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Over the strong objections of Wal-Mart, the City Council in Washington D.C. has approved a bill that would require some large retailers to pay workers a minimum of $12.50 an hour. The city's minimum wage is $8.25. Wal-Mart has threatened to scrap plans to open three stores in the city if the measure is signed by the mayor and becomes law.

In Egypt, many are hopeful that with the Islamist president out of power, stability will return — and so will foreign investment. Already, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are pumping billions into Egypt now that the Muslim Brotherhood is no longer in power. And miraculously, the fuel shortages and power cuts that were plaguing the nation seem to be gone.

Smithfield CEO Larry Pope tried to reassure lawmakers that the sale of his Virginia based company will not mean a transfer of jobs to China or a reduction in food safety. He appeared before lawmakers on the Senate Agriculture Committee on Wednesday.

Also: a literary history of silly walks; Judy Blume on why Margaret will always be an A cup; Oliver Sacks on hallucinations.

The increase — of 16,000 claims — may be mostly due to seasonal shutdowns of auto plants, which are retooling.

Can technology help cities become more efficient and sustainable? Or does the drive toward a new kind of "technopolis" raise concerns about privacy, equity and cost? Please join the NPR Cities Project for a Twitter conversation about technology and urban innovation.

Unwanted chicks are filling up some city shelters around the country, and some activists are blaming fair-weather hipster farmers. But a closer look reveals another root cause: When urban farmers order hens, they often end up instead with roosters — illegal in many cities.

What was the most recent CD (album) you listened to all the way through, and then said to yourself - "hey - I wanna listen to that again, right now" - ?…

One of the world's largest and most open gatherings of hackers is asking federal workers to skip this year's event. "Our community operates in the spirit of openness, verified trust, and mutual respect," the founder of the Def Con conference says.

The celebrity cook has seen her TV shows and corporate sponsorships disappear following reports of her use of racist language. But a publisher who has written a comic about her life is going ahead with its plans — after a short update. Still, "we're not going to flambé her," the publisher says.