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The Two-Way
12:08 pm
Sat March 23, 2013

Oregon's Arsalan Kazemi: From Iran To The Sweet 16?

Credit Julie Jacobson / AP
Rebounding machine Arsalan Kazemi is the first Iranian-born player in Divison I men's college hoops.

Originally published on Sun March 24, 2013 3:23 pm

San Jose, Calif., is just a piece of a very big March Madness pie. But in the eight teams that gathered there for second- and third-round games this week, you could see the undeniable trend in big-time college basketball globalization.

Rosters from schools as geographically diverse as Syracuse, New Mexico State and California featured athletes from Senegal, France, Canada, South Africa, Croatia, Sudan.

But it's the University of Oregon with a groundbreaker — from Iran.

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It's All Politics
10:12 am
Sat March 23, 2013

A Hint Of Bipartisanship On This Obamacare Tax?

Credit Jim Mone / AP
Sen. Amy Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, was joined by Utah Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch in taking steps to try to stop an Obamacare medical device tax.

Anyone looking for a glimmer of bipartisanship in Washington might want to pay attention to the medical device tax that is part of Obamacare. It took a notable, if largely symbolic, hit this week from the left and the right.

The 2.3-percent excise tax on devices ranging from MRI machines to pacemakers to stethoscopes was meant to raise $20 billion over 10 years to help pay for extending health care coverage to the uninsured under the Affordable Care Act.

But so far it has raised more ire than revenue.

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Commentary
8:47 am
Sat March 23, 2013

Resurrected Frog Gives Us Cause To Brood

Credit Auscape/UIG via Getty Images
This week scientists announced they have reproduced the genome of an extinct amphibian, the gastric brooding frog.

Originally published on Sat March 23, 2013 2:06 pm

The gastric brooding frog may be coming back. Does that give us a lot to brood about, too?

This week scientists at the University of New South Wales' Lazarus Project announced they have reproduced the genome — that bit of biological material that carries our genetic structure — of a gastric brooding frog.

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The Two-Way
7:59 am
Sat March 23, 2013

In Case You Missed It: Georgetown Upended, And Other NCAA Surprises

Credit Matt Rourke / AP
Florida Gulf Coast's Chase Fieler (left) and Georgetown's Mikael Hopkins leap for a rebound during a second-round game of the NCAA tournament Friday.

Originally published on Sat March 23, 2013 1:33 pm

Another big shock from the NCAA tournament: Florida Gulf Coast "busted a load of brackets" Friday, beating second-seeded Georgetown, as The Associated Press reports.

The Florida Gulf Coast Eagles managed a 78-68 victory over the Hoyas, only the seventh time in NCAA history that a No. 15 seed beat a No. 2, the AP says.

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Same-Sex Marriage And The Supreme Court
7:32 am
Sat March 23, 2013

The Senators Who Oppose DOMA, Despite Having OK'd It

Originally published on Sat March 23, 2013 12:53 pm

The soul-searching over the Defense of Marriage Act went viral last week after Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman, a social conservative and original co-sponsor of the 1996 bill, sought out CNN to say something no one saw coming.

Portman said he'd decided to oppose DOMA and support same-sex marriage, two years after learning his college-age son was gay.

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