Mark Memmott

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Mark Memmott joined NPR News in the spring of 2009 to launch a new blog, "The Two-Way," with co-blogger Frank James.

"The Two-Way" is the place where NPR.org gives readers breaking news and analysis — and where it engages users in conversations ("two-ways") about the most compelling stories being reported by NPR News and other news media.

Memmott came to NPR from USA Today, where for over 20 years he worked as a reporter and editor on subjects ranging from politics and, foreign affairs to economics and the media.

In recent years he helped launch and then led three different news blogs at USATODAY.com, including the website's 2008 presidential campaign blog, On Politics.

Pages

7:50am

Thu May 2, 2013
The Two-Way

Rapper Chris Kelly Dies, 'Jump' Was Hit For Duo Kris Kross

Originally published on Fri May 3, 2013 8:11 am

Credit KrisKrossVEVO
  • LISTEN: A clip from "Jump"

Update at 8:10 a.m. ET, May 3. A New Post:

Read more

11:27am

Wed May 1, 2013
The Two-Way

Judge Doubles Down On Double Entendres In Strip Club Case

Originally published on Wed May 1, 2013 6:27 pm

Credit WOAI.com

In what Huffington Post Business calls "one of the funniest, most eloquent court documents we've ever seen," a federal judge in Texas has loaded up his ruling on a case involving San Antonio strip clubs with at least 17 double entendres.

Read more

11:26am

Wed May 1, 2013
The Two-Way

Boston Police: Three More Suspects In Custody

Originally published on Wed May 1, 2013 4:53 pm

Credit FBI

(Most recent update: 4:36 p.m. ET.)

Three 19-year-old men — two of them University of Massachusetts Dartmouth college students from Kazakhstan who were friends with Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev — were taken into custody Wednesday by authorities in Boston. The third individual, an American citizen, was also a student at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, where Tsarnaev was enrolled.

Read more

9:37am

Wed May 1, 2013
The Two-Way

So, A Tiger Walks Into A Zoo ...

Originally published on Wed May 1, 2013 10:03 am

Credit Stephen Jaffe / AFP/Getty Images

This is no joke:

A wild male tiger, which seems to be in search of some female companionship, has been lured into eastern India's Nandankanan Zoological Park after several frightening nights for those in nearby villages.

According to the Deccan Herald:

Read more

8:59am

Wed May 1, 2013
The Two-Way

Slow Growth In April: Survey Shows 119,000 Jobs Added

Credit Rick Wilking / Reuters /Landov

A relatively weak 119,000 jobs were added to private employers' payrolls last month as federal spending cuts and tax increases began to bite, according to the latest ADP National Employment Report.

Read more

7:52am

Wed May 1, 2013
The Two-Way

Boston Bombing: No Death Penalty If Suspect Cooperates?

Originally published on Wed May 1, 2013 8:51 am

Credit FBI.gov

Following up on word there have been discussions between lawyers for Boston Marathon bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev and federal investigators about sparing him from the possibility of the death penalty if he provides valuable information about the attacks, NPR counterterrorism correspondent

Read more

6:52am

Wed May 1, 2013
The Two-Way

U.S. Said To Be Leaning Toward Arming Syrian Rebels

Originally published on Wed May 1, 2013 8:46 am

Credit Maysun / EPA /LANDOV
  • From 'Morning Edition': NPR's Kelly McEvers on the U.S. options regarding Syria

As the U.S. considers a "spectrum of military options" it could take to assist the groups battling against the regime of Syrian President Bashar Assad, the Obama administration is leaning toward giving lethal arms to some of those rebels, a senior administration official has told NPR's Kelly McEvers.

Read more

2:12pm

Tue April 30, 2013
The Two-Way

Hic, Hic, Hic: TV Weatherman Keeps Going Despite Hiccups

Credit KHOU.com

We admire KHOU-TV meteorologist David Paul's good-natured determination.

Check how he handled it when a case of the hiccups hit during his time on the air Monday evening.

And in the comments thread, please share any stories of a time when hiccups hit. Also: your surefire cure.

Read more

10:10am

Tue April 30, 2013
The Two-Way

Home Prices Continue To Rise Across The Nation

Credit Jonathan Ernst / Reuters /Landov

There were solid increases in home prices during the month of February across all 20 major cities where that data is tracked, according to the latest S&am

Read more

9:56am

Tue April 30, 2013
The Two-Way

In Japan: Running Out Of Places To Put Radioactive Water

Credit Tokyo Electric Power Co. / Reuters /Landov

Adding to reporting from NPR, The Associated Press and other news outlets, The New York Times writes Tuesday that:

Read more

9:08am

Tue April 30, 2013
The Two-Way

Obama To Hold News Conference This Morning

Originally published on Tue April 30, 2013 2:02 pm

Credit Larry Downing / Reuters /Landov
  • President Obama's April 30, 2013, news conference

(We updated the top of this post with a recap at 11:45 a.m. ET.)

