We have an update now on a story NPR's been investigating for almost two years. This morning, federal prosecutors filed criminal charges in a 2010 coal mine explosion in West Virginia. Twenty-nine mine workers died in the blast at the Upper Big Branch mine. The charges reach into the management ranks of Massey Energy, the company that operated the mine. NPR's Howard Berkes joins us now for details.
Good morning, Howard.
HOWARD BERKES, BYLINE: Good morning, Renee.
MONTAGNE: Who exactly is charged, and what are they charged with?
This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
And I'm Steve Inskeep. Marie Colvin of the Sunday Times in London spent a career documenting the peril that others faced, which meant the American reporter shared their danger. Her paper says she was killed today by artillery fire that struck the Syrian city of Homs. French officials affirm a French photojournalist has also been killed.
Colvin was a longtime war correspondent who appeared several times on this program, notably from Libya. Last night from Syria, she told CNN that Syria was worse than other conflicts she'd covered.
Activists in the Syrian city of Homs say rockets struck the house where the two journalists were staying. Syrian troops have been shelling the city. French officials identify one journalist as photographer Remi Ochlik. The Sunday Times of London confirms the other was American reporter Marie Colvin.
Buses took Boston area college students to a ski trip in Quebec, Canada. The buses were stopped on the way back, and Vermont state troopers cited 26 students for alcohol. In their defense, the drinking age in Quebec is 18, compared with 21 in the U.S. It was harder though to explain the drugs on board.
When California officials responded to a call in a wealthy Bay area suburb Tuesday, they found that an 85 lbs. German Shepherd named Cody had scared a mountain lion 30 feet up a tree. The dog is smaller than what big cats have been known to eat.
As part of Black History Month, President and Mrs. Obama hosted a musical celebration of the blues Tuesday night. Guests included legends like B.B. King and Mick Jagger.
A new poll of Arizona voters shows former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum in a virtual tie with former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. Next week's Arizona primary is on the same day as Michigan, but has received less attention. Santorum campaigned yesterday in the Phoenix area ahead of tonight's debate in Mesa. Peter O'Dowd of member station KJZZ reports.
One of the keys to success in next Tuesday's Michigan primary is appealing to blue-collar Republican voters. Jobs and the economy are important issues to those voters. But as Quinn Klinefelter of member station WDET reports, other issues are gaining traction too.
On the day she was born, Fawzia Koofi nearly died after being left outside in the unrelenting Afghan sun. But against all odds, Koofi survived and went on to become Afghanistan's first female deputy speaker of Parliament. Today, Koofi's name is floated in discussions about whether Afghanistan is ready for a first female president.
In her new memoir, The Favored Daughter, Koofi describes the hardship of being a woman in Afghanistan. She says it isn't hard to understand why her mother was distraught to learn that she'd given birth to another girl: Her husband, who was a member of Parliament himself, had recently married a much younger woman, and Koofi's mother hoped to regain his love by giving birth to a son.
Just about three years after he violently assaulted her, R&B singer Chris Brown is back with pop star Rihanna — musically, at least. On Monday night, each released a remix of one song from their recently released albums. Both feature the other party, and both are causing quite the stir.
The speculation built for days. Last week there were rumors Rihanna might release a remix to one of her songs and that Chris Brown would guest on it. Then right on cue, the day of her 24th birthday, Rihanna did it. She tweeted a remix to "Birthday Cake." Featuring her still-on-probation ex-boyfriend.
A couple who met working in a book store in Denver have spent their marriage amassing books about their passion: nature. Now the house they live in is up for sale, and they're scrambling to find storage for 30,000 books.
Pakistani workers at an Air Force factory are making a low-budget tablet computer. With Pakistani engineering and Chinese hardware, they make their version of Apple's iPad. The copy is the PACPAD.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "SWING LOW, SWEET CHARIOT")(Singing) Swing low, sweet chariot, coming for to carry me home. Swing low...) Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.
The film Saving Face is nominated for an Oscar. It chronicles the lives of acid-attack survivors in Pakistan. Filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid Chinoy talks to Renee Montagne about what happens to some of the victims.
Europe is still a continent that looks over its shoulder at a long and sometimes dark past. That extends even to the protracted Greek bailout negotiations, where Germany's dominant role has scratched at some historical wounds.
Germany occupied Greece during World War II, committing atrocities that some older Greeks can't forget. This history defines the pretty village of Distomo in central Greece, where Nazi soldiers killed 218 men, women and children in June 1944.
Panagiotis Sfountouris, 74, says he'll never forget that day. He was just 6 years old when he and his younger sister escaped death by hiding in a relative's basement. When they returned home, they found their parents shot dead and their 2-year-old brother gutted by a bayonet.
The March issue of the medical journal Pediatrics features an editorial looking at gender identity disorder in children. Pediatricians apparently are seeing more young patients who express an interest in changing their gender.
Twitter is supposed to have turned the world into a global village. But new research shows that our Twitter ties are considerably more parochial than most of us imagine. People no longer define their communities by where they live but by common interests.
Tension has been high in the Maldives after Mohamed Nasheed resigned as president earlier this month. He later claimed that he was the victim of a coup, but his successor denies this. Nasheed talks to Renee Montagne about his situation, and what it means for the Indian Ocean islands.
There area a lot of bad movies out there. Some movies are so bad that they're good. For some reason people love them. Is there an art to making films that are deliberately bad? Can a company be successful by producing bad movies?
In Yemen Tuesday, voters are casting ballots in a one-candidate presidential election. They hope it may bring an end to a nearly year-long political crisis that's sparked much violence among various heavily-armed factions as well as pro-democracy protesters.
Spain officially has Europe's highest jobless rate. That's based on the number of people who register for unemployment benefits, which are some of the most generous on the continent. But many Spaniards still collect a paycheck while they're on the dole.
Rhythm in music is about timing — when notes start and stop. And now scientists say they've found a curious pattern that's common to musical rhythm. It's a pattern also found in nature.
The financial battle for the Republican nomination is tightening. Candidates spent a lot of cash in January — what with contests in Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina and Florida. Also spending a lot of money, as it turns out, were the richly financed superPACS that support the candidates.
Reports filed at the Federal Election Commission on Monday night show just how important a superPAC can be.
Last month, the campaign of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney raised $6.4 million. The pro-Romney superPAC called Restore Our Future raised $6.6 million. And three donors joined a select group that has given the superPAC $500,000 to $1 million each.
Four thousand pork lovers descended on Des Moines, Iowa, over the weekend for The 5th Annual Blue Ribbon Bacon Festival. The event featured treats like bacon butterscotch cupcakes, bacon-infused donut balls and bacon-wrapped jalapenos.
A 150 lbs. emu escaped from its pen five weeks ago, and it's been spotted several times. Last week, the flightless bird was seen outside an elementary school. A maintenance worker there tried to lasso the elusive emu with an extension cord, but the big bird got free.
This is Morning Edition from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.
Senegal, on the coast of West Africa, has been something of a model of stability for a region known for its volatility. But this past week has brought protests and violence to Senegal after demonstrations over a presidential election this coming weekend led to clashes with riot police. We've got NPR's Ofeibea Quist-Arcton on the line from the capital Dakar to tell us what is going on there.
Good morning, Ofeibea.
OFEIBEA QUIST-ARCTON, BYLINE: Greetings, Renee. Greetings from Dakar, usually calm, the busy and active Dakar, but a Dakar that has seen a lot of damage and a lot of violence in the past week.
