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The Two-Way
6:21 am
Sun May 19, 2013

A Lucky Winner In Florida Could Be $590.5 Million Richer

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
A customer holds a Powerball ticket and money as he waits in line on May 17, 2013 in San Francisco, Calif.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 6:28 am

If you bought a Poweball ticket in Zephyrhills, Fla., sit down and look at these numbers:

10, 13, 14, 22, 52 and 11.

As the AP reports, lottery officials believe only one ticket matched all six numbers in yesterday's Powerball drawing with a record $590.5 million jackpot.

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You Must Read This
6:03 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Ghost Ships, Murders, Bird Attacks: Stories To Keep You Awake

Ethan Rutherford is the author of The Peripatetic Coffin and Other Stories.

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From Our Listeners
5:54 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Three-Minute Fiction: 'Ten Ring Fingers' And 'Ghost Words'

Credit iStockphoto.com

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 7:08 am

NPR's Bob Mondello and Susan Stamberg read excerpts of two of the best submissions for Round 11 of our short story contest. They read Ten Ring Fingers by Tamara Breuer of Washington, D.C., and Ghost Words by Matheus Macedo of Winthrop, Mass. You can read their full stories below and find other stories on our Three-Minute Fiction page or on Facebook.

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Three-Minute Fiction
5:42 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Ten Ring Fingers

Credit iStockphoto.com

She found the first ring on a night that smelled of body odor and beer. The bar's last customers had finally given up hope of taking her to bed and staggered away, leaving her to clean the stains of their desperation. She mopped the floor as quickly as possible to escape the place that made her feel uncomfortable in her own skin.

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Three-Minute Fiction
5:41 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Ghost Words

Credit iStockphoto.com

The letter smelled of lavender and vanilla, like she couldn't decide which perfume to use so she used both. Her hand-writing had been drawn with the careful precision only seventh-grade girls in love have patience for. Hidden behind the words were indents and scratches, ghosts of words that weren't quite right, rewrites on top of rewrites.

The envelope lay flat and perfectly sealed in the middle of the hallway. If it had not been in front of her locker I may have left it there. I thought of all possibilities before tearing open the smooth flap of pink paper.

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Parallels
5:07 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Russian Lawmakers: Don't Criticize Soviet Actions In WWII

Credit Yuri Kadobnov / AFP/Getty Images
A column of Russia's T-90 tanks rumbles over the cobblestones in Moscow's Red Square on May 9 during the country's Victory Day parade celebrating the anniversary of its costly victory over Nazi Germany in World War II.

World War II remains a monumental event in the collective Russian mind. It's known as the "Great Patriotic War," and Russians believe no one made greater sacrifices than the Soviet Union when it came to defeating Nazi Germany.

The end of the war is celebrated with a huge military parade in Moscow's Red Square on May 9, commemorating the millions of men and women, military and civilian, who died during the struggle.

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Parallels
4:50 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Escape From An Eritrean Prison

Credit Stan Honda / AFP/Getty
Eritrea's human rights record has been widely criticized under President Isaias Afwerki, shown here speaking at the United Nations General Assembly on Sept. 23, 2011.
Politics
4:41 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Nonconservative Groups Say IRS Scrutinized Them, Too

Credit Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images
Outgoing acting Internal Revenue Service Commissioner Steve Miller (right) and Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration J. Russell George are sworn before a full House Ways and Means Committee hearing Friday.

The IRS was in the hot seat Friday, with its outgoing acting commissioner testifying before a House committee. A Senate panel is scheduled for Tuesday. Congress is prodding to find out why the agency singled out conservative groups for special scrutiny.

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Afghanistan
4:41 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Afghans With Disabilities Fight For The Right To Rights

Credit Sean Carberry / NPR
A technician shapes a cast mold for a prosthetic limb at the Red Cross orthopedic clinic in Kabul, Afghanistan. The clinic produces about 2,000 prosthetic limbs each year.

Originally published on Sun May 19, 2013 7:03 am

Climbing the rickety metal staircase is precarious enough if you aren't on crutches, but it's simply dangerous if you are. At the top is the office of Janbazan-e-Mayhan, one of many social councils for disabled Afghans. Men missing arms, legs or hands sit around the small room.

Afghanistan isn't an easy place for anyone to make a living. But for those with disabilities, it's a downright hostile environment. Tens of thousands have been maimed and disabled during decades of conflict. Jobs are scarce, and there's almost nothing that's handicapped-accessible.

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Author Interviews
4:41 am
Sun May 19, 2013

Stories Of Hope Amid America's 'Unwinding'

According to New Yorker writer George Packer, there used to be a kind of deal among Americans — a deal in which everyone had a place.

"People were more constrained than they are today, they had less freedom," he says, "but they had more security and there was a sense in which each generation felt that the next generation would be able to improve itself, to do better."

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