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Families Suffer Through Chicago Morgue Backlog

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images

Workers fill a pauper's grave at Homewood Memorial Gardens, south of Chicago, with remains from the Cook County Medical Examiner's Office, which is now catching up on its backlog of indigent burials.

Credit David Schaper / NPR

Sisters Bernice Terry (from left), Kim Dent and Sheila Hostetler hold pictures of their brother, Brian Warren, from his memorial service as well as a flier they distributed during the more than two weeks they believed he was missing.

By David Schaper

Originally published on Thu February 2, 2012 5:08 pm

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Losing a loved one in any circumstance can be a painful experience, but for some families in Chicago, that pain is being compounded by what's been happening at the Cook County morgue in recent weeks. In the words of one observer, it's "a moral travesty."

3:39 pm

Thu February 2, 2012

U.S. No-Fly List Doubles To 21,000 In The Past Year

By Eyder Peralta

The number of people on the U.S. government's no-fly list has doubled over the past year, the AP reports. It went from about 10,000 to 21,000 as the government loosened the requirements for being put on it.

The secret list is for those the government suspects of being a terrorist. A person on that list is banned from flying within the United States or to the United States.

The AP reports:

3:09 pm

Thu February 2, 2012

Billboards Slather On The Guilt With Anti-Cheese Campaign

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Americans eat about 31 pounds of cheese per person each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Credit PCRM

By Allison Aubrey

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Yes, we're a nation of cheese-eaters. We load it onto pizza, layer it in burritos, sprinkle it on salads, and slap it on sandwiches.

In fact, we eat about 31 pounds of it per person each year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture's estimates. That's nearly triple the amount Americans were eating in 1970.

But is cheese the true culprit behind flabby thighs and paunchy bellies?

3:04 pm

Thu February 2, 2012

Axelrod Argues Obama Economic Policies Worked Though There's More To Do

Credit Brian Kersey / AP

David Axelrod.

By Frank James

David Axelrod, President Obama's political strategist, has what appears to be — from outside the president's re-election campaign, at least — a problem.

Back in early 2009, when the Obama presidency was still brand new, the president gave that NBC News interview in which he talked about his administration being a "one-term proposition" if the economy didn't snap back in time for his re-election.

3:00 pm

Thu February 2, 2012

Life Imitates Art In 'Groundhog Day' Town

Credit Jeff Swensen / Getty Images

Groundhog handler John Griffiths holds Punxsutawney Phil after he saw his shadow predicting six more weeks of winter during annual Groundhog Day festivities Thursday in Punxsutawney, Pa.

By Jenna Dooley

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3:50 pm

Thu February 2, 2012