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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The Two-Way
11:58 am
Mon June 4, 2012

'Cricket Comes First,' India's Tendulkar Says After Joining Parliament

Originally published on Mon June 4, 2012 12:19 pm

Since we've followed cricket superstar Sachin Tendulkar's heroics on the pitch, we should note that he's now a member of India's upper house of parliament.

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The Two-Way
10:39 am
Mon June 4, 2012

Prince Philip Hospitalized As Precaution, Diamond Jubilee Festivities Continue

Credit Adrian Dennis / AFP/Getty Images
On Saturday, Prince Philip was at the second day of the Epsom Derby horse racing festival.

Queen Elizabeth II's husband, Prince Philip, has been taken to a London hospital to be treated for a bladder infection, the BBC and other news outlets are reporting.

The Duke of Edinburgh, 90, has been admitted as a "precautionary measure" and will likely be in the hospital for a few days, a "palace spokesman" tells the BBC.

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The Two-Way
9:54 am
Mon June 4, 2012

Latest Sign Of Slowing: Factory Orders Fell In April

The word from the Census Bureau that orders for manufactured goods fell 0.6 percent in April from March — the second straight monthly decline — is in line with other reports that signal the economy "may suffer a swoon yet not slip into a recession," Bloomberg News writes.

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The Two-Way
9:14 am
Mon June 4, 2012

Reports: Suspect Arrested In Canadian Body Parts Case

"Canadian murder suspect Luka Rocco Magnotta has been arrested in Berlin, German police tell CBC News."

The Associated Press says it's been told the same thing by a Canadian official.

As we've previously reported, Montreal Police had issued a warrant for the gay porn star.

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The Two-Way
9:00 am
Mon June 4, 2012

As Venus Transits The Face Of The Sun, Here's How To Safely Watch

Credit Saif Dahlah / AFP/Getty Images
Safety over style: In 2006, a Palestinian man and boy were careful to protect their eyes while watching a partial eclipse of the sun. The same cautions are in order for Venus' transit of the sun on Tuesday.

Originally published on Mon June 4, 2012 12:53 pm

DO NOT STARE AT THE SUN.

Is that clear enough?

As we looked this morning for good guides about how to safely watch on Tuesday as Venus passes across the face of the sun, there was no escaping the stern warnings about what NOT to do.

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The Two-Way
6:24 am
Mon June 4, 2012

Tiger Woods' Incredible Chip: You Can Do It Too (Yeah, Right)

Credit Andy Lyons / Getty Images
And then he roared: Tiger Woods celebrating after his chip-in at the 16th hole Sunday in the Memorial Tournament.

Originally published on Mon June 4, 2012 6:32 am

If you haven't seen it by now, check out the chip shot that Tiger Woods rolled into the cup Sunday on the 16th hole at the Memorial Tournament. It put him on the way to winning the tournament.

According to golf legend Jack Nicklaus, it was "the gutsiest and best shot I've ever seen in my life."

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The Two-Way
5:51 am
Mon June 4, 2012

George Zimmerman Back In Jail; Attorney Preparing New Bond Motion

Credit Seminole County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office / Getty Images
A handout composite provided by the Seminole County Sheriff's Office, showing George Zimmerman in new mugshot photos.

As ordered by a judge on Friday, neighborhood watch volunteer George Zimmerman has turned himself into authorities and is back in a Sanford, Fla., jail.

Now, as the Orlando Sentinel reports, Zimmerman's attorney is preparing a request that he again be released on bond.

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The Two-Way
5:20 am
Mon June 4, 2012

Nigeria Mourns 'National Disaster;' Plane Crash Killed Scores

Credit AFP/Getty Images
A picture taken with a photo camera shows residents of the Iju district of Lagos, Nigeria, gathering at the site where a Dana Air jet crashed into a neighborhood on Sunday.

Originally published on Tue June 5, 2012 6:19 am

There's some new reporting to pass along about Sunday's crash of an airliner in Lagos, Nigeria, which killed more than 150 people on board and a still unknown number of people on the ground:

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The Two-Way
1:14 pm
Fri June 1, 2012

George Zimmerman's Bond Revoked, Must Surrender Within 48 Hours

Credit Gary Green / Orlando Sentinel-Pool/Getty Images
George Zimmerman during his bond hearing in a Seminole County, Fla., courtroom on April 20.

A Florida judge this afternoon revoked George Zimmernan's bond and ordered that the man who killed teenager Trayvon Martin surrender himself to authorities within 48 hours, the Orlando Sentinel writes.

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The Two-Way
12:34 pm
Fri June 1, 2012

'Help' Hizzoner: Tell Bloomberg What To Ban Next

Credit Justin Sullivan / Getty Images
What's he got his eye on now? New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg.

