Morning Edition

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Joshua Thompson is a big moviegoer, but high prices at the concession stand left a bad taste in his mouth. So after paying $8 for a Coke and a box of Goobers, Thompson filed a class action lawsuit. It accuses Michigan's AMC Theaters of charging grossly excessive prices for snacks. Consumer lawyers told the Detroit Free Press the lawsuit will likely be a flop, but moviegoers are applauding. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now, we do not know what songs make Hiroshi Hoketsu move, but the Japanese equestrian does move gracefully on a horse. Just shy of his 71st birthday, he has won a spot at the London Olympics for dressage, where you lead a horse through a series of very precise movements. Japanese officials are still deciding whether they'll let him compete.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The death toll from the tornados that slammed Midwestern and Southern states on Friday has now risen to 39. The latest victim is Angel Babcock, 15 months old. She died on Sunday in a hospital in Louisville, Kentucky. The toddler was found in the shattered remains of her family's home. Her parents and two siblings were also killed.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And today's last word in business is a blast from the past: Datsun, a name that you may remember if you're of a certain age. The cut-priced Japanese cars first appeared in the United States in 1958, when Elvis topped the charts. Datsun was produced by Nissan, which decided to phase out the brand in the 1980s. Now a Japanese newspaper says Nissan may bring it back.

Sadly, American Datsun enthusiasts may have to travel far to find one. Nissan's plans to sell low-priced cars only in emerging markets like India and Russia.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

The Republican presidential hopefuls for were in full tasting mode over the weekend, from barbecue to breakfast, as they took their campaigns to voters ahead of Super Tuesday. Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Newt Gingrich went on Sunday morning talk shows. Mitt Romney campaigned in the key states of Georgia and Tennessee.

NPR's Tamara Keith was along for the ride.

TAMARA KEITH, BYLINE: Pancakes.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And Vladimir Putin claimed his expected win last night in Russia's presidential election. He gave a fiery victory speech, displaying plenty of anger at the protesters who, in recent months, have challenged his authority. Exit polls showed Vladimir Putin winning 60 percent of the vote, but independent observers say the election was riddled with violations.

NPR's Corey Flintoff reports from Moscow.

COREY FLINTOFF, BYLINE: With the Kremlin - Russia's citadel of power - at his back, Putin told a cheering crowd that they had won.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with more bad news for News Corp.

An FBI investigation of Rupert Murdoch's media company is now looking to Russia. A billboard company, News Outdoor Russia, owned until last year by News Corp, is being scrutinized over possibly bribing public officials. The FBI began looking into News Corps' operations after its British newspapers were embroiled in a bribery and phone hacking scandal.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Now just as the U.S. economy seems to be picking up, China's is not. The Chinese government has downgraded its economic growth target to the slowest rate in eight years. China's premier says the country needs to boost consumer demand, and address what he calls unsustainable development.

NPR's Louisa Lim reports from Beijing.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Lawyers for BP, and thousands of people affected by the Deepwater Horizon accident and oil spill, had been expected, for a long time, to be in a New Orleans courtroom this morning for a civil trial. Instead, they're reviewing a deal to settle the case.

BP estimates it would pay nearly $8 billion in the settlement. In exchange, the company would avoid revisiting, in a courtroom, what led up to the drilling rig explosion that killed 11 men and poured massive amounts of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Yemen has changed its president, but has not come to the end of its trouble. Yesterday, militants overran a military base in south Yemen. Dozens of people were killed, and al-Qaida has claimed responsibility.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The small town of Piner, Kentucky was one of many badly hit by the devastating tornadoes that ripped through the Midwest and the South. At least four people in Piner were killed by the storms, but many residents of the town are trying to return to normal life today, and that includes going back to school. Teri Cox-Cruey is the superintendent of schools for Kenton County, which includes Piner. She joins us on the line now. Good morning.

TERI COX-CRUEY: Good morning.

It would be easy not to have known Continental Airlines has been merged with United for two years. That will change Saturday when all operations and branding are combined under just United. Any hiccups could mean delays throughout the airline's system.

When Joan and Izzy Schwartz got married, they spent their wedding night in a suite at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel in Manhattan. Back then, the room cost $16.80. For their 60th anniversary, the Waldorf will give the couple a room for the same rate they paid in 1952.

Students at London's Kingston University this week unveiled luxury designs made of bio-degradable materials. There are stilettos made from pistachio shells and coffee beans, a wood-chip corset and a top made from orange peel.

Greece has taken almost all the action needed to secure a second bailout from eurozone countries, according to the head of the European currency group. The first loan can now be paid out by March 20, as long as Greece completes a bond swap between Athens and private investors, which should cut the nations privately-held debt in half.

David Greene talks to materials chemist Donald Sadoway from the TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) conference in Long Beach, Calif. Sadoway is the co-inventor of the liquid metal battery. It's inexpensive, super efficient, sustainable and can provide large scale energy storage.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

The next big day for Republican presidential hopefuls is Super Tuesday. But on the way to Tuesday, the candidates are making stops in Washington state. Republican caucuses there are set for tomorrow morning.

And as NPR's Martin Kaste reports, with the fight for the nomination still tight, for once the caucuses in Washington state may actually mean something to the presidential race.

Renee Montagne has the Last Word in business.

The district of Baba Amr in the city of Homs had been the heart of the Syrian uprising, where mass protests turned into an armed resistance. Activists say government troops are combing the area, arresting any male over the age of 12.

The airline hired the coach to train its flight attendants to speak in hushed tones while serving passengers. Crews will be trained on tone and volume. The low tones are reserved for Virgin's new upper class dream suite.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. A suspect in Iowa will not have to go far to find a jury of his peers. Jury selection was underway in a court in Waterloo when a potential juror left her wallet on a bench. She returned from a break and found cash missing. Witnesses and security cameras in the court led authorities to a suspect. The man was another potential jury member. Police arranged a court date for him in the same legal system he had been serving a short time before. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Campaigning in Tennessee Wednesday, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum's camp took the opportunity to slam rival Mitt Romney for having a "liberal Record" on freedom of religion. At Nashville's Belmont University, Santorum spoke about his own views of religious freedom.

A federal appeals court hears arguments Thursday in legal challenges to tough new state immigration laws in Alabama and Georgia. The Justice Department and civil rights groups have sued. At issue are both civil rights violations, and whether states can constitutionally engage in immigration enforcement.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Acorn Media distributes British TV series in the United States, and now it's acquired a controlling interest in the estate of Agatha Christie. The late author of murder mysteries has sold billions of books.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

The battle over social issues in the Republican presidential primaries has extended through most of another week. This time the flashpoint was a remark by Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor said he opposed, and then clarified that he actually favors, legislation involving contraception.

NPR's Tamara Keith reports it was not what Romney intended to discuss in Ohio.