9:15am

Tue December 6, 2011

8:40am

Tue December 6, 2011
The Two-Way

Before Obama Invites Teddy Roosevelt Comparisons, Read TR's Words

Originally published on Tue December 6, 2011 3:01 pm

Credit National Archives / Getty Images

As NPR's Scott Horsley reported for Morning Edition:

"President Obama will try Tuesday to follow in the footsteps of Teddy Roosevelt when he delivers an economic speech in Osawatomie, Kan., the same city where Roosevelt issued a famous call for a 'New Nationalism' more than 100 years ago.

Read more

8:07am

Tue December 6, 2011
Strange News

After A City Council Meeting On Civility, A Fight

Originally published on Tue December 6, 2011 8:21 am

Transcript

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Linda Wertheimer. Things got ugly at a city council meeting in Gardner, Kansas. Councilman Dennis Pugh told a fellow council member to shut up, then stormed out.

Pugh later drove to the councilman's house, where he tackled him and took his video camera. Now charged with battery, Pugh has resigned. The dispute began at a meeting to discuss whether videotaping council meetings would add civility.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

7:53am

Tue December 6, 2011
Strange News

Beer Sustains Man Stranded In Snow For 3 Days

A Nome, Alaska, man went on a long drive and got stuck in a snowbank with no provisions — except cans of beer, frozen solid. Rescuers found him alive three days later. He had cut the lids off the beer and eaten the stuff like cans of beans.

7:50am

Tue December 6, 2011
The Two-Way

BP Accuses Halliburton Of Destroying Gulf Spill Evidence

Credit U.S. Coast Guard / Getty Images

The complicated effort to assign blame for the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history took another legal twist Monday when BP went to court to accuse Halliburton of "destroying damaging evidence about the quality of its cement slurry that went into drilling the oil well," The Associated Press writes.

Read more

7:30am

Tue December 6, 2011
The Two-Way

Coal Company Reportedly Set To Pay $200 Million In W. Va. Disaster

"The owner of West Virginia's Upper Big Branch coal mine is reportedly ready to pay $209 million to settle civil and criminal claims resulting from the explosion that killed 29 people last year," NPR's Howard Berkes reports.

He adds that:

Read more

7:10am

Tue December 6, 2011
The Two-Way

Dozens Of Bodies Scattered After Deadly Bombings In Afghanistan

Credit Massoud Hossaini / AFP/Getty Images

A suicide bomb detonated today in the midst of a crowd of Shiite worshipers in Kabul has left about 50 people dead. NPR's Quil Lawrence reports from there that witnesses say dozens of bodies were scattered around the gate of a mosque.

Al-Jazeera says the Afghan ministry of health reports more than 100 people were injured.

Another four people were reportedly killed and more were injured in the northern city of Mazar-i-Sharif by a similar attack. Al-Jazeera adds that:

Read more

6:42am

Tue December 6, 2011
Business

Why Americans Spend Too Much

  • Hear Princeton Professor Sheldon Garon
  • Hear NPR's Marilyn Geewax's Interview With Professor Sheldon Garon

The 2008 financial crisis made it clear: Americans save too little, spend too much and borrow excessively, says Princeton professor Sheldon Garon. In Western Europe and East Asia, governments aggressively encourage people to save through special savings institutions and savings campaigns.

Garon has just released a new book, Beyond Our Means: Why America Spends While the World Saves. He discussed his findings with NPR:

Read more

5:43am

Tue December 6, 2011
U.S.

Settlement Reported In West Virginia Mine Disaster

Originally published on Tue January 17, 2012 3:32 pm

The owner of West Virginia's Upper Big Branch coal mine is reportedly ready to pay slightly more than $200 million to settle civil and criminal claims resulting from the explosion that killed 29 people last year.

The settlement was first reported by the Charleston Gazette, and some details were confirmed by NPR. A private briefing about the settlement is scheduled Tuesday morning for the families of the victims. A public announcement is set later in the morning.

Read more

5:00am

Tue December 6, 2011
Technology

How Twitter's Trending Algorithm Picks Its Topics

Originally published on Wed December 7, 2011 2:18 pm

The list of "trending topics" on the right side of Twitter's home page is a coveted spot because millions of people see it. It often reflects what's hot in the news, from the death of Steve Jobs to Kim Kardashian's latest exploits.

Sometimes a topic that seems hot, like Occupy Wall Street, doesn't trend, leading some activists to charge Twitter with censorship. But the complex algorithms that determine trending topics are intended to find what's trending in the moment, and not what's been around for a long time.

Read more

Pages