NPR News

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Financial regulators in New York said yesterday they may bar a British bank from doing business in the state. They said that because the bank allegedly laundered some $250 billion in Iranian money through its branch in Manhattan. The bank is Standard Chartered Bank. It does much of its business in Asia, Africa and the Middle East. But like any global bank, it wants to have a foothold in the U.S. markets, and that foothold is now in danger. For more, we turn to NPR's Jim Zarroli in New York.

Jim, Good morning.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

In Arizona, the man accused of shooting Gabrielle Giffords at a gathering of her constituents in Tucson last year will be in court today. Jared Loughner allegedly killed six people in that attack and wounded 13 others. He was declared mentally unfit to stand trial, but now that may change. As NPR's Ted Robbins reports, Loughner's lawyers are expected to offer a deal to help him avoid the death penalty.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

On a Tuesday in August, it's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

I am nothing but an American. Those are some of the words we are about to hear from Americans Sikhs after a shooting over the weekend. A gunman targeted a Sikh temple in Wisconsin, killing six people before police killed him. In a moment, we'll learn more about the man identified as the shooter.

We begin with Chuck Quirmbach of Wisconsin Public Radio.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now let's learn more about Wade Michael Page. He's the man police say opened fire at the temple and then opened fire on the police officer who finally killed him.

NPR counterterrorism correspondent Dina Temple-Raston has been talking with law enforcement officials. And Dina, over the last 24 hours you've given us different details about Mr. Page. Put it together here. Who was this man?

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.

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.

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?

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.

The last couple of years have certainly felt unusually hot in many parts of the U.S., but are they really all that unusual?

Many people wonder whether a warming climate is turning up the temperature or whether it's all just part of the normal variation in the weather. Among scientists, there's a growing view that these latest heat waves are indeed a result of climate change.

In July, the financial fortunes of the presidential candidates continued along their new trajectories, with Republican Mitt Romney's money-raising efforts outpacing President Obama once again.

Indeed, groups supporting Romney raised one-third more than Obama's re-election effort for the month.

Romney, the all-but-official Republican nominee, actually collected less in July than he had in June, but only slightly. His campaign announced Monday that its overall take for July was $101.3 million.

After a physical and hard fought match, the United States' Alex Morgan scored a goal to beat Canada 4-3 in the 122 minute of the quarterfinal women's soccer match.

The goal sends the United States to the gold medal match against Japan on Thursday.

For the Canadians, this is absolute heartbreak. The United States has quite simply dominated historically. But this match, the Canadians held their own and had a chance to reverse a 26-match losing streak against the U.S.

Joe Palca describes the mood of NASA Mars scientists in the wake of the landing overnight, what the latest pictures and data are from the surface of the red planet and what mission scientists are going to do next with Curiosity.

As the Sikh community reels from Sunday's shooting in Wisconsin, evidence is emerging about the alleged shooter's ties to white supremacist groups. The possibility that the shooting may have been a hate crime has added to deepening sense of loss and frustration among the close-knit Sikh American community. It is prompting reflection and a renewed conversation among Sikhs about their safety and place in American society.

If any of the 700 athletes in London for the Olympic Games are unlucky enough to get injured, they'll get treated at a state-of-the-art polyclinic situated inside the park. But for the half-million tourists, it's straight to a British hospital for serious ailments requiring medical attention.

U.S. Olympic boxer Claressa Shields, the teenager whose dream of being in the first crop of Olympic women boxers led her to tell her story on All Things Considered back in February, will fight for a medal in London.

One way Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney could bolster his foreign policy standing is by choosing an expert as his running mate. One name that's been circulating in the rumor mill is former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Rice, who served under George W. Bush both as secretary of state and as national security adviser, says she's not interested in the job. Still, she created a lot of buzz in June when she spoke to Romney donors in Utah.

An Exceptional Career

As Sikhism spread far and wide in the past century, it has been no stranger to discrimination and violence.

If you're an adult, and a relatively healthy one at that, then you've probably been confused in recent years about whether or not you're getting enough vitamin D.