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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11:13am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Everton's Moyes To Replace Ferguson At Man United

Credit Peter Powell / EPA /LANDOV

One day after the world's most famous soccer coach announced his upcoming retirement, his replacement has been chosen.

The English Premier League's Everton Football Club announced Thursday that manager David Moyes would step down after its last game this season, on May 19. According to the club:

"The manager met Chairman Bill Kenwright early yesterday evening (Wednesday 8th May) and confirmed his desire to join Manchester United."

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10:54am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Boston Bombing Suspect's Body Finally 'Entombed,' Police Say

Credit FBI.gov

The body of Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev "is now entombed," the Worcester, Mass., police department announced Thursday morning.

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9:50am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Boston's Top Cop: Boost Security, But Avoid 'Police State'

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 1:29 pm

Credit Michael Reynolds / EPA /LANDOV

(We put a new top on this post at 1:25 p.m. ET.)

"The FBI never told the Boston police or the Massachusetts State Police about possible Russian terror connections of the suspected Marathon bombers until three and half days after the attack, law enforcement officials testified today before the House Homeland Security Committee," ABC News writes.

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9:07am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Jobless Claims Stay Near 5-Year Low

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 10:16 am

There were 323,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, down 4,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration says.

Note: As often happens, the previous week's figure is a slight revision from what was reported earlier. Initially, the ETA said there had been 324,000 first-time claims during the week ending April 27. Now, it says there were 327,000 that week.

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8:06am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Reports: Cousin Of Boston Suspects Is 'Prominent Islamist'

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 8:38 am

Credit FBI.gov

Russian investigators have questioned a distant cousin of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev about meetings the two of them had in Dagestan during 2012, Time magazine reports.

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7:14am

Thu May 9, 2013
News

Cleveland Kidnappings: Horrors Began With Offers Of Rides

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 7:31 pm

Credit Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images

(Most recent update: 7:24 p.m. ET.)

The three young women who were missing for about a decade before being rescued Monday from a home in Cleveland where they say they were chained, tortured and sexually assaulted, have given police similar accounts about how their long nightmares began.

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12:49pm

Wed May 8, 2013
The Two-Way

Police Chief: 'We Are Not Barbarians;' Bury Bombing Suspect

Originally published on Wed May 8, 2013 3:16 pm

Credit FBI.gov

Saying that "we are not barbarians, we bury the dead," the police chief of Worcester, Mass., on Wednesday appealed for someone in authority to clear the way for the body of Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev to be buried.

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9:47am

Wed May 8, 2013
The Two-Way

'Do Me A Solid,' Diplomat Rodman Says To North Korea's Kim

Originally published on Wed May 8, 2013 12:52 pm

Credit KCNA / EPA /LANDOV

America's unlikeliest link to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reached out to his friend in a bid to have an American citizen released from one of the communist nation's notorious labor camps.

"I'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him 'Kim', to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose," former basketball star Dennis Rodman tweets.

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8:47am

Wed May 8, 2013
The Two-Way

31 Suspects In 3 Nations Nabbed In $50 Million Diamond Heist

Originally published on Wed May 8, 2013 5:55 pm

Credit Yves Herman / Reuters /Landov

Remember that brazen, right-out-of-the-movies diamond heist at Brussels' international airport on Feb. 18?

Now there's word from The Associated Press that "police on Wednesday claimed a major breakthrough in their investigation ... detaining 31 people in a three-nation sweep."

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7:48am

Wed May 8, 2013
Sports

Manchester United's Sir Alex Ferguson Is Retiring

Originally published on Wed May 8, 2013 11:20 am

Credit David Jones / EPA /LANDOV
  • From the NPR Newscast: Philip Reeves reports about the retirement of Sir Alex Ferguson

There's huge news in the sports world this morning:

Alex Ferguson, who has managed Manchester United football club for 26 years, is retiring at the end of the English Premier League season, which wraps up on May 19.

From London, NPR's Philip Reeves tells our Newscast Desk that:

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6:58am

Wed May 8, 2013
News

Cleveland Kidnappings: Wednesday's Developments

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 6:07 am

  • From 'Morning Edition': A Neighborhood In Shock

(Most recent update: 5:20 p.m. ET.)

We're following the latest news about the three young women who were rescued Monday from a home in Cleveland where authorities suspect they had been held captive for about a decade, and the investigation into what happened to them.

Update at 5:20 p.m. ET: Ariel Castro Charged With Kidnapping, Rape:

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1:40pm

Tue May 7, 2013
The Two-Way

Ray Harryhausen, Master Of Stop-Motion Animation, Dies

Originally published on Tue May 7, 2013 1:51 pm

Credit Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Ray Harryhausen, who brought sword-fighting skeletons to the 1963 movie Jason and the Argonauts and was known as the master of stop-motion animation for his work on that and other films such as Clash of the Titans and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, has died.

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8:56am

Tue May 7, 2013

7:56am

Tue May 7, 2013
The Two-Way

Many Offers, But No OKs For Burial Of Boston Bombing Suspect

Originally published on Tue May 7, 2013 8:50 am

The Massachusetts funeral director who is trying to find a cemetery that's willing to bury the body of Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev says he has gotten 120 offers from graveyards around the U.S. and Canada.

But when Peter Stefan "calls officials of the cities or towns involved, nobody wants the body," The Associated Press reports.

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7:27am

Tue May 7, 2013
News

Cry For Help Led To Freedom For Missing Women In Cleveland

Originally published on Wed May 8, 2013 10:53 am

Credit Bill Pugliano / Getty Images
  • From 'Morning Edition': Three missing women found alive in Cleveland
  • From Amanda Berry's 911 Call

(Most recent update: 11:40 a.m. ET. Click here to see how we cover stories such as this.)

"Help! Help me!"

A young woman's desperate cries alerted neighbors Monday to a frightening tale in Cleveland.

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1:22pm

Mon May 6, 2013
The Two-Way

Gun Made With 3-D Printer Is Successfully Fired

Credit Defense Distributed

11:25am

Mon May 6, 2013

9:49am

Mon May 6, 2013
The Two-Way

Joy Turns To Tragedy As Bride And 4 Others Die In Limo Fire

Originally published on Mon May 6, 2013 1:39 pm

Credit Jane Tyska/Oakland Tribune / MCT /Landov

This is one of the weekend's saddest stories.

Investigators are trying to determine what caused a horrific fire inside a limousine late Saturday night on the San Mateo Bridge over San Francisco Bay. A new bride and four of her friends — all women — died as they tried to escape. Four other women, who had also been celebrating Neriza Fojas' recent marriage, managed to escape. So did the driver.

As The San Francisco Chronicle says:

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8:27am

Mon May 6, 2013

8:04am

Mon May 6, 2013
The Two-Way

Syrian Rebels May Have Used Sarin, U.N. Investigator Says

Originally published on Mon May 6, 2013 2:07 pm

Credit Salvatore Di Nolfi / EPA /LANDOV

Update at 1:55 p.m. ET: White House Is "Highly Skeptical":

At the White House this afternoon, spokesman Jay Carney said the U.S. is "highly skeptical" of the comments made over the weekend by international prosecutor Carla del Ponte, who said there are "strong, concrete suspicions but not yet incontrovertible proof" that rebels in Syria have used sarin gas.

We've been covering del Ponte's comments, and the reaction to them, through the day. Scroll down to see an earlier update and our original post.

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