales.

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Images of holey foods, like Swiss cheese, aerated chocolate and lotus pods, are freaking out people on the Internet. Urban Dictionary has even coined a term for it: trypophobia. These photographs may make your skin crawl and stomach churn, but here's why you shouldn't panic.

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A teacher put herself between the gunman and a group of students. Then the deputy helped negotiate a peaceful end to the dangerous situation.

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Until now, a new SARS-like virus showed little signs of being contagious. Only 10 cases have been reported, and all appeared to originate in the Middle East. Health officials now say a British resident likely caught the virus from a family member in the U.K., indicating that the virus can spread between people.

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