Mark Memmott

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Mark Memmott is one of the hosts of NPR's "The Two-Way" news blog.

"The Two-Way," which Memmott helped to launched when he came to NPR in 2009, focuses on breaking news, analysis, and the most compelling stories being reported by NPR News and other news media.

Before joining NPR, Memmott worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor at USA Today. He focused on a range of coverage from politics, foreign affairs, economics, and the media. He's reported from places across the Unites States and the world, including half a dozen trips to Afghanistan in 2002-2003.

During his time at USA Today, Memmott, helped launch and lead three USAToday.com news blogs: "On Deadline;" "The Oval;" and "On Politics," the site's 2008 presidential campaign blog.

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8:30am

Mon March 26, 2012
The Two-Way

Is GOP Race At 'Tipping Point' Or Destined To Keep Going?

Credit Mark Hirsch / Getty Images

NPR's Ken Rudin is a fan of using history as a guide to what might happen next when it comes to politics, and this morning he focuses on the 2012 race for the Republican presidential nomination and what lessons we might learn from an earlier battle between GOP contenders.

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7:55am

Mon March 26, 2012
The Two-Way

Tragedy In West Virginia: Child Is Ninth Victim Of House Fire

Credit Craig Cunningham / AP

"A house fire believed to be the worst in Charleston's history claimed its ninth victim Sunday," West Virginia's Sunday Gazette-Mail reports.

According to the newspaper, 7-year-old Bryan Timothy Camp was taken off life support Sunday morning. The fire at the home he lived in with his mother, her boyfriend, an aunt and six other children began around 3:25 a.m. ET on Saturday. Only the aunt survived. The Gazette-Mail says the rental home had no working smoke detectors.

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7:30am

Mon March 26, 2012
The Two-Way

The Arguments Begin: Supreme Court Takes Up Health Care Starting Today

Originally published on Mon March 26, 2012 7:35 am

Credit Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images

Here's how we'll be following the Supreme Court's three days of oral arguments about the President Obama's health care overhaul law, which as we've previously noted begin today.

As we always try to do when major stories are developing, we'll watch for key moments and pass along the news as soon as possible.

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7:05am

Mon March 26, 2012
The Two-Way

It's 'Unbelievable To Me,' Says Wife Of Army Sgt. Accused In Afghan Killings

Credit MSNBC.com

Saying that her husband "loves children, he's like a big kid himself," the wife of the U.S. Army soldier accused of killing 17 Afghan civilians on March 11 has told NBC News that the accusations against Staff Sgt. Robert Bales are "unbelievable to me."

"I have no idea what happened, but he would not ... he loves children, and he would not do that," said Karilyn Bales.

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6:00am

Sat March 24, 2012
The Two-Way

Americans Want The Supreme Court To Open Up; Here's Why It Won't

Credit J. Scott Applewhite / AP
  • Nina Totenberg on the court's disconnect
  • Nina Totenberg, on the timing of the tapes
  • Nina Totenberg, on the justices' thinking
  • Nina Totenberg, on looking forward to the sessions

Three straight days of oral arguments about the constitutionality of President Obama's health care overhaul law start Monday at the U.S. Supreme Court.

It's a perfect political storm: an issue that affects everyone and has deeply divided the major political parties coming before the nine justices smack in the middle of a presidential campaign.

Much is riding on what the justices decide. Their rulings are expected by the end of June.

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2:32pm

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Sgt. Bales Charged With 17 Counts Of Murder; Could Get Death Penalty

Originally published on Fri March 23, 2012 10:48 pm

Credit Spc. Ryan Hallock / AFP/Getty Images

Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales has been officially been charged with 17 counts of premeditated murder for the March 11 killings of unarmed men, women and children in Southern Afghanistan, The Associated Press just reported from Kabul.

It adds that "premeditated murder is a capital offense and if convicted, Bales could be sentenced to death."

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11:00am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Why We Love The P.R. Guy For Etch A Sketch

Credit Karen Bleier / AFP/Getty Images

Martin Killgallon, marketing director for Ohio Arts, we salute you:

"We have a left knob and a right knob," he said of his company's Etch A Sketch, The Associated Press reports, "so we neutrally speak to both parties."

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10:45am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Mystery Solved? 'Microquakes' Blamed For Wisconsin Booms

There's a new explanation for why the citizens of Clintonville, Wis., have been hearing booms this week:

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10:25am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Existing Home Sales Dipped In February, But Ran Well Above Pace Of Year Ago

There was a 0.9 percent drop in sales of existing homes in February from January, the National Association of Realtors reports. But, at an annualized rate of 4.59 million they were still up 8.8 percent from February 2011.

