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Rundown 8/20

43:10
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Lockerbie Convict Released

The Libyan man convicted in the 1988 bombing of the Pan Am jet over Lockerbie Scotland has been released because he's critically ill with cancer. He's returning home to Libya. We'lll have a report from Peter Hunt of the BBC.

'Hands off my Health Care'

That's the motto of some people who are packing town hall meetings to voice their opposition to healthcare reform. We'll speak with Amy Menefee, a policy advisor for the group, Patients First, which is an offshoot of the conservative organization “Americans For Prosperity."  She's on a bus tour in Indiana for the group.

The Uninsured Congressman

Rep. Steve Kagen is a democrat and a doctor — and he explains why he has opted out of a generous health insurance package offered to lawmakers. Until his uninsured constituents are able to have access to something similar, he'll be uninsured.

New Credit Card Regulations Take Effect

New rules from the Obama Administration's Credit Card Reform Act take effect today, and credit card companies are raising rates and charging more fees in preparation. Nationally-syndicated Chicago Sun Times financial columnist Terry Savage explains what that means for credit card users. Savage is author of the forthcoming book "The Savage Number: How Much Money Do You Really Need to Retire?"

The Science of Making it Rain

For decades scientists have been experimenting with increasing precipitation to arid parts of the world by seeding clouds from above with chemicals and forcing a reaction that produces rain and snow. Now, they are manipulating clouds from the ground. Philip Ross, Senior Editor at IEEE Spectrum magazine visited the Desert Research Center in Nevada to learn more about the process.

Should 'Beanballs' be Banned?

Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz says Major League Baseball should ban beanballs. That's when pitchers throw deliberately at batters. His op-ed on the topic appeared in the Boston Globe this week and he joins us to talk about it.

Ripley's Believe it or Not! Hunts Down Oddities

Ripley Entertainment's Edward Meyer, Vice President, exhibits and archives, stands by a male African elephant with two trunks at Ripley's Believe it or Not warehouse in Orlando, Fla. Tuesday, Oct. 11, 2005. The elephant was legally shot for its ivory in 2004, the tusks on the elephant now are fiber glass. (AP Photo/Peter Cosgrove)
Ripley Entertainment's Edward Meyer stands by a male African elephant with two trunks. (AP)

Ripley's Believe it or Not! has been entertaining people for more than a century, with items like a portrait of President Obama made of gumballs or a shrunken head made by a tribe in Africa. Now, despite the recession, Ripley's is expanding and expected to open eight new museums in the next few years. We hear about the hunt from Edward Meyer, vice president of exhibits and archives at Ripley Entertainment, Inc.

Music from the show

  • Traffic, "Rainmaker"
  • Peter Dixon, "Nagog Woods"
  • Led Zeppelin, "Fool in the Rain"
  • Ahmad Jamal, "Patterns"
  • Joe Jackson, "Steppin' Out"
  • Jimi Hendrix, "Voodoo Child"

This program aired on August 20, 2009.

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