Joking that a reporter's question Tuesday about whether he has "any juice" left to get things done in Washington made it sound like "I should just pack up and go home," President Obama paraphrased Mark Twain:

"Rumors of my demise may be a little exaggerated," the president said, as he predicted that an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws will be among the things that get accomplished in his second term.

Read more

7:53am

Tue April 30, 2013
The Two-Way

Orange Is Everywhere As Dutch Welcome New King

Originally published on Tue April 30, 2013 12:12 pm

Credit Patrick Van Katwijk / DPA /LANDOV

7:08am

Tue April 30, 2013
The Two-Way

Dozen People Under Investigation In Boston Bombing Probe

Originally published on Tue April 30, 2013 10:38 am

Credit FBI.gov
  • From the NPR Newscast: Dina Temple-Raston reports

The investigation into the April 15 bombings at the Boston Marathon is widening, with authorities looking at about a dozen people to see whether they might have helped the two main suspects either before or after the attack, law enforcement officials familiar with the probe tell NPR's Dina Temple-Raston.

Read more

12:50pm

Mon April 29, 2013
The Two-Way

NBA's Jason Collins Is First Active Player To Come Out As Gay

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 10:39 pm

Credit Jim Young / Reuters /Landov

"I didn't set out to be the first openly gay athlete playing in a major American team sport," National Basketball Association center Jason Collins writes in a Sports Illustrated essay posted Monday, "but since I am, I'm happy to start the conversation."

With that, the 34-year-old veteran of 12 NBA seasons and six pro teams becomes the first active player in the four major American team sports to come out.

Read more

11:58am

Mon April 29, 2013
The Two-Way

At Holocaust Museum, Clinton & Wiesel Urge Young To Remember

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 11:59 am

Credit Nicholas Kamm / AFP/Getty Images

"You are our witnesses because you will go beyond our lives," Nobel laureate Elie Wiesel told the world's young people Monday morning during an event to mark the 20th anniversary of the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum's opening.

Read more

11:47am

Mon April 29, 2013
The Two-Way

Crazy Photo: Reporter Snaps Pic As Baseball Nearly Beans Her

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 12:40 pm

Credit @KNashSports

When Fox Sun Sports reporter Kelly Nash was at Fenway Park in Boston on Saturday to cover the Houston Astros' game with the Red Sox, she decided to take a few "selfie" photos while atop the famous Green Monster in left field.

Below, batting practice was underway. So some balls were flying in her direction. Nash turned her back to the field, held her smartphone up and started snapping.

And when she looked at one of the photos she'd just taken, Nash says, she discovered she'd come much closer to being beaned than she'd realized.

Read more

9:23am

Mon April 29, 2013

8:50am

Mon April 29, 2013
The Two-Way

Tim Tebow Cut By NFL's Jets

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 9:54 am

Credit John Angelillo / UPI /Landov

In 2011, he was the hottest name in football, for his "Tebowing" and for leading the Denver Broncos into the playoffs.

Before the 2012 season, he was traded to the New York Jets — putting him smack dab in the center of the brightest of the media's spotlights.

Read more

8:00am

Mon April 29, 2013
The Two-Way

I Would Have Stopped Him, 'Misha' Says Of Bombing Suspect

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 6:32 pm

Credit FBI.gov

The man known as Misha who relatives of the Boston Marathon bombing suspects have alleged may have turned the elder Tsarnaev brother toward a radical form of Islam says he did no such thing and would have tried to stop the attack if he had known about it.

"I wasn't his teacher," Mikhail Allakhverdov (Misha) said Sunday of Tamerlan Tsarnaev. "If I had been his teacher, I would have made sure he never did anything like this."

Read more

7:12am

Mon April 29, 2013
The Two-Way

Dozens Injured By Blast In Prague; Gas Leak Suspected

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 8:34 am

Credit Martin Mraz / EPA /LANDOV

An explosion at an office building in the the Czech capital on Monday injured at least several dozen people and may have left some victims trapped in rubble.

The early thinking was that a natural gas leak led to the disaster in the center of Prague, police spokesman Tomas Hulan said, according to The Associated Press.

