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The Last Word In Business

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Originally published on Wed August 8, 2012 12:39 pm

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business is a deal with some strings attached. You have no idea yet what a terrible pun that is. The final notes have been played in a criminal case federal prosecutors brought against Gibson Guitar Corporation.

The Justice Department is dropping its charges against the guitar maker for illegally buying and importing exotic wood - specifically, ebony from Madagascar and rosewood and ebony from India. The company will pay a penalty of $300,000 and give another $50,000 for conservation efforts.

2:03 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Will Tea Party Star Marco Rubio Get GOP VP Nod?

Credit Jae C. Hong / AP

Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., listens at left as Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney speaks in Aston, Pa., in April. Republican leaders from Jeb Bush to John McCain have touted Rubio for vice president.

By Greg Allen

Originally published on Wed August 8, 2012 12:39 pm

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Among the Tea Party successes in the 2010 congressional elections was U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida. He is now one of those on Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney's short list of possible running mates.

For any political party, Rubio would be worthy of consideration for vice president or a higher office. He's smart, good-looking and charismatic. The Cuban-American is a plus for Republicans, a party that polls show has been losing ground with Hispanics.

1:27 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Growing Pains: Nations Balance Growth, Power Needs

Credit Parivatran Sharma / Reuters /Landov

Muslim girls study by candlelight inside a religious school in Noida, near New Delhi, on July 31. The collapse of three regional power grids last week caused a massive power outage that blacked out more than half of India.

By Richard Harris

Originally published on Tue August 7, 2012 12:38 pm

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It may take some time to pinpoint the exact cause of India's massive blackouts last week, but the underlying issue for India and many other parts of the developing world is that supply is struggling to keep up with the growing demand for power — an imbalance that can affect the reliability of electric grids.

1:26 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Older, Tougher — But Will The Tea Party Be Stronger?

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Credit Hernan Rozemberg / AP

Ted Cruz, Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate, speaks at a rally organized by the Tea Party Express in San Antonio in May.

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images

U.S. Senate candidate Richard Mourdock listens to Mitt Romney last week in Evansville, Ind.

By Don Gonyea

Originally published on Wed August 8, 2012 12:39 pm

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The 2010 elections were a coming of age for the Tea Party, with big gains in Congress and in statehouses. As 2012 approached, the movement was looking for similar success. Then came this year's GOP presidential primaries, with no surviving Tea Party favorite.

Polls showed public support for the movement falling off significantly after several nasty showdowns in Congress. But the Tea Party remains a force in many states. Its favored candidate for the U.S. Senate won big in Texas last week, sending the strongest signal yet that the movement will be a factor this fall.

1:26 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Pakistan Blackouts Power Frustration At Government

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Credit Lauren Frayer for NPR

Tangled power lines in a busy shopping district in Rawalpindi.

Credit Lauren Frayer for NPR

Workers in a tailor's workshop in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, use manual sewing machines, and sometimes stitch suits by hand, when the power goes out. Tailors are frantically trying to fill orders for new suits in time for the end of Ramadan.

By editor

Originally published on Wed August 8, 2012 12:39 pm

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In India last week, surprise grid failures plunged more than half the country into darkness. But power outages in neighboring Pakistan have been intentional — the result of summertime energy rationing.

Despite billions of dollars in U.S. aid, Pakistan has been unable to keep the lights on. Now the situation is getting worse, with riots erupting over factories forced offline.

1:25 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Race An Issue That Simmers In Florida Battleground

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Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR

Gregory Brown, 52, lives in a trailer park community in Lutz, Fla., near the corner of First and Main streets. He lives off unemployment checks and blames President Obama for his financial difficulties.

Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR

The St. Paul AME Church in downtown Tampa was a focal point of the city's black community, but is now a community center for an adjacent apartment complex. A dwindling congregation forced the church to close.

Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR

Joselyn Walker-Saffore is an Obama supporter but says the middle class has been suffering. She attended St. Paul's for decades before it was converted into a community center.

