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Must Reads : The Two-Way Some stories are just too weird, too funny or too sad to ignore. They may not be "serious news," but are so fascinating you must read them. NPR correspondents are on the watch for such tales. We pass along the best, from NPR and other news outlets.
The Two-Way

The Two-Way

Must Reads

Tuesday

The Force Is Strong With This One: Disney Buys Lucasfilm For $4B

In this handout image provided by Disney, Star Wars creator George Lucas has a playful lightsaber duel with Jedi Mickey Mouse at Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park at Walt Disney World Resort in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., on Aug. 14, 2010. Disney announced Tuesday that it was buying Lucasfilm Ltd. for $4.05 billion. Getty Images hide caption

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Getty Images

Must Reads

The Force Is Strong With This One: Disney Buys Lucasfilm For $4B

The studio announced it would continue the Star Wars movie franchise with a seventh film due to be released in 2015, and others to follow. Disney also owns Marvel, which it bought for $4 billion in 2009.

Monday

The Science Of Why Sandy Is Such A Dangerous Storm

A Dare County utility worker checks on conditions along a flooded Ride Lane in Kitty Hawk, N.C., Monday, Oct. 29, 2012. Gerry Broome/AP hide caption

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Gerry Broome/AP

Must Reads

The Science Of Why Sandy Is Such A Dangerous Storm

Hurricanes often weaken as they travel north across colder water and approach land. But Sandy hasn't.

The Science Of Why Sandy Is Such A Dangerous Storm

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Sunday

Sweden Wants Your Trash

In May 2011, uncollected rubbish piled up in Naples, Italy. Sweden hopes Italy might be willing to export the problem. AFP/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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AFP/AFP/Getty Images

International

Sweden Wants Your Trash

Move over Abba, Sweden has found new fame. The small Nordic country is breaking records — in waste. Sweden's program of generating energy from garbage is wildly successful, but recently its success has also generated a surprising issue: There is simply not enough trash.

Saturday

A Hurricane Once More, Sandy Defies The Rules

In this satellite image provided Friday by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Hurricane Sandy's huge cloud extent of up to 2,000 miles churns over the Bahamas, as a line of clouds associated with a powerful cold front approaches the East Coast of the U.S. Handout/Getty Images hide caption

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Handout/Getty Images

Must Reads

A Hurricane Once More, Sandy Defies The Rules

It's still unclear whether Sandy, which was both downgraded then upgraded early Saturday morning, will be a devastating storm or just a bad one. It is clear, however, that Sandy will be remembered as the storm that broke all the rules and baffled the nation's top weather forecasters.

Friday

Zapping Nuclear Waste With Laser Beams Could Actually Be A Great Idea

This laser's just pretty, not powerful: Artist Yvette Mattern's laser rainbow in Whitley Bay, England, earlier this year. Bethany Clarke/Getty Images hide caption

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Bethany Clarke/Getty Images

Must Reads

Zapping Nuclear Waste With Laser Beams Could Actually Be A Great Idea

The world's most powerful laser beams are going to be built in Europe. Scientists say that a blast from them could destroy nuclear waste in seconds — meaning it wouldn't have to be stored for centuries.

Thursday

Florida's 'Mystery Monkey' Captured After Three Years On The Lam

The "mystery monkey," now known as Cornelius, while he was on the loose in 2010. Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay Facebook page hide caption

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Mystery Monkey of Tampa Bay Facebook page

Must Reads

Florida's 'Mystery Monkey' Captured After Three Years On The Lam

The rhesus macaque monkey had been on the loose in the Tampa-St. Pete area. He'd become a local legend. But recently, "Cornelius" bit a woman. Wildlife officials staked out a neighborhood Wednesday, and managers to tranquilize him. They plan to send him to a sanctuary.

Wednesday

Tuesday

Monday

Great Caesar's Ghost! Clark Kent Quits 'Daily Planet'

Back in the day, Clark and Lois were news hounds. Would they be bloggers today? (George Reeves and Noel Neill, from the television series Adventures of Superman, circa 1955) Hulton Archive/Getty Images hide caption

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Hulton Archive/Getty Images

Must Reads

Great Caesar's Ghost! Clark Kent Quits 'Daily Planet'

Another reporter has left the mainstream news business because he thinks there's too much emphasis on entertainment rather than old-fashioned reporting. Superman, it seems, is less than thrilled by the way things are going.

Sunday

Friday

Wednesday

Tuesday

Hilary Mantel Wins Man Booker Prize For 'Bring Up The Bodies'

Hilary Mantel, winner of the Man Booker Prize for Fiction, poses with her prize shortly after the award ceremony in London Tuesday. Mantel, won the 50,000 British pounds (approximately $80,000) prize with her book Bring up the Bodies. Lefteris Pitarakis/AP hide caption

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Lefteris Pitarakis/AP

International

Hilary Mantel Wins Man Booker Prize For 'Bring Up The Bodies'

The British writer becomes only the third author to win the prestigious award twice, joining J.M. Coetzee and Peter Carey. She also becomes the first author to win with a sequel. Her novel Wolf Hall won in 2009.

Monday