Larsen-Sant Public Library

It took over five years for Nathaniel Rich to finish his first novel — maybe because he was writing The Mayor's Tongue secretly, first as a college student, and then while writing film criticism during the day.

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St. Mary's surprised Villanova, 75-68, as second-round action got under way in the NCAA men's basketball tournament. The Gaels had been a non-factor in NCAA play since 1959, but they advanced on the strength of stellar fundamental play. Seven more games are on tap Saturday afternoon and evening.

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Bannock County Search and Rescue team members are working Saturday morning to get to a missing hiker they found in a remote area near Mink Creek.

Bannock County Search and Rescue team members are working Saturday morning to get to a missing hiker they found in a remote area near Mink Creek.

House leaders abandon the "deem and pass" parliamentary maneuver that would have enabled Democrats to approve the Senate version of the bill without a straight up-or-down vote. The move comes as the House Rules Committee was meeting to set terms for floor debate and a final vote Sunday.

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The strongest sandstorm so far this year hit the country's north, delaying some flights at Beijing's airport and prompting a dust warning for South Korea's capital. China's expanding deserts now cover one-third of the country because of deforestation, urban sprawl and drought.

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You'd think it would take an army to truth-squad the rapid-fire rumors of the World Wide Web. But at Snopes.com, that task falls to husband-and-wife myth debunkers David and Barbara Mikkelson.

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Video game developer Richard Garriott bought the broken Soviet lunar rover at an auction in 1993 — this week, thanks to new photos released by NASA, he's been able to see it on the moon for the first time.

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A Lehman Brothers whistleblower warned his bosses that accounting gimmicks the bank used before its collapse may have been illegal, his lawyer said Friday.

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Pope Benedict XVI rebuked Irish bishops Saturday for "grave errors of judgment" in handling clerical sex abuse and ordered a Vatican investigation into the Irish church to wipe out the scourge.

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House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer says there are representatives who have not publicly indicated that they will support this legislation, but will step forward to give it the 216 necessary votes for passage.

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At the South by Southwest Music Festival this week in Austin, Texas, one of the most exclusive events was an unofficial, invitation-only concert — at the Travis County Correctional Complex. Wayne Kramer of MC5, Billy Bragg, and others were there to launch a music therapy initiative called Jail Guitar Doors.

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Washington was swept up in drama this week as the health care debate finally came to a vote. Obama also signed his jobs bill, and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton traveled to Russia. Host Scott Simon reviews the week's news with NPR News Analyst Juan Williams.

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The Catholic bishops have lobbied hard to get Catholic members of Congress to oppose the current health care bill because of language it says could allow some federal funding of abortion. The Catholic hospital group differs on the interpretation of the abortion language and the relative importance of the rest of the bill.

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The arrest of senior Afghan Taliban figures in Pakistan ended secret talks between the Taliban and the United Nations, according the former head of the U.N. mission in Kabul. U.N. representative Kai Eide, who stepped down this month, says the capture of more than a dozen Taliban members, some through joint U.S. Pakistan operations, effectively derailed the possibility of continuing dialogue about settling the war in Afghanistan. But Pakistan says there was no intention to sabotage anything.

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President Barack Obama packed the Patriot Center at George Mason University in Fairfax, Va., Friday for one more health care rally. Speaking to students in a swing state, Obama hoped to put a bit of his campaign magic on the legislative drive to overhaul the nation's health care system.

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A big rally demanding comprehensive immigration reform is expected Sunday, but don't expect much action from Congress on the issue. Comprehensive reform is not a winner in an election year for Democrats; they'll have to give it a nod, but they are unlikely to take it on along with health care, financial regulations and jobs.

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President Obama has a sure vote in Rep. Steny Hoyer of Maryland, the House Majority Leader, who is trying to rally and convince any wavering Democrats. Host Scott Simon talks to Hoyer about the revised health care bill.

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The NCAA men's basketball tournament featured more surprises as first-round play continued Friday. Cornell, Missouri and Georgia Tech were all underdog winners.

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Just after 5:00 p.m. Friday evening, police in Pocatello responded to a call of a possible shooting on 8th Street.  Law enforcement later confirmed that one man was shot in the abdomen during an altercation.