Headlines from March 13, 2012

Ezra Klein on the history of presidential rhetoric, and whether all those efforts at persuasion work.
Each family was filmed by two cameras and watched all day by at least three observers. Field guide to the middle-class American family.
Using heart monitors and data analysis, scientists hope to solve the Cundiff Conundrum, or, choking under pressure.
Confessions of a small fish in the big pond of Major League baseball.
Drunk and bleeding is never a good start to an interview. Report from an HR worker.
Underdog Malt-o-Meal snaps up Pepsi’s famous “Choice of New Generation” catchphrase after it lapses.
The ballad of (escape artist) Christopher Daniel Gay, and other thrilling tales. #audio
Today in #TheRooster, wife meets child.
Data tracked from seven sports books on which March Madness teams are getting bets.
Don’t miss Pasha Malla’s mother’s picks for the Tournament.
See also: Brackets without bias.
Fight breaks out during Chicago Symphony concert; conductor doesn’t stop despite flashing “dagger eyes.”
“This is the broken window of social behavior—when you ignore people walking the streets showing their ass.” via #opinions
Interview with man who secretly climbed Antarctica’s scariest mountain on a weekend whim.
Short movie on 1960s and ‘70s ice climbing in the Northeast. #video
Militants in Afghanistan attack delegation visiting the site where a U.S. soldier killed 16 civilians.
Headline not seen: “Afghans have displayed tremendous restraint in the wake of repeated and abhorrent killings of civilians.”
Brief history of African stereotypes.
Avoid having the African characters laugh, or just make do in mundane circumstances. Classic: How to write about Africa.
Britain backs call for more sanctions against Iran, but has no plans to back an Israeli attack.
In 2009, three times as many pro-gun laws were passed in the U.S. as antigun measures.
Revisiting the people and places significant to Notorious BIG in what would be his 40th year.
You can see why child labor does exist sometimes in some places. Story of a Brooklyn company’s attempts to source ethically sound jewelry from the Andes.
Chavez prepares to head home from Cuba after latest round of cancer surgery.
Twenty-eight thousand potted flowers installed at the Massachusetts Mental Health Center.
Profile of the rise and fall of weapons dealer Viktor Bout. #longreads
Homeless Texans employed as roving infrastructure for visiting high-tech workers. via
Counterpoint: SXSW doesn’t lack for demeaning promotion jobs; heaven forbid should the homeless be visible.
Please have a seat in the shaming room. Doonesbury takes on new Texas abortion law.