Morning Edition

The No. 1 seeds in this year's NCAA men's basketball tournament are: Kentucky, Syracuse, North Carolina and Michigan State. Of the field of 68 teams, Kentucky is considered the best.

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For all the difficult relations the United States has with Iran, the two countries share many ties, including millions of Iranian-Americans. Ryan Seacrest and Bravo make them the focus of a new reality show called "The Shahs of Sunset." It examines the lavish lifestyles of some in Southern California's Iranian-American community. Amy Walters reports.

Officials in Beijing are telling government departments to stop buying Audis, and instead drive the Red Flag, which is China's version of the luxury sedan. It used to shuttle Communist luminaries like Chairman Mao. It was, however, phased out two years ago as a gas guzzler.

Mississippi and Alabama hold Republican primaries Tuesday. The two Southern contests are crucial for former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

Residents of the Gulf Coast are warily evaluating the BP settlement deal in the Deepwater Horizon case. Some were hurt during clean-up of the oil spill, others lost their businesses and still others lost family in the rig explosion. But they are coming to different conclusions about whether the deal is a good one.

A U.S. soldier is in custody after he allegedly killed 16 Afghan villagers Sunday. The incident is one more blow to an already fragile relationship between the United States and Afghanistan. There are also questions of what the incident will do to the U.S.strategy in Afghanistan.

Japan is far from back to normal, after an earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster devastated the northeastern part of the country a year ago. U.S. Ambassador to Japan John Roos talks to Steve Inskeep about his latest visit to the hard-hit region of Tohoku.

Americans have worked for years to position themselves as protectors of Afghans against murderous insurgents. But on Sunday, a U.S. Army sergeant surrendered after a shooting rampage that left 16 people killed — including women and children.

During March Madness, there's no shortage of options to watch basketball games. Fans can watch on their TVs at home or stream it on a computer at work. But the hot ticket this year is streaming it on a smartphone.

China is buying more abroad than it sells. February marked the largest trade deficit for China in at least a decade. Imports outpaced exports by $31.5 billion.

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In this country, many American kids are preparing for standardized tests. They're among the rites of spring and they cause a lot of stress. One Indiana school tries to manage that stress by obsessing over the test a little less. Rather than teaching every single thing on the test, they just teach how to take one. Here's Kyle Stokes of NPR member station WFIU.

KYLE STOKES, BYLINE: Quick - name the literary genres you learned about in school.

Here's another good reason to lose weight: It might benefit your friends, family and co-workers. Such altruism might be just the final "nudge" some of us need.

Researchers are finding that the friends and family of obese and overweight individuals who lose weight lost weight themselves, and sometimes a lot of it. Dr. John Morton, who directs Bariatric Surgery at Stanford Hospital & Clinics, calls obesity a "family disease."

When Oregon police stopped Jose Romeo-Valenzuela the first time, he was driving 105 mph. The second time he was driving 98 mph. And the third time, 92 mph. He faces $2,000 in tickets. He was trying to get to court to face drug possession charges.

Officials in Hollywood, Fla., don't like signs that people illegally put in highway medians, offering to buy gold or junk cars. The Sun Sentinel reports the city is placing scores of robo-calls to the numbers on the signs, hoping to harass their owners into stopping.

Iranians have agreed to meet with Western officials to discuss their nuclear program, amid increasing Western concern about its purpose. Steve Inskeep talks to Paul Pillar about his article in The Washington Monthly entitled "We Can Live with a Nuclear Iran." Pillar teaches in the security studies program at Georgetown University.

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

Back in January, Navy Seals rescued an American aid worker who was held for months by Somali pirates. That moment shone a spotlight on the U.S. military's newest regional command - Africom, the U.S. Africa Command, which was created in 2007. One of its biggest concerns is dealing with terrorist groups such as al-Qaida and its regional affiliates. Renee spoke with the head of Africom, General Carter Ham.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning.

The new film Salmon Fishing in the Yemen stars Emily Blunt and Ewan McGregor. It's a pleasant fantasy whose few attempts at seriousness are best forgotten.

The American non-profit group Invisible Children aims to raise awareness about Ugandan war lord Joseph Kony. A video the group made has gone viral on the Internet. Steve Inskeep talks to Barbara Among, a journalist with Uganda's Daily Monitor, to find out what Ugandans think of the campaign.

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Kansas holds its Republican presidential caucuses tomorrow. Rick Santorum has been the most active candidate in that state. He's trying to stop Mitt Romney's momentum again. Kansas Public Radio's Stephen Koranda has more.

UNIDENTIFIED GROUP: (Chanting) Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick, Rick...

Alabama and Mississippi are holding Republican primaries on Tuesday. The contests are vitally important for the candidacies of Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum. Mitt Romney arrived in Mississippi Thursday night for a rally, and he has a pair of events in Mississippi and Alabama Friday.