KVNF Mountain Grown Community Radio

As college students return to class from winter break this week, campuses around the nation are bracing for the possibility of a flu outbreak.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The French defense minister says France is preparing for a possible land assault in Mali, so it plans to increase its troop levels to 2,500. Back home in France, authorities are girding for possible terrorist attacks in response to their intervention. Eleanor Beardsley has that story from Paris.

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Criticism is raining down on prosecutors in Massachusetts after the suicide of computer genius Aaron Swartz, who helped to develop innovations like RSS.

Swartz, 26, had been facing trial on 13 felony charges for allegedly breaking into the Massachusetts Institute of Technology network and accessing millions of documents. Friends and family argue Swartz was the victim of Justice Department overreach. But legal experts say the case is more complicated than that.

Another member of the Bush family is throwing his hat into the political ring: George Prescott Bush, 36, the son of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, has announced he is running for office in Texas.

The Bush name is still strong in the Lone Star State: George P. has already raised nearly $1.4 million, though he still hasn't said which statewide office he will run for.

More than 80 people are dead after twin blasts at a university campus in Syria's largest city.

If you didn't know any better, you might think that even if new gun control proposals from President Obama become stalled in Washington's gridlock, the states will rush in to fill the void.

After all, under its Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo, New York has responded to December's Newtown tragedy by passing legislation banning assault weapons and making it harder for seriously mentally ill individuals to legally obtain firearms.

In the weeks since the school shootings in Newtown, Conn., communities across the country have wanted to do something about gun control, and many have turned to an old standby: buybacks.

Kids may not exactly jump for joy to learn that the health care overhaul makes it easier for them to get their teeth cleaned, filled and straightened.

Tooth decay ranks as the No. 1 chronic disease in children, and better dental insurance coverage could help address the problem. But many children's health advocates worry that there won't be enough dentists available to meet the need.

The appearance Monday of a new iPhone/iPad app called "NRA: Practice Range" is causing controversy. Critics say release of the game one month after the school shooting in Newtown, Conn., was callous. And they're also incensed that it's tied to the NRA, which has pinned part of the blame for mass shootings on violent video games.