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Rundown 5/21

42:50
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President Barack Obama delivers an address on national security, terrorism, and the closing of Guantanamo Bay prison, Thursday, May 21, 2009, at the National Archives in Washington. Above is a mural painted by Barry Faulkner in 1936 of the Constitution Convention depicting James Madison delivering the final draft of the Constitution to George Washington. (AP)
President Barack Obama Thursday, May 21, 2009, at the National Archives in Washington. Above is a mural painted by Barry Faulkner in 1936 of the Constitution Convention depicting James Madison delivering the final draft of the Constitution to George Washington. (AP)

Guantanamo Detainees

President Obama and former Vice President Dick Cheney square off in dueling national security-themed speeches. President Obama wants to close the Guantanamo Bay detention facilities and possibly bring some of the detainees to the US. Mr. Cheney says President Obama's policies put the nation at risk. We speak with Demetri Sevastopulo, Pentagon and intelligence correspondent for the Financial Times. We also speak with attorney Brent Mickum, who is representing one of the most notorious detainees, Abu Zubaydah.

We speak with Mark Halperin, editor-at-large and senior political analyst for Time magazine.

Indio, California Penalizes Foreclosure Blight

Rising foreclosures have many communities dealing with abandoned homes with overgrown lawns and broken windows. The town of Indio, California has made that type of neglect a crime- punishable by fines that can surpass $25,000 and possible arrest. We speak with Indio Police Chief Brad Ramos who says that most banks are complying and starting to keep up their properties.

Tracking Swine Flu

The number of swine flu cases in Wisconsin has tripled in the past two weeks. We talk to Bevan Baker, Milwaukee's health commissioner and Angie Hagy, the city's head swine flu tracker, about what they're doing to track the illness and prevent it from spreading.

All "A"s

An agile anglomaniac artfully accumulates "A"s. Robert Manson Myers, a retired English professor, has achieved a first for the English language: a 200-page book titled "Ars Amatoria" (after the poem by Ovid) containing only words that begin with the letter "A." We speak with Professor Myers about his abnormal alliterative avocation.  For more information on the book, you can email Sherry Clontz of Jostens Books at sherry.clontz@jostens.com

Music from the show

  • Air, "Mike Mills"
  • Ahmad Jamal, "Patterns"
  • Tito Puente, "Royal T"
  • Talking Heads, "This Must Be the Place"
  • Kara DioGuardi, Cathy Dennis, and Mitch Allan “No Boundaries” sung by Kris Allen
  • Sam Cooke, “A Change is Gonna Come” sung by Adam Lambert

This program aired on May 21, 2009.

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