Originally published on Fri June 1, 2012 3:59 pm

So, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) wants to ban nearly all sales of big, sugary drinks.

Goodbye Big Gulp.

This comes after his earlier campaigns to stamp out smoking and trans fats.

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The Two-Way
11:41 am
Fri June 1, 2012

Nation's Worst Dressers Are In Anchorage, Survey Says

Credit Michael Dinneen / AP
High fashion in Anchorage. (Just kidding! It's a photo from the 2011 Iditarod.)

Which U.S. city has the worst-dressed citizens?

According to readers of Travel and Leisure magazine, it's Anchorage.

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The Two-Way
11:28 am
Fri June 1, 2012

Obama, Romney Have Sharply Different Takes On Weak Jobs News

Earlier, Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney blamed what he said have been President Obama's "failed" economic policies for the nation's stubbornly high unemployment rate and weak job growth.

In Minnesota this hour, President Obama conceded "we've got a lot of work to do before we get to where we need to be," but also claimed credit for policies that he said prevented another Great Depression after the financial crisis of 2008.

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The Two-Way
8:57 am
Fri June 1, 2012

Crazy For The Queen's Diamond Jubilee? Here's A Guide To The Guides

Credit Lewis Whyld / AFP/Getty Images
Britain's Queen Elizabeth II in London on Wednesday.

If royal watching's your kind of thing, the next four days are going to be a treat.

Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee celebration — marking 60 years on the throne — looks like it will be quite a show. Sunday's huge flotilla alone is predicted to be "the most spectacular nautical event seen in London for 350 years."

Want to know when to tune in?

The official website of the British Monarchy, of course, has a ton of information.

For broadcast schedules, though, you need to look elsewhere.

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The Two-Way
7:33 am
Fri June 1, 2012

Stocks Drop On Weak Jobs News

Originally published on Fri June 1, 2012 2:57 pm

Stock prices fell on Wall Street today as investors digested the much-weaker-than-expected report on job growth in May.

The damage? The Dow plunged 274 points or 2.2 percent. The Nasdaq fell 80 points or 2.82 percent.

CNN Money reports the Dow had the worst day of 2012, erasing "all its gains for the year."

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The Two-Way
6:44 am
Fri June 1, 2012

Unemployment Rate Rises To 8.2 Percent In May; Just 69,000 Jobs Added

Originally published on Fri June 1, 2012 11:31 am

Horrid. Lousy. Awful.

Those are just three of the words economists are using to describe the news that just 69,000 net jobs were added to public and private payrolls last month — and that the nation's jobless rate edged up to 8.2 percent from April's 8.1 percent.

The news has raised fears that the hoped-for strengthening of the economy may not materialize.

We posted on the news and followed with details from the report and reaction to it. It's now 11:22 am. ET, here's our original post and earlier updates:

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The Two-Way
6:17 am
Fri June 1, 2012

Obama 'Sped Up Wave Of Cyberattacks Against Iran,' Says 'NYT'

This morning's talker:

"From his first months in office, President Obama secretly ordered increasingly sophisticated attacks on the computer systems that run Iran's main nuclear enrichment facilities, significantly expanding America's first sustained use of cyberweapons, according to participants in the program," The New York Times reports.

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The Two-Way
5:57 am
Fri June 1, 2012

'Hero' Of Seattle Shootings: 'I Just Threw The Frigging Stool' At Gunman

Credit Stephen Brashear / Getty Images
Left to right: Karen Eides, Tim Torres and David Gordon embrace as they kneel in front of a makeshift memorial outside the cafe in Seattle where a gunman killed four people.

Lawrence Adams doesn't want to be called a hero, but many in Seattle are saying that's just what he is.

As The Seattle Times reports this morning, police believe Adams saved the lives of at least three people on Wednesday when he picked up a stool at a cafe and threw it at a gunman who killed four people there. Adams' action distracted the gunman, identified as Ian Stawicki, and allowed Adams and some others to escape.

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The Two-Way
5:09 am
Fri June 1, 2012

Did Jobs Grow Fast Enough In May? Probably Not

Credit Kevork Djansezian / Getty Images
Hoping for work: Job seekrs lined up Thursday at a job fair in Los Angeles.

Originally published on Fri June 1, 2012 6:35 am

Breaking news at 8:34 a.m. ET: "Unemployment Rate 8.2 Percent In May As Just 69,000 Jobs Added

Our original post:

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The Two-Way
12:31 pm
Thu May 31, 2012

Wal-Mart Pulls Out Of Group That Advocates 'Stand Your Ground' Laws

Credit Julie Fletcher / AP
Selina Gray of Sanford, Fla., at a protest there on March 31.

Wal-Mart has joined the list of major corporations withdrawing their support from a conservative political group that advocates the "Stand Your Ground" laws that came under intense focus after the Trayvon Martin killing became a national story.