Read more

6:46am

Mon April 29, 2013
The Two-Way

Sen. Manchin Says Background Checks Bill Will Pass Next Time

Originally published on Mon April 29, 2013 9:09 am

Credit Andrew Harnik / The Washington Times /Landov

Sen. Joe Manchin says he's going to reintroduce his bill that expands background checks for gun purchases to sales made at gun shows and online, and he predicts that the second time around, it will get enough votes to move out of the Senate.

Read more

12:16pm

Fri April 26, 2013
The Two-Way

House OKs Bill To End Air Traffic Controllers' Furloughs

The furloughs of air traffic controllers that have slowed air travel in the past week and frustrated thousands of fliers should soon come to an end.

By a vote of 361-41, the House of Representatives just passed legislation that would allow the secretary of transportation to shift up to $253 million in funds so that controllers no longer have to be furloughed to meet the requirements of sequestration (the mandated, across-the-board spending cuts that began taking hold March 1).

Read more

10:51am

Fri April 26, 2013
The Two-Way

Country Star George Jones Dies

Originally published on Fri April 26, 2013 4:47 pm

Credit Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Country superstar George Jones, known for "He Stopped Loving Her Today" and a long string of other hits, has died.

He was 81.

According to Webster & Associates, the Nashville public relations firm that represented Jones, he died Friday at Vanderbilt University Medical Center. He was hospitalized there on April 18 for treatment of a fever and irregular blood pressure, the p.r. firm adds.

Read more

9:24am

Fri April 26, 2013
The Two-Way

Big Night For Big Men In Round 1 Of NFL Draft

Originally published on Fri April 26, 2013 4:47 pm

Credit Rich Kane / UPI /Landov

One year after glamour quarterbacks were the big story, NFL teams mostly opted for big, beefy, bruisers during Round One of the 2013 NFL draft Thursday night.

Read more

8:57am

Fri April 26, 2013
The Two-Way

Economy Picked Up In First Quarter: Grew At 2.5 Percent Pace

Originally published on Sat April 27, 2013 1:20 pm

Credit Robyn Beck / AFP/Getty Images

The U.S. economy grew at a 2.5 percent annual rate in the first quarter of 2013, the Bureau of Economic Analysis estimated Friday morning.

That's modest growth, and was below the 3.2 percent pace economists had expected to hear about. But growth was up substantially from fourth-quarter 2012, when the economy expanded at a scant 0.4 percent annual rate.

Read more

7:53am

Fri April 26, 2013
The Two-Way

Dozens Dead After Fire In Russian Psychiatric Hospital

Credit Jiang Kehong / Xinhua /Landov

An estimated 38 people died early Friday at a psychiatric hospital north of Moscow when a fire swept through the facility.

The state news agency RIA Novosti says it has been told by a "police source" that most of the victims "died in their sleep [from] inhaling the fumes as they were likely sedated by prescribed medicine."

Read more

7:00am

Fri April 26, 2013
The Two-Way

Boston Bombing Suspect Moved To Prison Medical Center

Originally published on Fri April 26, 2013 11:52 am

Credit FBI.gov

Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, the surviving suspect in the April 15 Boston Marathon bombings and the crimes that followed, has been moved out of Boston's Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center "and is now confined at the Bureau of Prisons facility FMC Devens at Ft. Devens, Mass.," U.S. Marshals Service spokesman Drew Wade said in a statement emailed to reporters Friday morning.

Read more

1:58pm

Thu April 25, 2013
The Two-Way

Body Is ID'd As Missing Student Falsely Linked To Bombings

Credit Facebook.com

A body pulled out of the water earlier this week in Providence, R.I., has now been identified as that of 22-year-old Sunil Tripathi, a Brown University student who had been missing since March 15.

Read more

12:28pm

Thu April 25, 2013
The Two-Way

At Bush Library Dedication, Bipartisan Praise

Originally published on Thu April 25, 2013 1:00 pm

Four presidents praised another member of their exclusive club Thursday at the dedication of the George W. Presidential Library and Museum on the campus of Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Read more

9:48am

Thu April 25, 2013
The Two-Way

'We've Had Enough Bushies,' Says Former First Lady Barbara

Originally published on Thu April 25, 2013 10:48 am

Credit Tom Pennington / Getty Images

Thanks, mom.

On the day her son George's presidential library is being dedicated in Dallas, former first lady Barbara Bush has told NBC's Today show that "we've had enough Bushes" when it comes to seeing the presidency.

Read more

Pages