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Those 'Hygienic' Toilet Seats At O'Hare May Not Be So Clean

If you have to go while at Chicago's O'Hare Airport, then you need to know this:

"Motorized 'hygienic seats' that a controversial new janitorial contractor installed recently at O'Hare Airport are not very hygienic after all," the Chicago Sun-Times reports.

Designed to automatically cover the seats with a fresh plastic wrap after each use, the gizmo "drags up liquid from the rim of toilet bowls and leaves drops of that liquid atop seats, on the clear plastic film," according to the newspaper. It has video here.

The contractor, according to Crain's Chicago Business, has been controversial because United Maintenance Co. did not tell authorities that it had sold a large stake of itself to another firm before winning the city business. Crain's, which has said the nearly $100 million contract now needs to be investigated, says " city law would appear to clearly require that bidders fully disclose their ownership to the city, so that aldermen and the public know who's getting what."

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NPR

From Classic Toys To New Twists, Kids Go Back To Blocks

NPR's Neda Ulaby investigates a trend in toys that sounds awfully familiar: Manufacturers are finding new ways to get kids interested in playing with blocks, both real and virtual.
NPR

And The Winner Of The World Food Prize Is ... The Man From Monsanto

The prize is sometimes called the "Nobel Prize for food and agriculture." And this year's winners include Monsanto executive Robert Fraley, a pioneer in genetically engineered crops. If there's a single person who personifies the company's controversial role in American agriculture, it's probably Fraley.
NPR

The Penultimate Edition Of The Political Junkie

Ken Rudin recaps the week in politics. Boston Globe political reporter Jim O'Sullivan previews the special election between Mass. Senate candidates Edward Markey and Gabriel Gomez on June 25. NPR senior Washington editor Ron Elving looks to the future of Congress.
NPR

FBI Director Says Agency Is Using Drones Over The U.S.

Robert Mueller told the Senate the FBI used drones rarely and for surveillance proposes. The DEA and the ATF had both revealed they possessed drones.

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