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3:00 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Do Digital Gadgets Increase Our Appetite For News?

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images
More tablets and smartphones mean more ways to consume news, a Pew study found. Last week the new iPad went on sale at the flagship Apple Store in New York City.

Originally published on Mon March 19, 2012 7:24 am

One in every four Americans receives their news digitally from mobile devices, which are helping to expand the consumption of journalism across multiple sources, according to a new report released Monday.

The 2012 State of the News Media Report, conducted by Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism, provides an in-depth examination of how Americans read news as their consumption habits transition from the printed form to the digital.

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Music
2:14 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Tanlines: Grown-Up Problems, With A Beat

Credit Courtesy of the artist
Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm of Tanlines.

Four years since they first began making music together, the Brooklyn-based duo Tanlines is finally releasing an album: Mixed Emotions, out tomorrow. The band is Eric Emm, who sings and plays guitar, and Jesse Cohen, who plays drums, keyboards and an assortment of electronic instruments. Cohen is also the chattier of the two.

"We use a lot of different drum kits that are in a computer," Cohen explains. "We also play a lot of stuff live, and a lot of time you can't really tell which is real and which is fake. That's sort of a thing that we like to play with."

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Law
2:12 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Florida Challenges Medicaid Spending 'By Force'

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
Florida's Gov. Rick Scott, seen here speaking at the Conservative Political Action Conference in Washington last month, says of Medicaid, "It is absolutely not sustainable. If we do nothing, this line will bankrupt our state."

When the Supreme Court hears arguments over President Obama's health care law next week, one item on the table will be a program that has been in place for nearly 50 years.

Medicaid, a joint federal-state program that provides health care for the poor, was signed into law by Lyndon Johnson. Under the Affordable Care Act, it will be greatly expanded and provide coverage for millions of uninsured, including low-income adults without children.

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Economy
2:00 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Startup Converts Plastic To Oil, And Finds A Niche

Originally published on Mon March 19, 2012 6:58 am

Only 7 percent of plastic waste in the United States is recycled each year, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. A startup company in Niagara Falls says it can increase that amount and reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil at the same time.

It all starts with a machine known as the Plastic-Eating Monster. Thousands of pounds of shredded milk jugs, water bottles and grocery bags tumble into a large tank, where they're melted together and vaporized. This waste comes from landfills and dumps from all over the United States.

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Election 2012
1:57 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Jesse Jackson Jr. Makes Final Push To Win Primary

Originally published on Mon March 19, 2012 6:06 am

The next primary election takes place in President Obama's home state of Illinois on Tuesday. While Republicans are looking to capture delegates in the presidential race, there are several House races on the ballot — mostly due to redistricting.

In one of the most closely watched of those races, U.S. Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. is facing a challenge from fellow Democrat and former Rep. Debbie Halvorson.

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