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The Two-Way
9:35 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

IRS Official In Charge Of Nonprofits Declines To Testify

Credit Carolyn Kaster / AP
California Rep. Darrell Issa, chairman of the House Oversight Committee, questioning Attorney General Eric Holder last week.

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 8:44 pm

Lois Lerner, the Internal Revenue Service official who handled the division that deals with nonprofit groups seeking tax-exempt status, will invoke her Fifth Amendment right against self-incrimination rather than answer questions at a congressional hearing set for Wednesday.

Lerner is accused of placing conservative groups under special scrutiny when they applied for tax-exempt status. She was subpoenaed to testify Wednesday before the House Oversight Committee.

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The Two-Way
7:05 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Idaho Terror Suspect Waives Detention Hearing

Credit AP
Fazliddin Kurbanov, shown in an undated image provided by the Idaho State Police.

Originally published on Wed May 22, 2013 11:55 am

The 30-year-old Uzbek national accused of a terrorist conspiracy in Idaho and Utah waived his right to a detention hearing in Boise on Tuesday, and apparently avoided public disclosure of details of his alleged crimes.

According to a federal court document, an attorney for Fazliddin Kurbanov withdrew his client's request for the hearing. Kurbanov confirmed the decision through an interpreter and agreed to remain jailed pending a July 2 trial date.

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The Two-Way
7:04 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Two Key Candidates Barred From Seeking Iran's Presidency

Credit Ebrahim Noroozi / AP
Former Iranian President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani's candidacy for the country's presidency was rejected Tuesday by the powerful Guardian Council. He's seen here on May 11 registering his candidacy for the June 14 election.

Iran's powerful Guardian Council has disqualified two key candidates — a former president and a top aide to the current president — from running in the June 14 presidential election.

The Guardian Council, which vets all candidates, approved eight names Tuesday but left out former President Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani and Esfandiar Rahim Mashaei, who was handpicked by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Mashaei said he would appeal the decision to the country's supreme leader; Rafsanjani did not comment.

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The Two-Way
7:03 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Why Oklahomans Don't Like Basements

Credit Joshua Lott / AFP/Getty Images
A heavily damaged home in Moore on Monday. Chances are, it doesn't have a basement.

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 8:39 pm

When Randy Keller moved from Texas to the Oklahoma City area seven years ago, he couldn't find the house he was looking for.

"I was moving from Texas, where there are also a lot of tornadoes," says the professor of geology and geophysics at the University of Oklahoma who experienced the 1970 tornado in Lubbock, Texas. "But I just couldn't find one."

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The Two-Way
6:33 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Storm Chasers Seek Thrills, But Also Chance To Warn Others

Credit Alonzo Adams / AP
A tornado moves past homes in Moore, Okla. on Monday.
Law
5:43 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

IRS Inspector General To Review Handling Of Conservative Groups

Transcript

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

Inspector general from the Treasury Department says his office will review the ways the IRS enforces a critical law on political money. He spoke today at a Capitol Hill hearing.

There, senators questioned two former chiefs of the IRS on the agency's aggressive scrutiny of conservative groups that had applied for tax-exempt status. NPR's Peter Overby reports.

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Around the Nation
5:43 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

As FEMA Heads To Oklahoma, Agency Worries About Finances

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

President Obama said today that the people of Moore, Oklahoma, should know that their country will be there for them as long as it takes. The president issued a disaster declaration hours after the tornado struck, and he dispatched officials from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to Oklahoma. NPR's Brian Naylor has this story on what role FEMA can play.

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Around the Nation
5:43 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Okla. Tornado Survivors Try To Collect Lives After Storm

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

In Moore, for the many people whose homes were destroyed, the top priorities are finding a place to stay, some clothes to wear, and food to eat. NPR's Wade Goodwyn has been talking with survivors in Moore and he sent this story.

WADE GOODWYN, BYLINE: Jamie Martinez(ph) is a retired police officer who still does security work, and that's where he was when the tornado slammed into his neighborhood yesterday.

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Around the Nation
5:43 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Tornado Leaves Moore, Okla., Neighborhoods Unrecognizable

Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Robert Siegel.

MELISSA BLOCK, HOST:

And I'm Melissa Block.

It has been an emotional 24 hours for the people of Moore, Oklahoma. Their city is now a federal disaster area, shattered by yesterday's deadly tornado. Meteorologists have confirmed that the tornado was a rare EF5, with winds in excess of 200 miles per hour. Entire neighborhoods are unrecognizable, trees splintered, houses gone.

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Music Reviews
5:31 pm
Tue May 21, 2013

Pat Metheny And John Zorn: A Vivid Sound World

Credit Jimmy Katz / Courtesy of the artist
Best known for bright, accessible modern jazz, Pat Metheny takes on an experimental composer's work with the new Tap: John Zorn's Book of Angels, Vol. 20.

Originally published on Tue May 21, 2013 5:43 pm

Guitarist Pat Metheny is revered for his bright, accessible modern jazz. Saxophonist and composer John Zorn is associated with much knottier, often dissonant experiments.

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