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First And Main
1:25 am
Wed August 8, 2012

Florida Market Draws Candidates Like Bees To Honey

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Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Parkesdale Farm Market is run by Jim Meeks, 70, and his extended family, including his daughter-in-law Xiamara Meeks, 36. Business is booming and the stand has been a mainstay on presidential campaign stops since the days of George H.W. Bush.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Candidate Obama visited the market in 2008 and took a photo with Xiomara Meeks' daughter, Piper.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
The market has grown from a simple fruit stand to a full-blown farmers market, open to the public seven days a week.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
The Meeks display a large photo of themselves posing with George and Barbara Bush in 1984. The market has become a "must-visit" destination for presidential candidates.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Plant City calls itself the winter strawberry capital of the world. A map in the seating area outside the market marks the far-flung hometowns of visitors.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Jim Meeks says the key to winning the election is drinking a Parkesdale strawberry milkshake. He plans to vote for Republican Mitt Romney and his daughter-in-law plans to vote for President Obama.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Founded in 1956, the Parkesdale Farm Market is the largest family-operated strawberry market in Florida.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Parkesdale Farm Market in Plant City, Fla., is run by Jim Meeks, 70, and his extended family, including his daughter-in-law Xiamara Meeks, 36. Business is booming and the stand has been a mainstay of presidential campaign stops since the days of George H.W. Bush.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
Piper Meeks is now 4.
Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR
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Originally published on Wed August 8, 2012 5:36 pm

As the presidential election nears, Morning Edition has begun a series of reports from an iconic American corner: First and Main. Several times in the next few months, we'll travel to a battleground state, then to a vital county in each state. In that county, we find a starting point for our visit: First and Main streets, the intersection of politics and real life.

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Business
1:19 am
Wed August 8, 2012

Natural Gas Giant Tries To Shift Gears

Credit Ralph Wilson / AP
Workers move a section of well casing into place at a Chesapeake Energy natural gas well site near Burlington, Pa., in 2010.
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Originally published on Thu August 9, 2012 1:54 pm

A drop in natural gas prices is hurting balance sheets across the petroleum industry. The second-largest natural gas producer in the United States — Oklahoma City-based Chesapeake Energy — has been hit especially hard.

After 23 consecutive years of touting its increasing natural gas production, Chesapeake CEO Aubrey McClendon told investors during a conference call Tuesday that the company projects its gas output will drop about 7 percent in 2013.

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Asia
1:18 am
Wed August 8, 2012

Japan's Nuclear Debate Weighs Safety, Economics

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Credit Koji Sasahara / AP
Anti-nuclear protesters carry "No nukes" banners during a march in Tokyo last month. Protests against Japan's use of nuclear power have grown in the aftermath of the March 2011 Fukushima disaster.
Credit Jackie Northam / NPR
The Japanese government shut down all of the country's nuclear reactors after Fukushima. It recently restarted two of them at the power plant in Ohi (shown here on July 26), along the Sea of Japan.
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Originally published on Fri August 10, 2012 1:28 pm

At 6 p.m. every Friday — with the kind of precision timing the Japanese live by — the protests in downtown Tokyo begin.

Thousands of Japanese — young, old, in wheelchairs and on skateboards — shout anti-nuclear slogans from behind police barricades that snake around the office of Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. Over the past four months, the protests have swelled; at least 75,000 people turned out at a recent demonstration.

Nobuyuki Miyazaki, an office worker, says this is the first time he's ever been to a demonstration.

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Environment
1:15 am
Wed August 8, 2012

A Clear And Present Danger: How Glass Kills Birds

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Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Experts say glass buildings kill millions of birds every year. Scientists at Powdermill Avian Research Center are studying ways to help prevent this. Here, a volunteer tags a black hooded warbler in Rector, Pa., in May.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Luke DeGroote, the banding program coordinator, looks for birds trapped in fine-meshed mist nets. Nearly 70 nets cover a 24.7-acre area at Powdermill; they need to be checked every 30 to 40 minutes.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
DeGroote collects a gray catbird caught in one of the nets. The 39-foot-by-8-foot nets are designed to safely capture birds.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Menzel prepares an experiment to test how birds react to various types of glass. The birds are placed at one end of the tunnel, then fly toward the glass panes at the other end. A fine mesh net catches the birds before they can hit the glass.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Menzel looks into the tunnel to see if the bird flew toward the regular glass or the glass with the pattern. This experiment will help to determine which glass is better to use in bird-friendly architecture.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Christine Sheppard (left), an ornithologist with the American Bird Conservancy, and her assistant, Cara Menzel, insert two panes of glass into a test tunnel. One pane is a regular piece of glass; the other has a pattern of lines painted on the inside that reflects ultraviolet light. The birds can see the pattern, but it is barely detectable by the human eye.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
DeGroote and Blaine Cernes, a banding assistant, enter the data they've collected into a database that will help monitor how well the avian populations are doing in the wild.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
DeGroote examines the wing of a yellow warbler.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Experts say glass buildings kill millions of birds every year; scientists at Powdermill Avian Research Center are studying ways to help prevent this. Here, a volunteer tags a hooded warbler in Rector, Penn., in May.
Credit Maggie Starbard / NPR
Christine Sheppard, an ornithologist with the American Bird Conservancy, cleans windows before conducting an experiment that will help determine which pane of glass is more bird friendly.
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Originally published on Tue December 4, 2012 10:05 am

First of a two-part series. Read Part 2.

