Health
9:04 am
Thu April 25, 2013

Duke To Cover Sexual Reassignment Surgery On Student Insurance

Credit Dave DeWitt

The student health insurance plan at Duke University will soon cover procedures for sexual reassignment surgery. 

The university will be the first in North Carolina to cover the service, starting this fall. Dean of Students Sue Wasiolek says the student health advisory committee recommended the change to complement existing benefits.

"A couple of years ago, we made certain that we had appropriate counseling support and hormonal therapy covered in the insurance policy for students," says Wasiolek.

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WUNC Fund Drive
9:04 am
Thu April 25, 2013

Three Drawings: Paris, New York, Or iPod

Credit Agaw.dilim / Flickr
Win a trip to Paris!

For a limited time, your one call to 800.962.9862 or your pledge online enters you into three drawings.  Sustainers are automatically entered into each of these drawings, too. 

Win A Trip To Paris

You could win a trip for two to Paris. Airfare and accommodations are including in this week-long get-away package. One lucky WUNC listener will win this trip soon.

Win A Trip To New York

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Politics & Government
8:18 am
Thu April 25, 2013

State House Passes Voter Identification Bill

Credit house.gov

Lawmakers in the state House have passed a bill that would require residents to present photo identification at the polls.

The measure passed 81-36. The outcome wasn’t surprising to opponents of the measure, who’ve faced an uphill battle with the bill’s Republican sponsors.

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WUNC Fund Drive
6:25 am
Thu April 25, 2013

Special Trips And Offers Abound On The First Day Of Spring Fund Drive

The WUNC Spring Fund Drive kicked off April 25th with a number of special offers and thank-you gifts in addition to the stock (but nonetheless marvelous) tote bags, t-shirts and CDs. You'll hear details about trip drawings - to Paris and New York - when you "tune in" online or on the radio. If you pledge before the drawing concludes, your name is entered into the drawing.

And, Before We Go Any Further...

WUNC is a trusted source of reliable information and entertainment.   In this day and age with the various budget uncertainties, your support right now to WUNC is vital. So we’ re asking you to step up, make a pledge, and help ensure the future of this station. Thank you for pledging online or calling 800 962 9862

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Arts & Culture
6:00 am
Thu April 25, 2013

Doc Watson Remembered Fondly As MerleFest Continues Without Him

Credit David Holt
David Holt took this photo of Doc Watson's final MerleFest performance in 2012. Watson died a month later.
Politics & Government
5:55 pm
Wed April 24, 2013

House Approves Voter ID Requirement

Credit www.ncleg.net
North Carolina House of Representatives

State House members passed a GOP-backed bill that would require state residents show a photo ID before being allowed to vote.  The bill, previously approved by three legislative committees, allows several forms of identification to verify voters.  Democrats and civil rights groups who oppose the bill say new requirements amount to attempts at voter suppression. 

Republican David Lewis, chair of the House Elections Committee, says the bill ensures fairness.

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Environment
5:37 pm
Wed April 24, 2013

Greensboro Air Quality Improving, But Still Receives F-rating

Credit Derrick Matthews, via Flickr, Creative Commons
Greensboro received an F-rating for air quality.

The American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report is out, and it slots Greensboro as the 42nd most polluted metro area in the county.  The city received an F-rating.

Laura-Kate Bender, who worked on the report, says the news wasn’t all bad.

"Despite getting an ‘F,' the area actually got its lowest overall number of smog days," she says. "So even though it received a failing grade, it’s a significant improvement over last year."

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Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Andy Carvin (andycarvin.com, @acarvin on Twitter) leads NPR's social media strategy and is NPR's primary voice on Twitter, and Facebook, where NPR became the first news organization to reach one million fans. He also advises NPR staff on how to better engage the NPR audience in editorial activities in order to further the quality and diversity of NPR's journalism.

During his time at NPR, Carvin has been interviewed on numerous NPR programs, including Morning Edition, All Things Considered, Talk of the Nation, Tell Me More and The Diane Rehm Show, as an expert on Internet policy and culture and related topics.

As co-founder of PublicMediaCamp, Carvin has helped NPR and PBS stations around the country bring local tech communities and public media fans together to develop collaborative projects both online and offline.

Prior to coming to NPR in 2006, Carvin was the director and editor of the Digital Divide Network, an online community of educators, community activists, policymakers and business leaders working to bridge the digital divide. For three years, Carvin blogged about the impact of the internet culture on education at the PBS blog learning.now.

During natural disasters and other crises, Carvin has used his social integration skills to mobilize online volunteers. On September 11, 2001, he created SEPT11INFO, a news forum for the public to share information and help refute rumors in the wake of the 9

11 attacks. Following the tsunami off the coast of Indonesia in 2004, Carvin served as a contributing editor to TsunamiHelp, one of the leading sources of tsunami-related citizen journalism. More recently, he worked with CrisisCommons, to help with their development of shared technology solutions to improve emergency management and humanitarian activities in response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

In 1994, Carvin created the pioneering online education resource EdWeb: Exploring Technology and School Reform, one of the first websites to the impact of telecommunications policy on education. Carvin is the founder and moderator of WWWEDU, the Internet's oldest and largest email forum on the role of the Web in education.

Well known as a leader in technology and innovation, Carvin was named by Washingtonian magazine as one of the 100 leading technology innovators in Washington, D.C., in 2009. In 2005, MIT Technology Review magazine included Carvin on TR35, an annual list of 35 of the world's leading high-tech innovators under the age of 35. The District Administration magazine named him as one of America's top 25 education technology advocates in 2001. Carvin received similar honors from eSchoolNews in 1999 when they named him a member of its Impact 30 list of education technology leaders.

After graduating with a bachelor of science in rhetoric and a master of arts in telecommunications policy from Northwestern University, Carvin received the prestigious Annenberg/Washington postgraduate policy fellowship.

The Story
2:50 pm
Wed April 24, 2013

For Chechen Refugee, Bombings Open Wounds Of War

Magomed Imakaev planted a medlar tree in his back yard outside of Boston to remind him of his native Chechnya.
The State of Things
1:10 pm
Wed April 24, 2013

What Is The Future Of Fracking In North Carolina?

Credit EPA
A drill rig on a fracking site.

  • A panel of guests discusses fracking in North Carolina with host Frank Stasio.

The natural gas extraction process called hydraulic fracturing, also known as fracking, has been a source of debate and contention in the state for quite some time now. It involves drilling horizontally through thousands of feet of shale and blasting the shale with water, sand and chemicals to release natural gas. Several states allow the process, some are in the process of figuring out how to regulate it, and some, like New York, have placed a moratorium on the process due to environmental concerns.

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