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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9:58am

Tue May 1, 2012
The Two-Way

Norwegian Swimming Star Dies In Arizona

Originally published on Wed May 2, 2012 6:44 am

Credit Feng Li / Getty Images

Swimming star Alexander Dale Oen, one of Norway's top gold medal hopes in the upcoming Summer Olympic Games in London, died Monday at his hotel near a training facility in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The 26-year-old world champion in the 100-meter breaststroke suffered an apparent heart attack, according to Norway's Olympic Committee.

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9:18am

Tue May 1, 2012
The Two-Way

Looking Back: How The World Quickly Learned About Bin Laden's Death

Credit Pete Souza / White House

One year ago today, we learned that al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden had been located and killed by U.S. Navy SEALs at a compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

There's no shortage of stories and news related to that event, including these:

-- "After Bin Laden, Al-Qaida Still Present As Movement." (NPR's Dina Temple-Raston, on Morning Edition.)

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8:02am

Tue May 1, 2012
The Two-Way

Afghan Soldiers' Attacks On U.S. Troops Not Being Fully Reported, AP Finds

Credit Chris Hondros / Getty Images

An Associated Press investigation has concluded that the U.S. military and its allies in Afghanistan have been "under-reporting the number of times that Afghan soldiers and police open fire on American and other foreign troops."

According to the wire service:

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7:33am

Tue May 1, 2012
The Two-Way

New Facebook Status Lets You Share Whether You're An Organ Donor

Credit Facebook.com

In a bid to encourage its members to become organ donors, Facebook just announced that "starting today, you can add that you're an organ donor to your timeline, and share your story about when, where or why you decided to become a donor."

Also, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and COO Sheryl Sandberg write, "if you're not already registered with your state or national registry and want to be, you'll find a link to the official donor registry there as well."

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7:05am

Tue May 1, 2012
The Two-Way

Rupert Murdoch 'Not A Fit Person' To Lead A Major Company, Report Charges

Originally published on Tue May 1, 2012 2:33 pm

Credit Peter Macdiarmid / Getty Images

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch is "not a fit person" to lead a major international company, a committee of U.K. parliament members concludes today in a scathing report about the News Corp. chief and the actions of his British tabloids, NPR's Philip Reeves tells our Newscast Desk.

The report also accuses Murdoch's companies of "misleading a parliamentary committee," Philip says, and exhibiting "willful blindness" regarding their illegal activities.

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3:00pm

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

George Zimmerman's Defense Takes Case To The Web

Originally published on Mon April 30, 2012 3:08 pm

Credit Gary Green / Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Images

The legal defense team for George Zimmerman, the man accused of second-degree murder in the shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin, has created a website, Facebook page and Twitter account to protest his interests.

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1:49pm

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Crash That Killed Seven Was Along 'Cursed' Stretch Of Bronx River Parkway

Credit Louis Lanzano / AP

A horrible car accident Sunday in the Bronx, which killed seven people from one family, happened on a "cursed" section of the Bronx River Parkway where six people died in a terrible 2006 accident, New York's Daily News reports.

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12:42pm

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Get Ready For Some Football: 3 Key Things About Today's 'Manchester Derby'

Originally published on Mon April 30, 2012 6:16 pm

Credit Ian Kington / AFP/Getty Images

Update at 6:08 p.m. ET. Man City Wins 1-0:

A header from Vincent Kompany was all it took for Manchester City to come out today against Manchester United.

As the AP reports, this match has been billed as the "biggest Manchester derby ever," and Kompany scored the winning goal during first-half stoppage time.

Our Original Post Continues:

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10:54am

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Five Surviving Exotic Animals To Be Given To Ohio Man's Widow

Credit Tony Dejak / AP

Ohio officials have decided they will hand over five animals to the widow of a man who last October paralyzed a community by releasing 56 lions, tigers, bears and other exotic animals from his farm.

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10:27am

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

1 World Trade Center Set To Claim Spot Atop NYC's Skyline Today

Originally published on Mon April 30, 2012 3:46 pm

Credit Don Emmert / AFP/Getty Images
(The milestone was reached at 2:14 p.m. ET.)

With the addition of some steel columns, 1 World Trade Center has reached a height of symbolic importance.

At 1,271 feet (and growing) it is 21 feet taller than the observation deck on the Empire State Building.

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9:18am

Mon April 30, 2012

9:02am

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

After Big Gain In February, Consumer Spending Rose Less In March

A large 0.9 percent gain in consumer spending from January to February was followed by a more modest 0.3 percent increase from February to March, the Bureau of Economic Analysis says.

Personal income, meanwhile, was up 0.4 percent in March. It had risen 0.3 percent in February.

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8:38am

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

China, U.S. Rushing To Resolve Crisis Over Blind Activist Chen

Credit AP

With Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner due in China for economic talks that start on Thursday, the U.S. and China are rushing to avert a diplomatic crisis over the fate of blind human rights activist Chen Guangcheng.

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7:06am

Mon April 30, 2012
The Two-Way

Over Pakistani Objections, U.S. Resumes Drone Strikes

Credit Asif Hassan / AFP/Getty Images

"CIA drone missiles hit militant targets in Pakistan on Sunday for the first time in a month, as the United States ignored the Pakistani government's insistence that such attacks end as a condition for normalized relations between the two perpetually uneasy allies," The Washington Post writes.

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3:03pm

Fri April 27, 2012
The Two-Way

Lehman Was Set To Pay 50 Execs $700 Million Just A Year Before Collapse

Credit Cate Gillon / Getty Images

Lehman Bros., the Wall Street giant, collapsed in September 2008 in the nation's largest bankruptcy and arguably kicked off a financial meltdown that helped drag the economy into the Great Recession.

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1:16pm

Fri April 27, 2012
The Two-Way

Major College Football Edges Closer To Playoffs

Credit Bill Haber / AP

"Major college football is on the verge of implementing a playoff, its own version of the final four — two semifinals and a title game," The Associated Press writes.

Or, as The Wall Street Journal reports:

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11:45am

Fri April 27, 2012
The Two-Way

Blind Activist Flees House Arrest In China

Credit AFP/Getty Images

8:43am

Fri April 27, 2012
The Two-Way

Economy Grew At 2.2 Percent Rate In First Quarter

Originally published on Fri April 27, 2012 9:12 am

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.2 percent annual rate in the first quarter of the year, according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

That's down from the 3 percent pace in fourth-quarter 2011, but is still better than the 1.7 percent growth for all of last year.

The first-quarter figure will be revised twice, in each of the next two months.

We'll have more about the report shortly.

Update at 8:47 a.m. ET. Behind The Numbers:

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8:13am

Fri April 27, 2012

7:35am

Fri April 27, 2012
The Two-Way

It's Your Turn, New York: Space Shuttle Fly-By Set For This Morning

Originally published on Fri April 27, 2012 12:42 pm

Space nuts here in Washington, D.C., had their fun last week when a jumbo jet carrying space shuttle Discovery buzzed the nation's capital.

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