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The Two-Way
11:39 am
Thu May 31, 2012

Russia Is 'Propping Up' The Assad Regime, Secretary Clinton Says

By resisting efforts at the United Nations to bring concerted pressure on Syrian President Bashar Assad to end the killing in his country, Russia is "in effect, propping up the [Assad] regime at a time when we should be working on a political transition," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said earlier today in Copenhagen.

Clinton also told an audience that Russia's implicit support for Assad could "help contribute to a civil war" in Syria, The Associated Press reports.

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The Two-Way
9:41 am
Thu May 31, 2012

Defense Of Marriage Act Is Unconstitutional, Federal Court Rules

Originally published on Thu May 31, 2012 10:05 am

"A federal appeals court Thursday declared that the Defense of Marriage Act unconstitutionally denies federal benefits to married gay couples, a ruling all but certain to wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court," The Associated Press reports from Boston.

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The Two-Way
9:08 am
Thu May 31, 2012

What Tweets Do Politicians Delete? 'Politwoops' Can Tell You

Credit Politwoops

Originally published on Thu May 31, 2012 10:01 am

Most of what they're catching isn't all that exciting, but the folks at the Sunlight Foundation have launched something that has the potential to expose elected officials and politicians as they try to hide embarrassing things that get on to their Twitter feeds.

Politwoops, Sunlight says, is "the only comprehensive collection of deleted tweets by U.S. politicians. From minor typos to major gaffes, Politwoops is now there to offer a searchable window into what they hoped you didn't see."

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The Two-Way
8:30 am
Thu May 31, 2012

'We Could See This Coming,' Brother Says Of Man ID'd In Seattle Killings

Credit Seattle Police Department / AFP/Getty Images
This frame grab from a security camera, released by the Seattle Police Department, shows a man identified by his brother as Ian Stawicki after Wednesday's shooting at Cafe Racer.

The man who reportedly shot and killed five people Wednesday in Seattle, before taking his own life, changed about five years ago into a mentally ill individual who was "really angry toward everything," his brother tells The Seattle Times.

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The Two-Way
6:28 am
Thu May 31, 2012

Private Employers Added 133,000 Jobs In May, Report Says

Originally published on Thu May 31, 2012 6:49 am

The number of jobs on private employers' payrolls grew by a modest 133,000 positions from April to May, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.

ADP's monthly report is sometimes a decent barometer of what the Bureau of Labor Statistics will say when it issues its employment estimates. We're due to hear from BLS about the May employment situation on Friday at 8:30 a.m. ET.

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The Two-Way
6:14 am
Thu May 31, 2012

Youngest Speller Is Out Of The Bee; Tripped Up By 'Ingluvies'

Credit Mark Wilson / Getty Images
Six-year old Lori Anne Madison during Wednesday's competition at the National Spelling Bee.

The youngest contestant ever in the National Spelling Bee, 6-year-old Lori Anne Madison of Woodbridge, Va., was foiled by a word most of us have probably never heard of before.

Ingluvies.

Definition: "The crop, or craw, of birds."

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The Two-Way
5:11 am
Thu May 31, 2012

LIVE: SpaceX Capsule Heads Home

Originally published on Thu May 31, 2012 11:03 am

The Dragon capsule has successfully detached from the International Space Station and is headed toward a splashdown in the Pacific that should happen around 11:45 a.m. ET.

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The Two-Way
4:59 am
Thu May 31, 2012

Bloomberg Aims To Take Gulp Out Of Sugary Drinks With Ban On Big Ones

Credit Joe Raedle / Getty Images
Bloomberg's got his sights on these.

Originally published on Thu May 31, 2012 6:04 am

Having gone after smoking and artificial trans fats, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg now has his eye on big sugary drinks.

As NY1 reports, the mayor:

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The Two-Way
1:55 pm
Wed May 30, 2012

Banned In Idaho, 'Five Wives' Vodka Says It Meant No Offense

Credit Brian Skoloff / AP
Bottles of Ogden's Own Distillery Five Wives Vodka at a state liquor store in Salt Lake City.

Originally published on Wed May 30, 2012 3:47 pm

They're "five wives who just like to get together and have a cocktail."

They're not meant to be a direct reference to polygamy and those kittens they're holding in their laps are ... just part of a photograph that's reflective of the 1890s to early 1900s.

For all anyone knows, they might be lesbians.

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The Two-Way
12:47 pm
Wed May 30, 2012

Pakistani Court Did Not Connect Doctor's Conviction To Bin Laden Hunt

The Pakistani doctor who American officials say was recruited by the CIA to help in the hunt for Osama bin Laden, and has since been sentenced to 33 years in prison, was convicted of having ties to a banned militant group, not for alleged treason.

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