Media
4:25 am
Thu April 26, 2012

Panel: Murdoch Is Too Powerful In U.K.

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 9:21 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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NPR Story
4:19 am
Thu April 26, 2012

U.S. Considers Ways To Keep Drones In Pakistan

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 9:21 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Let's follow up on the controversy over the American use of drones in Pakistan. Over the past few years, no issue has done quite as much to inflame public sentiment and stir anti-American feelings in Pakistan as drone strikes.

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NPR Story
4:19 am
Thu April 26, 2012

Hague To Issue Verdict Against Charles Taylor

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 9:21 am

A special tribunal in The Hague has found former Liberian President Charles Taylor guilty of aiding war crimes. Taylor armed fighters in neighboring Sierra Leone in return for "blood diamonds."

NPR Story
4:19 am
Thu April 26, 2012

Checking In On Eurozone Economies

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 1:28 pm

Five years ago, ethanol was seen as the next big thing to wean the U.S. off foreign oil. Then some studies on the corn-based fuel cast doubt on its environmental benefits, and auto companies turned their attention to hybrids and electric cars. The hype died off, but the ethanol industry is alive and well, driving a big change in America's corn consumption.

Rising up out of the corn fields outside Lake Odessa, Mich., is the ethanol refinery for Carbon Green Bioenergy. The company's CEO, Mitch Miller, says a lot of refineries were popping up when this one was built in 2006.

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Asia
3:51 am
Thu April 26, 2012

In Southern China, A Thriving African Neighborhood

Originally published on Fri April 27, 2012 7:23 am

China and Africa have become major trading partners in recent years. Chinese companies have made a big push into Africa seeking raw materials like oil. And enterprising Africans now travel to China to buy cheap goods at the source and ship them home. Today, the city of Guangzhou, near Hong Kong, is home to some 10,000 Africans, the largest such community in China. The city's Little Africa neighborhood is a world unto itself, with restaurants specializing in African food to money changers who deal in the Nigerian currency.

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Crisis In The Housing Market
3:02 am
Thu April 26, 2012

For Some, 'Frustration' Over Mortgage Settlement

Credit Jae C. Hong / AP
A sign stands in front of a bank-owned home in Las Vegas. Housing counselors say the $25 billion mortgage settlement between major banks and the states has yet to make an impact in communities around the U.S.

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 9:21 am

Earlier this month, a judge approved a settlement between five major banks and nearly all of the state attorneys general. The banks admitted to taking shortcuts — or "robo-signing" documents — as they pushed through some foreclosures.

Most of the $25 billion settlement is supposed to go toward reducing mortgage payments for some troubled homeowners. But lots of other programs have promised to help struggling homeowners in the past, and results have been disappointing.

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Sports
3:01 am
Thu April 26, 2012

Power (Dis)Play? Teams In Black Draw More Penalties

Credit Harry How / Getty Images
Keith Ballard, right, of the Vancouver Canucks is tripped by Colin Fraser of the Los Angeles Kings for a penalty during game in Los Angeles on April 18. Researchers studying hockey penalties found that teams wearing black jerseys were far more likely to draw penalties than teams wearing other colored or white jerseys.

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 9:21 am

Hockey teams wearing darker-colored jerseys are more likely to be penalized for aggressive fouls than teams wearing white jerseys, according to new research. Teams wearing black jerseys in particular get penalized the most, according to an analysis that may offer a window into the hidden psychological dynamics of the ongoing NHL playoffs.

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Planet Money
3:00 am
Thu April 26, 2012

On The Million-Dollar Trail Of A Mystery SuperPAC Donor

Credit iStockphoto.com
Some superPAC donors are hiding from public scrutiny.

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 11:19 am

National Security
2:59 am
Thu April 26, 2012

Could Iran Wage A Cyberwar On The U.S.?

Credit iStockphoto.com
Cybersecurity experts say Iran has the resources necessary to be a major player in cyberwarfare.

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 9:21 am

Security professionals in both the U.S. government and in private industry have long feared the prospect of a cyberwar with China or Russia, two states capable of launching destructive attacks on the computer networks that control critical assets such as the power grid or the financial system.

Now they face a new cyberthreat: Iran.

"[The Iranians] have all the resources and the capabilities necessary to be a major player in terms of cyberwarfare," says Jeffrey Carr, an expert on cyberconflict who has consulted for the U.S. Department of Defense.

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Asia
2:57 am
Thu April 26, 2012

An African Trader And The Perils Of Business In China

Originally published on Thu April 26, 2012 10:31 am

It's dinnertime at a bustling Kentucky Fried Chicken in the Little Africa neighborhood of Guangzhou, in southern China. Chinese schoolgirls nibble on fries, a grandmother feeds her grandson, and Kelvin Njubigbo stares at a single wing on his tray. His foot, wrapped in a gauze bandage, juts out from the table.

"Everything is risk in life," repeats Njubigbo. "It's all risk from the beginning to the last."

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