Credit Becky Lettenberger / NPR

Michael Bailey, 2, was the last baby baptized at St. Paul's. Jesse Jackson, Thurgood Marshall and President Clinton all spoke at the church. (The Florida Channel has produced a documentary about the role of black churches in the state, including St. Paul's.)

By Steve Inskeep

Originally published on Wed August 8, 2012 12:39 pm

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As the presidential election nears, Morning Edition has begun a series of reports from 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 — an iconic American corner — First and Main streets.

Near the corner of First and Main, in a trailer park in Hillsborough County, Fla., Gregory Brown sticks the key into the motorcycle he has for sale.

1:24 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Roosevelt's Badlands Ranch Faces Potential Threat

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Credit John McChesney

In the North Dakota Badlands, plans to build a bridge near Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch have led to protests.

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Credit John McChesney for NPR

Rock formations stretch off in the distance, seen from Elkhorn Ranch.

Credit John McChesney for NPR

Just behind Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota, hills border the Little Missouri Valley. The area is now a national park.

Credit John McChesney for NPR

The Little Missouri River curves just in front of the Elkhorn Ranch site. The river flows north here to join the Missouri River.

Credit John McChesney for NPR

Park Superintendent Valerie Naylor points out the massive foundation stones for the ranch house.

Credit John McChesney for NPR

The ravines, or coulees, of the Badlands made for some arduous roundups, which Roosevelt reportedly enjoyed.

Credit John McChesney for NPR

Cattle graze on the dirt road that leads into Theodore Roosevelt National Park.

Credit John McChesney for NPR

Oil wells have begun to appear on the ridges above the Little Missouri Valley.

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By editor

Originally published on Wed August 8, 2012 12:39 pm

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Theodore Roosevelt's Elkhorn Ranch in North Dakota is often called the Walden Pond of the West. But Roosevelt's ranch is now feeling the pressure of an oil boom that is industrializing the local landscape. Critics say a proposed gravel pit and a bridge could destroy the very thing that made such a lasting impression on Roosevelt: the restorative power of wilderness.

1:23 am

Tue August 7, 2012

Presidential Foods And What They Say About Our Leaders

Credit Taji Marie / NPR

Boiling lemon rinds for President Harding's lemon pineapple fruit punch, called a squall.

By editor

Originally published on Mon October 15, 2012 9:09 am

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President Bill Clinton famously loved doughnuts on the campaign trail, and we've told you about current GOP candidate Mitt Romney's affection for serving the press corps Jimmy John's subs. But what do our past presidents and the presidential wannabes' food choices say about them?

4:58 pm

Mon August 6, 2012

After A Historic Landing, A Postcard From The Jet Propulsion Laboratory

Credit Brian van der Brug / AP

NASA Associate Administrator John Grunsfeld waits for landing inside the Spaceflight Operations Facility for NASA's Mars Science Laboratory Curiosity rover at Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena, Calif. on Sunday.

By Joe Palca

Originally published on Tue August 7, 2012 6:42 am

The newsroom at NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is beginning to thin out as the Mars Science Laboratory transitions from an exciting news story, to a long duration — possibly very long duration — exploration of the geologic and environmental history of Mars.

For the reporters still in the newsroom, fatigue is beginning to set in. BBC science correspondent Jonathan Amos has been at it nonstop for 30 hours. I feel a bit guilty for stepping out and getting a few hours sleep.

4:58 pm

Mon August 6, 2012

LIVE NOW: Awaiting The First Color Photographs From Mars Curiosity

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Credit NASA's Curiosity

This image taken by NASA's Curiosity shows what lies ahead for the rover — its main science target, Mount Sharp.

Credit NASA/JPL-Caltech

Part of the rim of Gale Crater, which is a feature the size of Connecticut and Rhode Island combined, stretches from the top middle to the top right of the image. One of the rover's wheels can be seen at bottom right.

By Eyder Peralta

Originally published on Mon August 6, 2012 6:44 pm

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3:00 am

Tue August 7, 2012