Criminals Fleeing Rio Crackdown Set Up Shop In The Suburbs

The provincial town of Mage seems a world away from the violence and drug dealing that plague Brazil's larger cities. On a recent afternoon, the central square is a picture of calm. Children play around a fountain; older people sit on the many park benches dotting the area, under the shade of trees.

Mage, about 35 miles northwest of Rio, is close enough that people can commute to the city, which many of them do. Yet it's far enough away that nothing much really happened here in the past. But residents say that is changing.

How To Sell Coke To People Who Have Never Had A Sip

For years, there were only three countries in the world that didn't officially sell Coca-Cola: Cuba, North Korea and Myanmar, formerly known as Burma.

Now, after 60 years, Coke is back in Myanmar. Sanctions were lifted last year on the country. Just this week, Coca-Cola opened its new bottling plant outside of Yangon. Now all the company has to do is figure out a way to sell all that Coke to people who may not remember what it tastes like.

Heavy Rotation: 10 Songs Public Radio Can't Stop Playing

This month on Heavy Rotation — the series in which public-radio hosts and DJs share their favorite new songs — we have music from all over the map. Hip-hop, punk, EDM, folk, pop: It's all here. Meet this month's panel of pickers:

  • David Dye, host of NPR's World Cafe

  • Rita Houston, program director of WFUV in New York City

  • David Brown, host of Texas Music Matters for KUTX in Austin

  • Jessi Whitten, music director at Colorado Public Radio's OpenAir indie station

    • Former Mass. Chief Justice On Life, Liberty And Gay Marriage

    The U.S. Supreme Court, on the brink of issuing two same-sex-marriage decisions, is facing a question that Margaret Marshall had to resolve for her state a decade ago, as chief justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. Her decision became the first to legalize same-sex marriage in the United States.

    Jose-Luis Orozco: Capturing Kids' Attention In Two Languages

    For the past 42 years, José-Luis Orozco has been entertaining children with songs he sings in English and Spanish. He's passionate about teaching children to be bilingual through music, and he's also written books for kids.

    "Let's say hello to each other," he says to a crowd of preschoolers at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books. "Buenos días," he sings.

    "Buenos días," they repeat in unison.

    "Good morning," he sings back.

    The History Behind America's Most Secretive Court

    This week The Guardian newspaper shared with its readers a document that few people ever get to see — an order from the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court telling Verizon to share countless phone records with the National Security Agency. The White House would not confirm the existence of this surveillance effort, but it insisted Congress is fully briefed about such activities. Members of Congress confirmed that they knew.

    Not Everyone Cheers Turkey's Move To Tighten Alcohol Rules

    The ongoing anti-government protests in Turkey are about a lot of things — including a recent law to restrict the advertising and sale of alcohol. The limits aren't any more onerous than those in some other Western countries, but secular Turks see them as another step in a push by the ruling party to impose conservative social values on the population

    Finding An Anchor For A Life Set Adrift By A Shipwreck

    In 1993, a freighter ran aground off Queens, N.Y. The Golden Venture had nearly 300 people on it who were being smuggled into the U.S. from China.

    Passengers cited China's forced-sterilization program and governmental persecution from political expression as reasons to climb aboard the Golden Venture. Some paid the smugglers $30,000 to board the ship. An organized crime syndicate would front the money, and the passengers would have to work off the debt, often in restaurants like indentured servants.

    Bolling PAC Backs Republicans Who Voted for Transportation Bill

    Craig Carper in News

    Lieutenant Governor Bill Bolling’s Political Action Committee the Virginia Mainstream Project is throwing their support behind Republican Delegates who voted for the bipartisan transportation compromise and now face challenges from anti-tax conservatives. Craig Carper reports.

    Campaign Profile: Mark Herring

    Craig Carper in News

    State Senator Mark Herring, a Democratic candidate for Attorney General in the June 11th primary, says he will work to depoliticize the office and to reverse controversial actions by current A.G. Ken Cuccinelli. (Candidate Justin Fairfax was profiled in a previous report.)