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Tuesday

Law

Supreme Court Considers Punitive Damage Limits

Philip Morris is asking the Supreme Court to invalidate a $79.5 million punitive-damage award in a case stemming from the death of one Oregon smoker. It's the ultimate test of whether the Constitution imposes significant limits on punitive damages in each and every case of misconduct.

Supreme Court Considers Punitive Damage Limits

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'Chutes and Ladders' of the Low-Wage Job Market

For years, a sociology professor followed workers at a fast-food place in Harlem to see how their lives would unfold. She found that a strong economy and personal connections led some of them to much better jobs than what they started with.

'Chutes and Ladders' of the Low-Wage Job Market

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Obituaries

Former South African President Botha Dead at 90

P.W. Botha, who served as South Africa's last hard-line white president, has died at 90. Nicknamed "The Big Crocodile" for his belligerence and temper, Botha was the face of racist South Africa at the height of its anti-apartheid struggle.

Former South African President Botha Dead at 90

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Halloween Tricks And Audio Treats

Halloween in Missouri: The Devil's Promenade

For more than a century, the people in southwest Missouri at the Oklahoma border, not far from Kansas, have seen an odd hovering light on a road called West 50. The phenomenon occurs in the southwest of the state, where the Ozark Mountains give way to flat land -- in an area called the Devil's Promenade.

Halloween in Missouri: The Devil's Promenade

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Law

High Court Reviews High-Dollar Cigarette Judgment

The U.S. Supreme Court hears arguments in a case to determine how high punitive damages can go when a state court finds extreme corporate misconduct. In a suit against Phillip Morris, the company was ordered to pay $79.5 million for a smoker's death.

High Court Reviews High-Dollar Cigarette Judgment

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All Things Considered

Campaigns Gear Up for a Push to Finish in Elections

Midterm elections are one week away, and campaigns are making their final strategic moves to vie for a good showing at the polls. Robert Siegel talks with two campaign consultants who are in the thick of things: Democratic media stragegist David Axelrod, and Republican consultant Bill Greener.

Campaigns Gear Up for a Push to Finish in Elections

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All Things Considered

Ohio Election Rules in Limbo a Week Before Vote

In Ohio, a federal judge is set to hear arguments over key parts of that state's new election-reform law -- which was meant to solve the voting problems that came up during the 2004 presidential election. The Wednesday hearing will determine whether voter identification will still be required on Election Day, Nov. 7.

Ohio Election Rules in Limbo a Week Before Vote

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Obituaries

Friends and Family Pay Respects to Auerbach

Family and friends gathered today in Northern Virginia to bury Arnold "Red" Auerbach, the legendary coach of the Boston Celtics. Auerbach died Saturday at 89. His funeral drew friends from Auerbach's college days, and players from his powerhouse teams.

Friends and Family Pay Respects to Auerbach

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Business

The Pink Flamingo Era Ends in Massachusetts

In Leominster, Mass., the Union Products company has been making plastic pink flamingos for nearly 50 years. The plant is closing tomorrow, after stopping production earlier this year. Robert Siegel talks with the man who created the first pink plastic flamingo as a Union Products employee back in the 1950s.

The Pink Flamingo Era Ends in Massachusetts

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Photo Op: An Occasional Series

Photographer Finds World View in NYC Children

New York City, a historic entry point for immigrants arriving in the U.S., is the appropriate setting for Danny Goldfield's project, NYChildren. He is trying to photograph children from every country in the world who live in New York.

Photographer Finds World View in NYC Children

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Space

Astronauts Will Fix Hubble Telescope

NASA chief Michael Griffin announces plans for a special space shuttle mission to Hubble, so astronauts can replace batteries, gyroscopes and install two new instruments. The decision officially reverses the policy of Griffin's predecessor, who felt such a mission was too risky.

Astronauts Will Fix Hubble Telescope

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The Immigration Debate

Arizona Voters Face Immigration Initiatives

Voters in a state with porous borders will be asked if they want to make English the official state language... and if they would prefer to deny bail privileges and in-state tuition rates to undocumented immigrants.

Arizona Voters Face Immigration Initiatives

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New Hampshire Town Launches Pumpkin Flotilla

Residents of the town of Goffstown, N.H., spend months every year growing giant pumpkins. But after a weigh-in, they turn the megagourds into boats for a race down the river.

New Hampshire Town Launches Pumpkin Flotilla

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Obituaries

Richard Gilman, Veteran Theater Critic

Fresh Air

Richard Gilman, who died Saturday at age 83, was a writer and professor at the Yale School of Drama. Ben Brantley of The New York Times writes, "Mr. Gilman was one of a breed of philosopher-critics... who came to prominence in the 1950s and 1960s. They located in modern drama the elements of abstraction, alienation and absurdity that had long been at the core of discussions of other forms of art and literature." In this archive interview from 1987, Gilman recounts his conversion from Judaism to Catholicism and then to atheism.

Richard Gilman, Veteran Theater Critic

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