Morning Edition on HPPR

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

Today is your chance to own a little bit of Gandhi. The quirky, unpredictable and ultimately triumphant leader spent decades leading India to independence. Along the way, Mohandis Gandhi became known as Mahatma, or venerated one, and he had an appendectomy. Afterward, doctors took samples of his blood. Two microscope slides bearing that blood are being auctioned today in London with bids expected over $15,000.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Let's turn to another story for now: The acting head of the IRS has resigned, but is still facing questions about the agency. Lawmakers continue their probe into the federal tax agency targeting Tea Party groups seeking tax exemption.

There is word of another controversial leak investigation by the Department of Justice. The target is Fox News reporter James Rosen, who was monitored by the department after breaking a story about North Korea's nuclear weapons program in 2009.

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Yahoo's purchase of the blogging site Tumblr sent shockwaves through the Tumblrverse. Is that actually a word now?

WNYC's Ilya Marritz reports that the site's users want to keep Tumblr out of the mainstream.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We are also following a subtler story of economic devastation, even with all the news about unemployment in Europe, this next number is hard to absorb. In Italy, among younger people, the jobless rate us close to 40 percent. The government is focused on the middle-aged and the elderly leaving little room it seems for their kids

Here's NPR's Sylvia Poggioli.

(SOUNDBITE OF SCREAMING AND SHOOTING)

Giant technology firm Apple is paying billions of dollars less than it should in U.S. taxes each year, according to a report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. In a hearing Tuesday in Washington, D.C., Apple CEO Tim Cook will defend the company.

The subcommittee's report says Apple avoids the tax payments mainly by shifting profits to three subsidiary companies in Ireland. The investigation found Apple is taking advantage of technicalities in U.S. and Irish tax laws to avoid paying any tax on a huge portion of its profits.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

JPMorgan Chase holds its annual shareholder meeting today in Tampa, Florida, and the shareholders will vote on a key measure: a proposal to strip the CEO, Jamie Dimon, of his other title, chairman of the board. A growing number of companies have split the CEO and chairman roles.

Shareholder activists and corporate governance experts say having a balance of power at the top helps to reduce risk. The bank and its supporters disagree. NPR's Yuki Noguchi reports.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Germany paid a price for asserting its financial power. Germans, more than others, had to finance bailouts for countries like Greece, and imposed austerity measures in return. Those who disapprove may have struck back. People across the continent and beyond watched the Eurovision song contest.

A California woman turned on the TV last week and saw she had the winning numbers in Wednesday's drawing. She thought she had won $360 million. It turns out she bought her ticket an hour after Wednesday's drawing.

Transcript

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with a big blogging buyout.

Today, Yahoo announced its purchase of the blogging site Tumblr. The $1.1 billion deal was unanimously approved by Yahoo's board. Analysts say the acquisition is Yahoo's attempt to revitalize itself.

NPR's Kirk Siegler has more.

California is about to become the first state to require shore power at its ports. A new law mandates at least half of a shipping line's fleet to shut down their diesel engines and plug into shore-side electric power when they unload their cargo. It's part of a larger effort to cut pollution at the state's busiest ports, but costs have been a sticking point.

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

It's planting season, at least for those growing things like summer squash, beans and cherry tomatoes. And we're seeing a change. Rather than buy already developed seedlings, which are more expensive, many gardeners are buying seed packets. It's a sign they want to start their gardens from scratch. And seed companies say they've seen an increase in orders since the economic downturn.

Reporter Sasa Woodruff reports that it's easy to read the directions on these seed envelopes, the hard part is following them.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep, with best wishes to a man on Craigslist. He advertised for a date to attend a wedding. The Washington, D.C., man says he had a last-minute cancellation. Ladies, you could accompany him. He describes himself as a clean man with a job and no arrest record, who adds: I don't like murder. For extra motivation, he promises an open bar, and adds: You only YOLO once.

YOLO is you only live once, so that's you only you only live once once. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

Kevin Williamson took a stand against annoying cell phone use. The National Review writer attended a musical in New York and says the crowd was disruptive. One woman was Web surfing on her phone, violating theater rules. Mr. Williamson tells Gothamist he complained to the woman. She replied: So don't look. That's when Williamson grabbed her phone and threw it across the theater, an offense for which he says he's glad to go to jail if he is prosecuted.

On Thursday, President Obama named Daniel Werfel, 42, acting IRS commissioner. The announcement comes a day after the resignation of Steven Miller, who got caught up in the controversy over the IRS targeting Tea Party groups.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

All right, through much of this week, we've been hearing from young Afghans on the future of their country after NATO troops withdraw in 2014. Yesterday, our colleague Renee Montagne met with the American general who commands coalition forces in Afghanistan. They traveled to a special forces base where young Afghan men - and a few women - are being trained.

(SOUNDBITE OF HELICOPTER)

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

This weekend, the Cannes Film Festival pays tribute to the 100th anniversary of Indian movies. It will host the world premier of a film called "Bombay Talkies." Commentator Sandip Roy says one scene in that movie breaks new ground for Bollywood.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Some other news, New Orleans police have arrested six people after last Sunday's shooting spree at a Mother's Day parade. Two of those suspects, brothers, face 20 counts of attempted murder after 20 people were injured. The shooting galvanized residents of a city with one of the world's higher murder rates. Keith O'Brien has the story.

KEITH O'BRIEN, BYLINE: Residents at the intersection of Frenchman and North Villere Streets were thrilled to see it yesterday morning, a produce truck selling fruits and vegetables, door to door.

Sales of guns and ammunition rose after President Obama took office in 2008, and they went through the roof starting late last year, when a school shooting led to a push for new gun control measures. That's led to a prolonged ammunition shortage, even with manufacturers running at full capacity.

President Obama had a reputation when he took office as a liberal former constitutional lawyer who had condemned Bush-era national security policies.

But he has proven to be even tougher than President George W. Bush on prosecuting national security leaks. The seizure of Associated Press phone records is just the latest example.

Luna ended up stuck in a tree. A New York City police officer who came to the rescue got stuck in the tree too. Cat and man were rescued by the fire department.

Religious authorities responded after Saudis used Twitter to show images of human rights activists on trial. The BBC reports the kingdom's most senior cleric called Twitter users "fools." The head of the religious police says any social media user will lose the afterlife.