Around the Nation
5:34 am
Tue March 13, 2012

World Pizza Games Begin In Las Vegas

Pizza chefs from around the world are gathered to compete in events like: largest dough stretch, fastest pizza-box folding and freestyle acrobatic dough-tossing.

The Two-Way
5:30 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Latest From Afghanistan: Some Gunfire, Small Protests, Reaction Muted So Far

Credit Noorullah Shirzada / AFP/Getty Images
Afghan protesters shouted anti-U.S. slogans during a demonstration in Jalalabad earlier today.
(As news comes in from Afghanistan about the killings of 16 civilians, allegedly by a U.S. soldier, we'll update this post.)

There are fears that the killing of 16 Afghan civilians on Sunday, reportedly by a U.S. Army staff sergeant who gunned down the men, women and children in cold blood, will inflame the people of that nation.

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It's All Politics
4:00 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Five Things To Watch For In Tuesday's Alabama, Mississippi GOP Primaries

Alabama and Mississippi will play an unaccustomed high profile role Tuesday as each candidate for the Republican presidential nomination looks to voters in those states to give his candidacy a boost towards inevitability, if you're Mitt Romney, or just keep their candidacies alive if you're Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich.

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Russell Lewis is the Southern Bureau Chief for NPR News, a post he has held since 2006. Lewis focuses on the issues and news central to the Southeast — from Florida to Virginia to Texas, including West Virginia, Kentucky and Oklahoma. In addition to developing and expanding NPR's coverage of the region, Lewis assigns and edits stories from station-based reporters and freelancers alike, working closely with local correspondents and public radio stations. He also spent a year in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, coordinating NPR's coverage of the rebuilding effort. He's currently based in Birmingham, Alabama.

Lewis began his public radio career in 1992 at NPR member station WUFT in Gainesville, Florida, where he was an executive news producer. He spent time at WSVH in Savannah, Georgia. Lewis also worked for Kansas Public Radio and reported on the state legislature. He spent six years on the West Coast, working at one of public radio's flagship stations: KPBS in San Diego where he was senior editor and a reporter. He most recently was assistant news director and talk-show host at WGCU in Fort Myers, Florida. He was a frequent contributor to NPR, specializing in military and business issues.

In his spare time, Lewis loves to cook, read, and ride his bicycle.

Politics
2:00 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Why Compromise Is A Bad Word In Politics

Originally published on Tue March 13, 2012 4:23 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Here's one thing that many people mean when they say Washington is broken. They may mean that politicians from different parties seem unable or totally unwilling to compromise, and many voters hate that. And yet many voters also hate it if politicians from their own party should compromise with the other side. That could be considered giving in. NPR's science correspondent Shankar Vedantam joins us regularly to talk about social science research, and he's found some that relates to this political problem. Hi, Shankar.

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Business
2:00 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Treasury Raises $32 Billion In Bond Auction

What is remarkable is that those who bought bonds will get a tiny rate of return. Renee Montagne talks to David Wessel, economics editor of The Wall Street Journal, about what the results mean, who's buying Treasuries and how the borrowed funds are being spent.

Business
2:00 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Business News

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with trade moves against China.

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Election 2012
2:00 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Romney's Rivals Try Woo Undecided Southern Voters

Mississippi and Alabama hold Republican primaries Tuesday. Former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney has campaigned lightly in the two states. But former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former House Speaker have both campaigned aggressively there.

Afghanistan
2:00 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Shooting In Kandahar Further Alienates Afghans

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

When an American soldier reportedly walked through two villages in southern Afghanistan and methodically killed 16 civilians, including children, it caused an uproar from Kabul to Washington, D.C. Now, let's get a view from where the killings happened - Kandahar. I first met Ehsan Ullah two years ago when I reported on a Canadian-funded girls' school that he runs in that city.

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Middle East
2:00 am
Tue March 13, 2012

Syrian Government Accused Of Reprisal Attacks

Originally published on Tue March 13, 2012 4:59 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We're following news this morning of more killings in the Syrian city of Homs. That's the city where rebel neighborhoods came under artillery fire for weeks and where two Western journalists were killed. Rebels later retreated, but residents and activists say pro-government militias have massacred dozens of civilians, mainly women and children. NPR's Kelly McEvers is following this story from Beirut.

And, Kelly, what evidence you have?

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