5:03am

Tue February 7, 2012
Author Interviews

Mumbai Slum Exists 'Behind The Beautiful Forevers'

Originally published on Thu November 15, 2012 9:29 am

Next to Mumbai's bustling international airport, a boy picks through refuse, looking for pieces he can recycle and sell to support his family of 11. He is a resident of Annawadi, a slum built on a patch of reclaimed swampland — now fringed by luxury hotels.

As economists and activists fret over increasing income inequality in America, scenes like this one from journalist Katherine Boo's new book, Behind the Beautiful Forevers, are a forceful reminder of the extreme disparity of wealth that exist all over the world — and what people must do to survive.

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3:00am

Tue February 7, 2012
Business

Greek Debt Talks Continue

Reporter Joanna Kakissis in Athens has the latest on the nail-biting negotiations over the Greek debt.

3:00am

Tue February 7, 2012
Sports

Sports Stories You May Have Missed

Originally published on Tue February 7, 2012 6:19 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It is estimated that more than 111 million people watched Sunday's Super Bowl. That is the biggest TV audience ever for the championship game. And with all the hype before and even after the match-up between the Giants and the Patriots, other sports were drowned out. NPR's Tom Goldman is going to help correct that. He's here to bring us up to date on some other sports news.

Hi, Tom.

TOM GOLDMAN, BYLINE: Good morning.

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3:00am

Tue February 7, 2012
Middle East

Syrian Violence Continues In Homs

Activists say dozens of people were killed yesterday in the Syrian town of Homs when government troops opened fire with tanks and machine guns. More than a dozen others were killed elsewhere. Renee Montagne talks to Omar Shakir, a human rights activist, who is in Homs.

3:00am

Tue February 7, 2012
Business

The Last Word In Business

Originally published on Tue February 7, 2012 5:50 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And let's move now, from paper promises, now, to plastic. That's our last word in business.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Citigroup says it has become the first Western bank with permission to issue credit cards under its own brand in China. Until now, China required western banks to co-brand with Chinese operators.

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3:00am

Tue February 7, 2012
NPR Story

Romney Rivals Campaign In Minnesota Ahead Of Caucuses

Minnesota holds non-binding GOP caucuses Tuesday. Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum and Ron Paul all campaigned in the state Monday. Each of front-runner Mitt Romney's rivals is looking at the state as a place where they can regain their footing.

3:00am

Tue February 7, 2012
NPR Story

States Propose Taxing Sugar To Aid In Nutrition Warning

Originally published on Tue February 7, 2012 8:16 am

New research indicates excessive consumption of sugar leads to an increase in all kinds of chronic diseases. But how much sugar is too much? Would making sugary foods more expensive help to get consumers to cut back?

2:56am

Tue February 7, 2012
Books

Amid Debt Crisis, A Trail Of Broken 'Promises'

Credit Nephi Niven / Public Affairs Books

Financial writer Philip Coggan traces the current global financial crisis to the 1970s, when the U.S. went off the gold standard.

"Up till then, every form of money had some link to precious metal: gold or silver," Coggan, author of a new book, Paper Promises: Debt, Money and the New World Order, tells Morning Edition co-host Renee Montagne.

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2:47am

Tue February 7, 2012
Around the Nation

China's Heir Apparent Rekindles Early Ties To Iowa

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images

China's Vice President Xi Jinping is coming to America. Next week, he'll meet with President Obama at the White House. He'll lead a trade delegation to California. And he also plans to make a stop in Muscatine, Iowa.

Why Muscatine? It turns out that Xi wants to catch up with old acquaintances — he first visited the town (population 22,886) in the 1980s, as part of an agricultural mission.

Back then, the man who is likely to soon become China's president had dinner with Sarah Lande and her husband.

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11:01pm

Mon February 6, 2012
Around the Nation

Alabama's Immigration Law May Get A Second Look

Originally published on Tue February 7, 2012 12:00 pm

Credit Dave Martin / AP

Whoever said "all P.R. is good P.R." probably never had dozens of protesters gathered in front of the office calling them "Hitler."

That's what happened during a recent lunchtime in the Birmingham, Ala., business district, as students from several local colleges held a mock funeral in front of a bank. They accuse the company of funding private detention centers where they claim illegal immigrants have died.

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