Morning Edition on NPR & Classical Music

In the latest installment of NPR's Ultimate Workout Mix, we hear from IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman about what music he listens to while doing his taxes.

Over the weekend, tornadoes ripped through several states, killing at least five people in Oklahoma and causing millions in damage to communities. Among the hardest hit areas was Wichita, Kan., which has seen its share of hardship over the past several years.

The Egyptian elections were thrown an unexpected curve when 10 presidential candidates were disqualified from the ballot. They include hopefuls from the Muslim Brotherhood and the old guard.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Lynn Neary is in for Renee this week. Lynn, welcome to the program.

LYNN NEARY, HOST:

Good to be here.

President Obama is back in Washington this morning, after a weekend summit in Colombia. The gathering with leaders from throughout the Americas produced some agreement on trade and some disagreement on drug policy in Cuba.

The man who has confessed to carrying out Norway's worst peace-time atrocity went on trial Monday. Anders Behring Breivik is accused of carrying out a twin bombing and shooting rampage that killed 77 people and wounded dozens last July. He told the court: "I admit to the acts, but not criminal guilt."

How do you measure who is an effective teacher?

More states are wrestling with that question, now that the Obama administration is encouraging schools to evaluate teachers with a combination of student test scores and classroom observations.

The question of whether teacher evaluations are reliable indicators for teacher effectiveness has long been controversial. But New York City reignited the debate when it rated thousands of teachers with test scores alone — and then released those ratings to the public.

Jeff Jensen got interested in the Titanic when he was just nine years old. Later, his father bought him a replica of the ship that was made from 50,000 matchsticks.

Boudin is a Cajun specialty — sausage filled with rice, pork and herbs. And since Scott, La., is starting a Boudin festival, the state legislature crowned it the "Boudin Capital of the World." Nevermind there are two other Boudin capitals of the world. But Jennings, La., trumps them all. Years ago, it was crowned the "Boudin Capital of the Universe."

North Korea has failed in its attempt to send a satellite into space. U.S. military officials say the rocket broke apart shortly after launch on Friday.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne with the catch of the day. Officials from the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources captured, tagged and released a sturgeon weighing over 240 pounds. That makes this fish, a female, the largest on record for the state. One scientist estimates she's 125 years old. The sturgeon is old enough to have been around when Grover Cleveland was president, but a few years too young to remember a first edition of "Moby Dick." It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.