A municipal worker sweeps along a pathway near the Mekong river, in the capital Vientiane, Laos. Manish Swarup/AP hide caption

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Parallels

Tiny Laos Readies For A Visit From Obama — And A Turn Under The Global Spotlight

In a historic step toward rebuilding relations with the poor, heavily-bombed nation, the president will join other world leaders there, after wrapping another big global meeting in Hangzhou, China.

Karrie Keyes stands at her soundboard at a show at Boston's Fenway Park in August 2016. From here, she communicates with the members of Pearl Jam to get the monitor mix just right. Caroline Losneck hide caption

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Music News

Meet The Woman Who's Been Pearl Jam's Sound Engineer For 24 Years

After three decades doing live sound, Karrie Keyes is still one of few female engineers in the business. Some Pearl Jam fans know her on sight.

A writer by profession, Robert Hoge was the first member of his family to go to college. Matthew Warrell/Courtesy of Penguin Young Readers hide caption

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Shots - Health News

'Ugly': A Memoir Of Childhood, Deformity And Learning To Love A Distinctive Face

Robert Hoge was born with deformed legs and a giant tumor between his eyes. In his new memoir, he describes his mother's shock and how she decided whether or not to bring him home.

Blktop Project Stick and Move
Last Beat NOMO

A municipal worker sweeps along a pathway near the Mekong river, in the capital Vientiane, Laos. Manish Swarup/AP hide caption

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Tiny Laos Readies For A Visit From Obama — And A Turn Under The Global Spotlight

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Freedom Beyoncé & Kendrick Lamar

Alex Longo makes a pitch at the Lunar and Planetary Institute in Houston, Texas, in October 2015. The Institute sponsored the conference to pick a landing site for the first human landing on Mars. Long has proposed a site for a different mission — a rover landing. Bill Ingalls/NASA hide caption

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A Teen Might Pick The Landing Site For NASA's Next Mars Rover

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Life On Mars David Bowie
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From Now On Vetiver

A writer by profession, Robert Hoge was the first member of his family to go to college. Matthew Warrell/Courtesy of Penguin Young Readers hide caption

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'Ugly': A Memoir Of Childhood, Deformity And Learning To Love A Distinctive Face

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Pretty [Remix] The Cranberries
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Blame It on Yourself Ivy
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Long Distance
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Badder Than Bullets Tommy Guerrero
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Bunch of Keys Mr. Scruff
Hanging On thenewno2 & Thorunn Antonia

Karrie Keyes stands at her soundboard at a show at Boston's Fenway Park in August 2016. From here, she communicates with the members of Pearl Jam to get the monitor mix just right. Caroline Losneck hide caption

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Meet The Woman Who's Been Pearl Jam's Sound Engineer For 24 Years

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Photographs Eddie Vedder