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Around the Nation
5:15 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Blood Center Rewards Donor With Super Bowl Tickets

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Carol Sikler has spent years repaying a debt. Her husband needed blood during treatment before he died in 2003. Since then, she has donated more than 140 units. Now she gets a reward. The Indiana Blood Center gave her tickets to the Super Bowl in Indianapolis.

It's All Politics
5:08 am
Mon January 30, 2012

GOP Presidential Contest: Is It Over Or Just Getting Started?

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Over the weekend, we heard Newt Gingrich assuring Floridians that his campaign was going all the way to the GOP's August convention.

Once the delegates got to Tampa, he said, all those who opposed former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney would unite to deny him the nomination.

"My job is to convert that [anti-Romney majority] into a pro-Gingrich majority," the former House speaker said Sunday.

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Animals
5:06 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Doberman In 'Hugo' Snubbed For Dog Movie Award

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Director Martin Scorsese got 11 Oscar nods for his film Hugo. He's requesting in the Los Angeles Times for a write-in campaign for an actor who's been snubbed. Blackie, the vicious doberman wasn't nominated for a Golden Collar — awarded by Dog News Daily.

Your Money
3:01 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Freddie Mac Betting Against Struggling Homeowners

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Credit Rich Pedroncelli / AP
One of Freddie Mac's restrictions blocks people who have a short sale in their past from refinancing for two to four years following the short sale.
Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
In West Palm Beach, Fla., homeowners lined up for the 2010 "Save the Dream" tour, hoping to restructure their mortgage loans.
Credit Chris Arnold / NPR
If Jay and Bonnie Silverstein were able to refinance their mortgage, they could save nearly $500 a month.
Credit Pablo Martinez Monsivais / AP
Freddie Mac has invested billions of dollars betting that U.S. homeowners won't be able to refinance their mortgages at today's lower rates, according to an investigation by NPR and ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom.
Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
In December, Freddie Mac CEO Charles Haldeman (left), FHFA Acting Director Edward DeMarco (center) and Fannie Mae CEO Michael Williams testified about the FHFA's performance to the House Financial Services subcommittee.
Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
In the summer of 2010, long lines of hopeful homeowners waited for help from the Neighborhood Assistance Corporation of America's "Save the Dream" tour. The tour made stops around the U.S., offering assistance from hundreds of mortgage counselors from various mortgage companies.
Credit Brendan Smialowski / Getty Images
"I'm sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low rates," Obama said during his State of the Union speech last week. "No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks."
Credit Chris Arnold / NPR
The Silversteins had trouble selling this house after they moved out, forcing them to carry two mortgages for more than two years. "It just drained us," says Jay Silverstein.
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Freddie Mac, a taxpayer-owned mortgage company, is supposed to make homeownership easier. One thing that makes owning a home more affordable is getting a cheaper mortgage.

But Freddie Mac has invested billions of dollars betting that U.S. homeowners won't be able to refinance their mortgages at today's lower rates, according to an investigation by NPR and ProPublica, an independent, nonprofit newsroom.

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NPR Story
2:00 am
Mon January 30, 2012

Syrian Forces Storm Rebellious Areas Near Damascus

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Originally published on Mon January 30, 2012 3:44 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Fighting in Syria has intensified within a few miles of the capital city. Damascus has remained under firm government control, but in the suburbs, the army has sent in tanks to retake areas that had been under the affective control of rebels. Activists inside Syria say more than 60 people have been killed in the past day. NPR's Kelly McEvers is monitoring the situation from Beirut. She's on the line. Hi Kelly.

KELLY MCEVERS, BYLINE: Hello.

INSKEEP: How did this fighting develop in the suburbs?

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