Swine Flu

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New cases of the swine flu are being discovered in the US and abroad, and one death in the US has been attributed to the outbreak. For an overview of the latest news we speak to Betsy McKay, deputy bureau chief for the Wall Street Journal in Atlanta. McKay covers public health for the Journal.

We also speak with Martha Bergren, Director of Research at the National Association of School Nurses, who says federal education officials have told them that school nurses can release health information about public school students to public safety officials in an emergency.

And we check in with one small Texas community that has been rocked by the swine flu outbreak. Neighboring towns of Schertz and Cibolo near the Mexican border have reported three confirmed cases and have shut down schools and taken every precaution to limit human to human contact. We speak with Cibolo City Councilman Steve Liparoto, who is also a volunteer fireman and registered nurse.

The First 100 Days

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Today marks President Barack Obama’s 100th day in office, so how’s he doing? We get a round robin of opinions from average Americans including Doug Hanscom of Dundalk, Maryland. He worked for General Motors for 32 years and recently took a buy out. We also hear from Toni Halla, who managers a country store in rural New Hampshire and from Los Angeles resident and bicycle enthusiast Ryan Bowen. We begin our segment with Rick Klein of the ABC News blog, The Note.

Humanitarian Crisis in Sri Lanka

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A Sri Lankan police commando stands guard as ethnic Tamils look on during the visit of French Foreign minister Bernard Kouchner, unseen, at the Manik Farm camp for internally displaced ethnic Tamils in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, April 29, 2009. (AP)

About 150,000 civilians have escaped the war zone in northern Sri Lanka where Tamil Tiger rebels are positioned in a standoff against the ethnic Sinhalese government forces. The escapees found their way to hospitals and temporary camps where aid workers say they are doing everything they can to house and treat the refugees. We speak to Lisabeth List, medical coordinator with Doctors Without Borders in Vavuniya, Sri Lanka.

Shabab and The Good News Network

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It’s the name of a new TV channel in Egypt that showcases modern Islamic music, including hip-hop and rap. Conceived as the Arab world’s answer to outlets like MTV, it seeks to promote Islamic values to Egyptian youth. The BBC’s Rebecca Fordham went to the 4-Shabab’s studios and spoke to some Egyptians for this report.

Also, it’s all good news, all the time, and even as the recession deepens, more and more people are paying to read it. We’ll speak with network founder Geri Weis-Corbley in Virginia, who says it’s like a vitamin, Vitamin G, good news good for your health.

Mormons and Young Adult Literature

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“Twilight” author Stephenie Meyer is perhaps the latest and most well known example, but more than sixty authors of books for young adults are members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Award winning science fiction author Orson Scott Card is another Mormon author who has found success. Why are the young adult and fantasy literature genres so conducive to members of the Mormon faith? We speak with Chris Crowe, professor of English at Brigham Young University, and co-editor of the book “How I Came to Write: LDS Authors for Young Adults.”

Music for the show

• Air, “Mike Mills”
• Freddie Hubbard, “Little Sunflower”
• Peter Dixon, “Nagog Woods”
• Rolling Stones, “She’s So Cold”
• The Lickets, “Serial East”
• Sonny Rollins, “Get Happy”
• Muse, “Supermassive Black Hole”