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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5:40am

Sat May 11, 2013
The Two-Way

Top Stories: Cleveland Kidnapping; Benghazi Emails

Credit Thomas Ondrey / The Plain Dealer /Landov

Good morning.

As the day gets going, the top stories include:

-- Cleveland Kidnap Victim Michelle Knight Released From Hospital; Thanks Community, Asks For Privacy. (Plain Dealer)

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11:56am

Fri May 10, 2013
The Two-Way

Criminal Probe Launched In Texas Fertilizer Plant Blast

Credit Mike Stone / Reuters /Landov

Authorities in Texas announced Friday that they're launching a criminal investigation into the April 17 fertilizer plant explosion that killed 15 people and devastated the small community of West.

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11:51am

Fri May 10, 2013
The Two-Way

IRS Apologizes For Singling Out Tea Party And Patriot Groups

Originally published on Fri May 10, 2013 5:14 pm

Credit Dennis Brack / Landov

Update at 6:10 p.m. ET: White House: IRS was 'Inappropriate':

White House press secretary Jay Carney called the IRS actions "inappropriate" and said they should be investigated.

Carney, speaking to reporters Friday afternoon, noted that the Internal Revenue Service is an independent agency with only two political appointees.

Here's our original post:

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10:29am

Fri May 10, 2013
The Two-Way

'Monkeemobile' Creator Dean Jeffries Dies

Credit Steve Marcus / Reuters/Landov

Dean Jeffries, the car customizer who created the "Monkeemobile" for The Monkees TV show, "Black Beauty" for The Green Hornet and who painted two famous words on actor James Dean's Porsche 550 Spyder, died last weekend at his Hollywood home. He was 80. A son says Jeffries died in his sleep.

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8:44am

Fri May 10, 2013
The Two-Way

Jacob & Sophia Rule Among Baby Names, Liz & Liam Are Hot

Originally published on Mon May 13, 2013 7:09 am

If this was a contest, some might call for the name Jacob to be retired after so many wins.

According to the Social Security Administration:

"Jacob and Sophia are repeat champions as America's most popular baby names for 2012. This is the fourteenth year in a row Jacob tops the list for boys and the second year for Sophia."

Rounding out the top 10 lists:

Girls / Boys

2. Emma / Mason

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7:51am

Fri May 10, 2013
The Two-Way

Cleveland Kidnapping Suspect Could Face Thousands Of Charges

Originally published on Fri May 10, 2013 9:56 am

Credit Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images
  • Brian Bull of WCPN reports

Update at 10:45 a.m. ET. DNA Testing Confirms Suspect Is Child's Father, Ohio Attorney General Says:

Preliminary DNA tests confirm that Ariel Castro, the man charged with kidnapping and repeatedly raping three young women held captive in his Cleveland home for about a decade, is the father of a girl born to one of the victims six years ago, Ohio's attorney general announced Friday morning.

A statement posted by Attorney General Mike DeWine's office says:

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6:24am

Fri May 10, 2013
The Two-Way

FBI Says Data About Probe Of Bombing Suspect Was Shared

Originally published on Fri May 10, 2013 7:43 am

Credit Neal Hamberg / Reuters /Landov
  • From 'Morning Edition': Brian Naylor reports

Boston Police Chief Edward Davis told Congress on Thursday that before the Boston Marathon bombings, his department wasn't aware the FBI had questioned Tamerlan Tsarnaev in recent years about whether he had been in contact with Muslim extremists in Dagestan.

As far as he knew, Davis said, the FBI did not share that information with local authorities.

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6:09am

Fri May 10, 2013
The Two-Way

Reports: Survivor Rescued 17 Days After Bangladesh Building Collapse

Originally published on Fri May 10, 2013 12:25 pm

Credit Parvez Ahmad Rony / AP

(Most recent update: 1:15 p.m. ET.)

There's incredible news from Bangladesh:

"Miraculous as it may sound," a survivor was rescued Friday from the rubble of the eight-story building that collapsed 17 days ago near Dhaka, The Daily Star reported this morning.

That story from Bangladesh's English-language newspaper has been followed with these bulletins from other news outlets:

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1:45pm

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

After 100,000+ Downloads, Group With 3-D Gun Plans Goes Dark

Credit Defense Distributed

Minutes ago, just as we were reading a Forbes story headlined "3D-Printed Gun's Blueprints Downloaded 100,000 Times In Two Days," this message appeared on the Twitter page of the group that has made those plans available to the world:

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11:30am

Thu May 9, 2013

10:13am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Everton's Moyes To Replace Ferguson At Man United

Credit Peter Powell / EPA /LANDOV

One day after the world's most famous soccer coach announced his upcoming retirement, his replacement has been chosen.

The English Premier League's Everton Football Club announced Thursday that manager David Moyes would step down after its last game this season, on May 19. According to the club:

"The manager met Chairman Bill Kenwright early yesterday evening (Wednesday 8th May) and confirmed his desire to join Manchester United."

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9:33am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Boston Bombing Suspect's Body Finally 'Entombed,' Police Say

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 9:54 am

Credit FBI.gov

The body of Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev "is now entombed," the Worcester, Mass., police department announced Thursday morning.

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8:50am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Boston's Top Cop: Boost Security, But Avoid 'Police State'

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 12:29 pm

Credit Michael Reynolds / EPA /LANDOV

(We put a new top on this post at 1:25 p.m. ET.)

"The FBI never told the Boston police or the Massachusetts State Police about possible Russian terror connections of the suspected Marathon bombers until three and half days after the attack, law enforcement officials testified today before the House Homeland Security Committee," ABC News writes.

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8:07am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Jobless Claims Stay Near 5-Year Low

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 9:16 am

There were 323,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, down 4,000 from the week before, the Employment and Training Administration says.

Note: As often happens, the previous week's figure is a slight revision from what was reported earlier. Initially, the ETA said there had been 324,000 first-time claims during the week ending April 27. Now, it says there were 327,000 that week.

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7:38am

Thu May 9, 2013
The Two-Way

Reports: Cousin Of Boston Suspects Is A 'Prominent Islamist'

Credit FBI.gov

Russian investigators have questioned a distant cousin of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev about meetings the two of them had in Dagestan during 2012, Time magazine reports.

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