Modern architecture loves glass. Glass makes interiors brighter and adds sparkle to cityscapes. But glass also kills millions of birds every year when they collide with windows. Biologists say as more glass buildings go up, more birds are dying.

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The Torch
5:12 pm
Tue August 7, 2012

With Leo Manzano's Silver, U.S. Claims First 1,500 Medal Since 1968

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Leonel Manzano of the United States celebrates after winning silver in the Men's 1500m Final at Olympic Stadium in London.
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Originally published on Tue August 7, 2012 8:11 pm

Leo Manzano, 27, came from behind with a last-minute kick to claim silver in the men's 1,500-meter final, today. That's no small feat for the Mexican-born American runner: He is the first American to medal in the metric mile since Jim Ryun won a silver in 1968.

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The Torch
4:12 pm
Tue August 7, 2012

Women's Beach Volleyball Final Will Be All-American Affair

Credit Christophe Simon / AFP/Getty Images
Misty May-Treanor of the U.S. celebrates at the end of the women's beach volleyball semifinal with Kerri Walsh Jennings (in the background) against China's Xue Chen and Zhang Xi. USA won 2-0.
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By Eyder Peralta

The United States will have at least two shiny new medals no matter what happens tomorrow at the women's beach volleyball final.

After defeating China (2-0) and Brazil (2-1), today, the two American teams advanced to the finals, setting up an all-American match. It means the U.S. will receive a gold and silver.

ABC News reports:

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It's All Politics
4:05 pm
Tue August 7, 2012

Convention List Grows: Carter (By Video) At Democrats'; Santorum At GOP's

Credit John Bazemore / AP
Former President Jimmy Carter at the Carter Center in Atlanta in February 2012.
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Originally published on Tue August 7, 2012 4:50 pm

Former President Jimmy Carter may be the epitome of failed presidents in the eyes of many Republicans.

But the Democrats announced Tuesday that the one-term president will have a prime-time speaking role at their national convention in Charlotte, N.C., in September. Carter won't be there live, however; he'll speak by video.

A news release from the Democratic National Convention Committee quoted the former president:

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It's All Politics
4:00 pm
Tue August 7, 2012

On The Trail, A Campaign's Style Can Reveal A Lot About Substance

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Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
President Obama delivers remarks at a campaign event on July 5 in Parma, Ohio.
Credit Ari Shapiro / NPR
Romney speaks at Stepto's Bar-B-Q Shack on Saturday in Evansville, Ind., with U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock (right).
Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney delivers remarks during a campaign stop at the Machine Shed restaurant in Rockford, Ill., on March 18.
Credit Ari Shapiro / NPR
Obama speaks at a campaign rally in Akron, Ohio, on Wednesday.
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While President Obama and Mitt Romney offer competing visions every day on the campaign trail, there's also a more superficial aspect to their campaigns.

And on the surface, Obama and Romney events feel completely different.

Take a recent summer night in Leesburg, Va. Dorothy Fontaine had been standing outside of a local high school since the sun was high in the sky.

When asked why she would spend that much time waiting, Fontaine replied: "It's the president of the United States! I mean, isn't it cool to go see the president of the United States?"

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Books
4:00 pm
Tue August 7, 2012

A Comics Crusader Takes On The Digital Future

Credit Courtesy of Thrillbent.com
A panel from part one of Insufferable, the first title offered by the comics website Thrillbent.com. The site's creator, comic-book writer Mark Waid, hopes it will redefine comics in the era of smartphones and tablets.
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Originally published on Thu August 9, 2012 1:56 pm

He wouldn't make the claim himself, but when it comes to comic-book writers, Mark Waid is one of the greats.

"I've pretty much hit all of the pop culture bases," Waid says, surrounded by comic-book memorabilia in his Los Angeles home. Batman, Spider-Man and even The Incredibles have all had adventures dreamed up by Waid.

"Jan. 26, 1979, was the most important day of my life," Waid says. "Because that's the day that I saw Superman: The Movie. I came out of it knowing that no matter what the rest of my life was going to be like, it had to involve Superman somehow."

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The Two-Way
3:32 pm
Tue August 7, 2012

Fast And Furious Whistle-blower Reaches Agreement Over Retaliation Claims

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Peter Forcelli, an ATF agent who blew the whistle on management lapses in the gun trafficking scandal known as Fast and Furious, has reached an agreement with the bureau over his retaliation claims.

A lawyer for Forcelli declined to disclose the terms of the settlement because it was the product of a confidential mediation process.

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