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Around the Nation
5:14 am
Sat December 31, 2011

Peanut Prices Make A Go-To Snack More Expensive

Credit Joy Carter
A peanut combine rolls over rows of peanuts, picking them off the vine on Benny Johnston's farm in Ocilla, Ga. Because of the weather and other crop prices, the price of peanuts has been rising.

It's lunchtime at the Barber home in Macon, Ga. Three-year-old Samuel has just gotten up from his nap, and he's hungry for a creamy peanut butter sandwich.

Carol Barber says Samuel eats peanut butter for lunch almost every day. He's not the only one; she has three other little boys.

Millions of Americans love peanut butter sandwiches. It's easy to make, a "kid favorite" and, until now, relatively inexpensive. But in November, the price of peanut butter increased by more than a third.

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Newt Gingrich
5:13 am
Sat December 31, 2011

For Gingrich, A Week Of Attacks And Falling In Polls

Credit Andrew Burton / Getty Images
Newt Gingrich wipes away a tear while speaking about his deceased mother Friday in Des Moines, Iowa.

Originally published on Sat December 31, 2011 1:25 pm

It's been a week of marathon campaigning for GOP presidential candidate Newt Gingrich: five or six campaign events each day, hitting Rotary meetings, pizza restaurants and coffee shops.

With the caucuses just days away, it's time for closing arguments in Iowa. Gingrich says his argument is that he's a supply-side conservative with experience both in balancing the budget and in making government work.

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Politics
4:00 am
Sat December 31, 2011

After A Year of Struggles, Obama Finds His Footing

Even as President Obama relaxes with his family in Hawaii over the holidays, he knows what's on the horizon when he returns to work in Washington.

He will start where he left off, facing new skirmishes with Congress over a push to extend a temporary cut in payroll taxes. That temporary extension was approved just days before Christmas after a high-stakes gamble that finished only after most of Congress had left for the year.

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The Best Of Fresh Air 2011
2:58 am
Sat December 31, 2011

Fresh Air Weekend: The Critics' Best Of 2011 Lists

Credit HBO
Larry David returned for an eighth season of Curb Your Enthusiasm this year. David Bianculli called his show "one of the funniest and [most] daringly different shows ever made for TV."

Originally published on Mon December 3, 2012 9:14 am

Fresh Air Weekend highlights some of the best interviews and reviews from past weeks, and new program elements specially paced for weekends. Our weekend show emphasizes interviews with writers, filmmakers, actors, and musicians, and often includes excerpts from live in-studio concerts. This week:

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The Two-Way
6:18 pm
Fri December 30, 2011

College Football Bowl Preview: Compelling Matchups, Dead Ahead

Credit Steve Dykes / Getty Images
Quarterback Darron Thomas of the Oregon Ducks (right) threw for 30 touchdowns with only 6 interceptions this season. The Ducks beat UCLA in the Pac-12 Championship to earn a spot in the Rose Bowl, where they'll face Wisconsin.

College football is set to enter its final week, and that means the biggest bowl games are coming up. This weekend will see teams such as Auburn, Oklahoma and Georgia Tech in action. And the first week of 2012 will feature marquee matchups like Oregon vs. Wisconsin, and Oklahoma State against Stanford.

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