"The market is trending up unevenly," NAR chief economist Lawarence Yun concludes in a statement from the association.

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9:40am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Chaos Feared When New Zealand Changes Road Rules Sunday

Originally published on Fri March 23, 2012 9:42 am

Credit New Zealand Transport Agency

9:24am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Reports: Obama To Tap Dartmouth President For World Bank's Top Job

Update at 10:12 a.m. ET. It's Official:

"It's time for a development professional to lead the world's largest development agency," President Obama just said as he announced he is nominating Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim to head the World Bank.

Our original post:

"President Barack Obama will nominate Dartmouth College President Jim Yong Kim to head the World Bank," The Associated Press reports, citing "senior administration officials" as its sources.

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8:25am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Not Clear Yet Why Death Toll In Afghan Killings Has Risen To 17

Credit Spc. Ryan Hallock / AFP/Getty Images

Along with the word that U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales will be formally charged with murder today for the deaths of unarmed Afghan men, women and children on March 11, was the news that the death toll had grown to 17. Until Thursday afternoon, U.S. military officials had consistently said that 16 people were killed.

As The Associated Press has reported, officials made the change without offering a public explanation for it.

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7:55am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Michigan State Is First No. 1 Seed To Be Bounced

Credit Jamie Squire / Getty Images
  • Mike Pesca on 'Morning Edition'

Tough defense by Louisville led to the defeat Thursday night of Michigan State in the NCAA men's basketball tournament, NPR's Mike Pesca said earlier on Morning Edition.

The Spartans, who lost to Louisville 57-44, are the first of the four No. 1 regional seeds to be sent home.

Syracuse, another No. 1 seed, managed to hang on with a 64-63 win over Wisconsin. In Thursday's other two games, Florida beat Marquette 68-58 and Ohio State thumped Cincinnati, 81-66.

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7:30am

Fri March 23, 2012
The Two-Way

Trayvon Martin Was 'Typical Teen,' George Zimmerman Is Hard To Categorize

Credit Gerardo Mora / Getty Images

Trayvon Martin was "a typical teenager who would end up in a casket, buried in white suit with a powder blue vest," the Miami Herald writes.

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3:45pm

Thu March 22, 2012
The Two-Way

Cat Falls 19 Floors, Lands Purrfectly

Credit Animal Rescue League of Boston

3:10pm

Thu March 22, 2012
The Two-Way

'Thank God It's Over,' Australia's Most Wanted Man Says After Capture

"On his 2,466th night in the wilderness," the hunt for Malcolm Naden ended.

And when it did, Australia's most wanted man seemed relieved, police said afterward, according to The Sydney Morning Herald:

"Sitting on the sodden ground in handcuffs, surrounded by his captors, a lucid and relaxed Mr Naden said: 'Thank God it's over, I've had enough.' "

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12:05pm

Thu March 22, 2012
The Two-Way

Four More Booms In Wisconsin City Troubled By Mysterious Sounds

Credit Carrie Antlfinger / AP

Things were not quiet again in Clintonville, Wis., early today.

As we reported Wednesday, folks there have been hearing booms and feeling vibrations this week and no one has yet been able to explain what's causing them. One of the latest theories is that unusually warm temperatures are causing underground ice to crack. A few homeowners think they've suffered some damages (cracked floors, for example).

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11:04am

Thu March 22, 2012
The Two-Way

Looks Like That Post-Rapture Pet-Walking Company Was A Hoax

Credit EE-BP

A New Hampshire man who claimed last year that for a fee of $135 he would arrange to have your dog walked if the Rapture did indeed begin last May 21 and you got taken up to heaven, is now saying that his business venture was a hoax.

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10:30am

Thu March 22, 2012
The Two-Way

Video Of Copter Crash In Afghanistan Goes Viral; Army Investigating

Originally published on Thu March 22, 2012 10:31 am

Credit YouTube.com

If you haven't seen it yet, you probably will soon if you're watching the cable news networks:

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9:20am

Thu March 22, 2012
The Two-Way

Murray Lender, Who Introduced Many Americans To Bagels, Has Died

Originally published on Thu March 22, 2012 11:37 am

Credit Mike Derer / AP

If you were young in the 1960s or '70s and like many of us didn't live around New York City, the first bagel you ever saw and enjoyed was probably a Lender's.

So it's with a sense of sadness and nostalgia that we pass along this, from The Associated Press:

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