It's All Politics
6:25 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Monday Political Grab Bag: Romney Wins In PR; Race Heads To Illinois

Credit Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images
Mitt Romney at Charlie Parker's Diner in Springfield, IL, March 19, 2012.

Mitt Romney won Puerto Rico's Republican presidential primary Sunday, adding the commonwealth's 20 delegates to his commanding lead over the other candidates as they compete to reach the 1,144 needed for the nomination. Rick Santorum hurt himself with the island's voters by saying English had to become its official language before it could achieve statehood.

Read more
NPR Story
6:05 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Apple To Buy Back Stock, Pay Dividend

Originally published on Mon March 19, 2012 6:06 am

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with Apple's giant pile of money.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

INSKEEP: The maker of iPads, iPhones and computers is sitting on almost one hundred billion dollars in cash and securities. And today, Apple announced that it will spend some of that money paying a stock dividend to shareholders and buying back some company stock. NPR's Steve Henn has been following developments, and joins us on the line from Silicon Valley. Steve, good morning.

STEVE HENN, BYLINE: Good morning.

Read more
The Two-Way
5:45 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Apple To Buy Back $10B In Shares; Pay Dividend Of $2.65 Per Share

Credit Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images
On Friday, Apple started selling the latest version of its iPad.

The Associated Press just moved this alert:

"Apple says it will use its cash to start paying dividend of $2.65, buy back $10B in shares."

Read more
Washington Government Transparency
5:38 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Washington Scores Well On Transparency, But Up To Citizens To Verify

Credit Photo by: Potjie / Flickr photostream (Creative Commons licensed)
The Washington Senate chamber and public gallery.

OLYMPIA -- Washington’s Public Records Act and other transparency measures have earned the state a high score in a nationwide study. The State Integrity Investigation looked at every state’s disclosure practices. It ranked Washington third in the country, with a letter grade of "B-."

But budget cuts are curtailing investigations by government watchdogs. And all three branches of government have tried to put more of their records outside the law’s scrutiny. KUOW’s Amy Radil reports.

Read more
The Two-Way
5:30 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Soldier Suspected In Massacre To Meet With Lawyer Today

Credit Spc. Ryan Hallock / AFP/Getty Images
Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales during an August 2011 training exercise at Fort Irwin, Calif.

Here are some of the latest developments concerning the March 11 killings of 16 civilians in southern Afghanistan and the U.S. Army staff sergeant, Robert Bales, who is suspected of carrying out the massacre:

-- Defense attorney John Henry Browne will today "have his first face-to-face meeting with the 10-year Army veteran, who is being held in an isolated cell at Fort Leavenworth's military prison in Kansas," The Associated Press reports.

Read more
Accused Washington Soldier
5:27 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Seattle Defense Attorneys To Meet With Bales In Kansas

Credit Photo source: High Desert Warrior
Staff Sgt. Robert Bales

FORT LEAVENWORTH, Kansas -- The man accused of killing 16 Afghan civilians has had a brief phone conversation with his wife and two children. But efforts are underway to arrange a face-to-face meeting. That’s according to one of the attorneys for Army Staff Sgt. Robert Bales. Correspondent Austin Jenkins reports Bales’ defense team will spend the next two days interviewing him at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas.

Read more
Electric Vehicles
5:24 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Interstate 5 Will Soon Be An Electric Highway

CENTRAL POINT, Ore. -- It’s getting easier to take an electric car on a Northwest road-trip. As Amelia Templeton reports, I-5 is going electric.

There’s a Chevron station just off of I-5 in Central Point, Oregon. You can buy gas here. Its more than 4 dollars a gallon. Or you can plug in an electric car for free, and charge it in about 20 minutes. The Oregon Department of Transportation has just opened 8 charging stations like this one in Southern Oregon.

Neal Appleton brought his Nissan Leaf.

Read more
Idaho Government Accountability
5:18 am
Mon March 19, 2012

Idaho Nearly Fails Government Accountability Report Card

Credit Photo by Eric Hunt / Wikimedia Commons
The inside of the Idaho State Capitol Dome.

BOISE, Idaho – A new investigative project ranks Idaho 40th out of 50 states for government accountability and openness. The Gem State fails six categories outright, including ethics enforcement agencies. As Scott Ki reports, The study comes out Monday as state senators investigate one of their own.

Read more
Oregon Water Quality
5:15 am
Mon March 19, 2012

EPA Gives Oregon Water Report A Mixed Review

SALEM, Ore. -- Oregon’s 2010 water quality report has earned a mixed review from the U.S. EPA.

Read more

Pages