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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12:10pm

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Murder, Hate Crime Charges Filed Against Tulsa Suspects

The two suspects in last Friday's killings in Tulsa of three African-Americans and wounding of two others were formally charged today with "three counts each of first-degree murder, two counts of shooting with intent to kill and five counts of malicious intimidation or harassment," the Tulsa World repo

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12:00pm

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Trayvon's Mother: Encounter Was An Accident, Shooting Was Not

Credit Jacquelyn Martin / AP

After saying Thursday morning on The Today Show that she thought her son's death "was an accident," Trayvon Martin's mother went on other news broadcasts later in the day to say she only thinks the encounter between her son and George Zimmerman was accidental.

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11:25am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Tax Procrastinators Have Until Tuesday

Originally published on Fri April 13, 2012 11:26 am

Still haven't filed your federal income tax return?

Since you may be a procrastinator, you may not have looked at the calendar lately. So we want to make sure you know that Sunday is April 15th.

But you also might not have realized that this year the deadline is the 17th.

Why?

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9:58am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Obamas And Bidens Release 2011 Tax Returns

The White House just posted word that President Obama and first lady Michelle Obama filed 2011 tax returns showing an "adjusted gross income of $789,674" and that they paid "$162,074 in total [federal] tax." That works out to about 20.5 percent of the AGI.

About half of the first family's income was from the president's salary. The rest came from royalties generated by his books. According to the White House:

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9:40am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Slain New Hampshire Police Chief Was One Week From Retirement

Credit Greenland N.H. Police Department / AP

One week from today, Chief Michael Maloney was due to retire from the Greenland, N.H., police department.

Thursday night, he was killed during a drug bust in which four officers were also wounded. The man authorities were trying to arrest, and a female acquaintance, were later found dead inside the home where the raid took place. Authorities believe they may have died in a murder-suicide.

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9:00am

Fri April 13, 2012

8:45am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Today's Hero: Newark Mayor Cory Booker, For Going Into A Burning Building

Credit Mel Evans / AP
  • Mayor Cory Booker on 'Tell Me More'

"When Chuck Norris has nightmares, Cory Booker turns on the light & sits with him until he falls back asleep."

That's just one of many funny tweets showing up this morning attached to the hashtag #corybookerstories.

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8:05am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Tame Inflation Report Gives Federal Reserve Reason To Stay Easy

The news that consumer prices rose a relatively modest 0.3 percent in March from February supports "the view the U.S. Federal Reserve has room to provide more support for the economy if needed," Reuters concludes. It adds that:

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7:30am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

It's Friday The 13th, So Say It All Together: 'Paraskevidekatriaphobia'

Originally published on Fri April 13, 2012 7:52 am

Credit iStockphoto.com

You can't say we haven't warned you about Friday the 13ths, and offered a tip for how to get over any fear of such supposedly scary days.

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7:15am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Syrian Activists Claim Regime Is Using Force To Break Up Demonstrations

On Day Two of the fragile ceasefire in Syria, activists say that government forces have fired on some anti-Assad regime demonstrators in various parts of the nation.

Reporting from Beirut, NPR's Grant Clark tells our Newscast Desk that activists say security forces began massing outside mosques during Friday prayers, just before the start of protests.

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6:45am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Holy Hail! Photos, Videos Show Texas Storm's Fury; Drifts 4-Feet Deep

Originally published on Fri April 13, 2012 6:46 am

6:00am

Fri April 13, 2012
The Two-Way

Failed Missile Test May Make North Korea More Belligerent

Credit Pedro Ugarte / AFP/Getty Images
  • Louisa Lim on 'Morning Edition'

The disintegration of North Korea's latest long-range missile shortly after liftoff today may just make that communist nation even more belligerent and more likely to test a nuclear weapon or take other provocative actions, NPR's Louisa Lim reports from Seoul.

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9:35am

Thu April 12, 2012
The Two-Way

Trayvon's Mother Wants Justice, But Also Believes Death 'Was An Accident'

Originally published on Fri April 13, 2012 12:17 pm

Update at 1:15 p.m. ET, April 13: Since we first published this post, Sybrina Fulton has gone on other news programs to clarify her comments. We have a new post here, headlined "Trayvon's Mother: Encounter Was An Accident, Shooting Was Not."

Our original post:

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9:00am

Thu April 12, 2012
The Two-Way

'Fox Mole' At Gawker Is Revealed, Suspended

Originally published on Thu April 12, 2012 9:56 am

Credit Gawker

We had steered clear of this topic the past few days because his posts certainly haven't been family-friendly material.

But now "The Fox Mole" who was filing dispatches for Gawker from inside Fox News Channel's operations in New York City has been uncovered.

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7:40am

Thu April 12, 2012
The Two-Way

Jobless Claims Rose By 13,000 Last Week

There were 13,000 more first-time claims for jobless benefits last week than the week before, the Employment and Training Administration just reported.

The agency says there were 380,000 such applications, up from 367,000 (a number that has been revised upward; previously, the agency had estimated there were 357,000 claims in the week ended March 31).

Claims had been running at the lowest pace since March and April 2008. At 380,000, the pace is the lowest since June 2008.

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