Asia
4:00 am
Fri March 23, 2012

N. Korea Tests U.S. Deal Ahead Of Nuclear Summit

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

North Korea agreed, last month, to freeze uranium enrichment and missile tests in exchange for large amounts of food aid from the United States. American officials thought they had an understanding, but then last week North Korea announced it would be launching a satellite using a long-range missile. As NPR's Mike Shuster reports from Seoul, all this is now threatening to overshadow next week's global nuclear security summit in Seoul, which President Obama is planning to attend.

Read more
U.S.
4:00 am
Fri March 23, 2012

'Stand Your Ground' Law In Focus After Teen's Death

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Now, even if the shooter, George Zimmerman, is arrested for the death of Trayvon Martin, a conviction could be hard to get because of the controversial law that Kathy mentioned in her report. Let's take a closer look at that law. It's called Stand Your Ground and it allows people to use deadly force to defend themselves when confronted with a threat of violence. It's been on the books in Florida for several years. And as NPR's Greg Allen reports from Miami, it was a source of controversy long before the Martin shooting.

Read more
U.S.
4:00 am
Fri March 23, 2012

Outcry Grows As Fla. Shooter Remains Unprosecuted

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Let's go now to Florida, where late yesterday Governor Rick Scott announced that a new state attorney has been assigned to investigate the shooting death of Trayvon Martin. The announcement came as thousands rallied in Sanford demanding justice for Martin. The teen was shot as he walked unarmed in Sanford, a suburb of Orlando. The shooter, George Zimmerman, is a volunteer neighborhood watch captain and he claims self-defense. He's also not been arrested. As NPR's Kathy Lohr reports, the cry is growing louder for an arrest to be made.

Read more
Politics
4:00 am
Fri March 23, 2012

Obama: 'Brain Power' Key To Curbing Oil Dependency

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

Read more
Election 2012
4:00 am
Fri March 23, 2012

GOP Hopefuls Court Louisianans Ahead Of Primary

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And now, let's get down to the campaign trail. In the race for the Republican nomination, the scene has shifted to Louisiana which is holding its primary tomorrow. Today, all four of the remaining GOP candidates are campaigning in the state.

Most of the media focus is on Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich. Both men have won other southern primaries, and both have been in and out of Louisiana all week long, hoping a victory there will keep their slim chances of winning the GOP nomination alive. Here's NPR's Brian Naylor.

Read more
Religion
3:06 am
Fri March 23, 2012

Pope Expected To Address Drug Violence In Mexico

Credit Hector Guerrero / AFP/Getty Images
Pope Benedict XVI is expected to speak out against drug violence during his visit to Mexico, which begins Friday. Here, an actor is shown in front of a poster announcing the pope's visit Wednesday in the Mexican city of Leon, Guanajuato state.

Originally published on Fri March 23, 2012 12:24 pm

Pope Benedict XVI begins a visit Friday that takes him to Mexico, a country with around 100 million Catholics, and to Cuba, a place where church leaders have played an increasingly active role in seeking change.

There are sensitive issues in both countries that the pope is likely to address in some form. In Mexico, it's the brutal drug war that has claimed roughly 50,000 lives over the past five years.

Read more
Monkey See
12:01 am
Fri March 23, 2012

'Mad Men' Returns On Sunday, To The Delight Of Its Excitable Fans

Credit Frank Ockenfels / AMC
Jon Hamm plays Don Draper on Mad Men, which returns this Sunday night.

On Friday's Morning Edition, Elizabeth Blair investigates one of television's pressing questions: Why has Mad Men been off the air so long? It's returning this Sunday night with a two-hour season premiere, but it's still puzzled some viewers that it has been off for such a long time.

Read more
StoryCorps
10:00 pm
Thu March 22, 2012

Two Lost Souls Find Each Other In A Hospital

Winslow Jackson was divorced when he met Dorothy Biebrich in 2006 at the Shepherd Center in Atlanta.

She was widowed.

They also both had multiple sclerosis.

"On my birthday, I was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis; three years later, my wife left, and we were divorced," Winslow, 62, said during a recent visit to StoryCorps in Atlanta. "And that was, undoubtedly, the saddest time of my life, because I felt so stranded."

Read more
It's All Politics
6:48 pm
Thu March 22, 2012

Obama Returns To Oklahoma Talking Oil

Credit Tom Pennington / Getty Images
President Obama announces support for building an oil pipeline from Oklahoma to Texas, Thursday in Cushing, Okla.

Thursday marked the first time President Obama has visited Oklahoma since running for the White House in 2008. He didn't win the state four years ago, and he's not expected to carry the traditionally red state this November, either.

But one Oklahoma town took center stage Thursday as Obama wrapped up a two-day tour of four states promoting his energy policy.

Read more
The Two-Way
6:45 pm
Thu March 22, 2012

Robert Bales To Be Charged With 17 Counts Of Murder

Credit Spc. Ryan Hallock / AFP/Getty Images
Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales during an August 2011 training exercise at Fort Irwin, Calif.

The Army soldier suspected of going on a shooting rampage in Afghanistan will be charged with 17 counts of murder, the AP, NBC News and Reuters are reporting.

The news organizations are pinning the report on unnamed U.S. officials.

NBC News reports Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will face six additional counts of assault and attempted murder in connection the March 11 massacre in southern Afghanistan.

Read more

Pages