WikiLeaks Founder; Changes at BP; '12th and Delaware'; Bugs Bunny's 70; Greg Mortenson

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Tuesday, July 27, 2010

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange; BP CEO Tony Hayward to resign; the EU's new sanctions against Iran; campaign finance changes in Congress; 'Three Cups of Tea' author Greg Mortenson on his years on the ground in Pakistan; Bugs Bunny's 70th birthday; we add 'Super Sad True Love Story' to our summer reading list.

Top of the Hour: BP CEO Steps Down, Morning Headlines

BP CEO Tony Hayward will step down in October to be replaced by Mississippi native Robert Dudley; headlines.

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WikiLeaks Founder Defends Document Release

92,000 cryptic reports that offer an hour-by-hour, and sometimes a minute-by-minute, look at the U.S. Army’s actions in Afghanistan were leaked this Sunday by WikiLeaks, a European news organization devoted to uncovering secrets of all kinds. The documents were shared with The Guardian, The New York Times, and Der Spiegel weeks ago, and made public in those papers, and on the Internet, on Sunday.

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Has BP Affected the Way We Consume Energy?

KUHF reporter Melissa Galvez took to the streets of Houston, Texas, and asked residents if the BP oil disaster changed the way they consume gas. She covered this for our friends Transportation Nation. The majority of responses she got was — no. She brings us voices of the people she talked to.

We also want to hear from you. Have you changed the way you think about and consume gas, energy, and how you travel, since the BP oil disaster?

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Government Says Its Okay to 'Jailbreak' iPhones

Yesterday, the U.S. Copyright Office declared it perfectly legal for iPhone owners to "jailbreak" their mobile devices. In reviewing the Digital Millenium Copyright Act, the office said that although it may break Apple's warranty, there was no legal reason why iPhone users shouldn't be able to free their phones from the software restrictions that Apple places on them. The Cupertino, Calif.-based Apple Corporation responded that jailbreaking iPhones could lead to "copyright infringement, potential damage to the device and other potential harmful physical effects" to the device. The new ruling changes the sense of ownership that technology users have over their products.

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Senate Votes on DISCLOSE Act

The Senate will vote today on the DISCLOSE Act, a bill already approved by the House, that would require corporations to disclose their spending on federal political campaigns and to reveal their identities in any political ads they fund. The bill is being seen as the Democrats' answer to the Supreme Courts's ruling on the Citizens United case, which allowed big corporations, domestic and foreign, to spend unlimited amounts of money on American elections.

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Comrade Duch Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison

The brutal Khmer Rouge regime was driven from power in Cambodia thirty years ago. On Monday, Cambodia convicted a major Khmer Rouge figure, Comrade Duch, for his connection with the deaths of 1.7 million people from 1975 to 1979.

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HBO Documentary Underscores the Battle Over Abortion

A new HBO documentary attempts to offer an inside look at the battle over abortion being waged in our country. The film doesn't focus on courtrooms, legislative halls or debates, but on Main Streets all over America.The documentary is called “12th and Delaware,” referring to a street corner in Fort Pierce, Fla. The film tells the story of an abortion clinic on that corner and the pro-life counseling center which opened up directly across the street from its facilities.

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Top of the Hour: What BP Still Needs to Do, Morning Headlines

Capt. Danny Wray, owner and operator of Calmwater Charters on Grand Isle, Louisiana is helping with the cleanup efforts in the Gulf; headlines.

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Tony Hayward out as BP CEO; American Bob Dudley Steps In

Everyone heard the rumblings in the distance, but with the second-quarter earnings reports this morning, BP finally dropped the bomb: Tony Hayward is out. He'll step down from his post as BP's CEO this October. It's been reported that he’ll be sent to Russia to work on a BP joint venture there.

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Days Before SB 1070, Low Attendence in Phoenix Public School

On Thursday, Arizona's SB 1070 officially goes into effect, meaning law enforcement will be able to question anyone they suspect to be in the country illegally. Leading up to Thursday, there has been a growing climate of fear among immigrants in the state. Many undocumented families have decided to leave Arizona, some heading to other states and some going back to their home countries. Monday was the first day of school in the Balsz Elementary School District, an area where more than 70 percent of the population is Hispanic. We talk with Superintendent Jeffrey Smith who says that more than 500 students were not in attendance yesterday.

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Store Shelves Empty? Blame Shrinking Cargo Space

Marquee items pegged around events like Father's Day have been coming too late for shoppers. Across the country, retailers and suppliers are fighting against a lack of cargo space that’s stalling this time-sensitive merchandise and driving up costs for retailers. Fighting for freight space is leading retailers to pay two to three times last year's rates. What does this mean for consumers?

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'Three Cups of Tea' Author Urges Education in Afghanistan, Not War

Since 1993, Greg Mortenson has dedicated his life to building schools, mostly for girls, in the mountainous regions of Afghanistan and Pakistan. Author of The New York Times best-seller, "Three Cups of Tea," Greg Mortenson, approaches diplomacy in Afghanistan through education and working with village elders. And even as a strong advocate against the war there, he and his book have been warmly embraced by top ranking members of the U.S. command in Afghanistan, who have turned to Mortenson for advice on how to approach locals there.

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Happy 70th Birthday, Bugs Bunny

Seventy years ago today, a certain animated rabbit made his first real appearance in a cartoon short directed by Tex Avery. The short was called “A Wild Hare,” and we’re willing to bet you know which bunny it starred.

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Gary Shteyngart on His 'Super Sad True Love Story'

Gary Shteyngart has been at the top of the New York Times bestseller list, is one of Granta’s Best Young American Novelists, and was just recently selected for the New Yorker’s “20 under 40” list. We talk with him about his new book, “Super Sad True Love Story.”

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Listeners Respond: WikiLeaks

The leaked WikiLeak documents have everyone talking. Essentially, they paint a picture of a war going poorly in Afghanistan. Listeners had a lot to say about how the documents made them rethink the war and the Obama administration.

Claudia from New York writes on our website:

"Tell me again why we are in an undeclared war in Afghainstan, because something is not making sense. I voted for Obama, I was a very big supporter. But this kind of serioulsy dangerous conflict makes me wonder what I was thinking. Or what he was thinking."

Read more listener responses here.


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Body of US Navy Personnel Found in Afghanistan

NATO forces in Afghanistan now say they have recovered the body of one of the two U.S. Navy personnel missing since Friday night. Negotiations are still going on through tribal elders to secure the release of the other man, who is still being held in the eastern province of Logar.

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