Talk of the Nation on KAZU

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan, in Washington. Last Friday, President Obama came up a compromise: Catholic and other religious institutions would not have to provide contraception coverage for their employees directly, but the wider goal of women's health would be met because their insurance companies would have to do it.

A medical study published in Science finds that an FDA-approved skin cancer drug can reduce Alzheimer's-like symptoms in mice. It is unclear if the drug, marketed as Targretin, will have the same effect on humans. Some researchers want to begin testing the drug for its efficacy in treating Alzheimer's patients.

Transcript

NEAL CONAN, HOST:

The achievement gap between black and white students has narrowed significantly over the past 50 years. The gulf between rich and poor students, however, has widened dramatically. Several studies suggest that family income serves as a better predictor of school success.

In an op-ed in The Washington Post, Georgetown professor Daniel Byman says U.S. policy focuses too much on removing the dictator and not on filling the void left behind. He says that to help in Syria, the U.S. and its allies should train the rebels and use "tough love to cajole and reward the opposition."