Mark Memmott, NPR

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.

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9:41am

Mon May 20, 2013
Business

Pledging Not to 'Screw it Up,' Yahoo Seals Deal For Tumblr

Originally published on Mon May 20, 2013 8:06 am

Credit Fred Dufour / AFP/Getty Images

The news that broke Sunday is now official.

Yahoo confirmed early Monday morning that it is buying Tumblr in a deal worth about $1.1 billion. "Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business," Yahoo added.

In its statement announcing the deal, Yahoo says that:

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12:46pm

Thu May 16, 2013
Politics

Obama: 'I Certainly Did Not Know' What the IRS Was Doing

Originally published on Thu May 16, 2013 6:39 pm

Credit Saul Loeb / AFP/Getty Images

Update at 5:38 p.m. ET. One More IRS Official To Leave

Another official is out at the embattled agency.

The Associated Press reports that Joseph Grant, commissioner of the IRS' tax exempt and government entities division, will retire June 3. The division scrutinized Tea Party groups when the applied for tax-exempt status.

Update at 4:45 p.m. ET. Obama Names New IRS Acting Chief

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10:38am

Thu May 16, 2013
Boston Bombings

Reports: Note Found in Boat Where Boston Suspect Hid

Originally published on Thu May 16, 2013 11:10 am

Credit Darren McCollester / Getty Images

In a message written on a wall of the boat where he was found hiding, Boston bombings suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev claimed responsibility for the attack and said it was motivated by anger over the Afghan and Iraq wars, sources familiar with what was found have told CBS News correspondent John Miller.

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6:30am

Thu May 16, 2013
Texas

Texas Tornado Leaves 6 Dead, Dozens Hurt, Hundreds Homeless

Originally published on Thu May 16, 2013 7:38 am

Credit Joyce Marshall / Fort Worth Star-Telegram / MCT / Landov

"A massive emergency response" is underway in North Texas, where tornadoes blew through Wednesday night, The Dallas Morning News says. A twister that hit Granbury, about 35 miles southwest of Fort Worth, left at least six people dead, more than 100 injured and even more homeless, The Associated Press adds.

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8:33am

Wed May 15, 2013
Military

Military Recruiters, Sex Assault Responders To Be Retrained

Originally published on Wed May 15, 2013 1:59 pm

Credit Jason Reed/pool / Getty Images

All branches of the U.S. military have been ordered "to retrain, re-credential and rescreen all sexual assault prevention and response personnel and military recruiters," the Pentagon confirmed Wednesday morning.

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1:32pm

Tue May 14, 2013
Politics

It's True: 'Mistakes Were Made' is the King of Non-Apologies

Originally published on Tue May 14, 2013 2:01 pm

Make no mistake, the acting commissioner of the IRS put himself in historic company Tuesday by writing in USA Today that "mistakes were made" when his agency singled out for extra scrut

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8:01am

Tue May 14, 2013
Health

Actress Angelina Jolie Shares Story of Her Double Mastectomy

Originally published on Tue May 14, 2013 7:47 am

Credit Alastair Grant / PA Photos /Landov

Saying she is "writing about it now because I hope that other women can benefit from my experience," actress Angelina Jolie reveals on the op-ed pages of The New York Times that she had a double mastectomy earlier this year to substantially reduce the chances she will develop breast cancer.

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12:13pm

Mon May 13, 2013
Middle East

Benghazi Talking Points Debate is a 'Sideshow,' Obama Says

Originally published on Mon May 13, 2013 12:13 pm

Republican questions about how and when changes were made to his administration's "talking points" about last September's attack on the U.S. Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, are a "sideshow," President Obama told reporters at the White House on Monday.

"There's no there, there," the president declared.

"What we have been clear about throughout," Obama insisted, is that "we were not clear who exactly had carried this out."

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10:28am

Mon May 13, 2013
Supreme Court

Supreme Court Rules For Monsanto In Case Against Farmer

Originally published on Mon May 13, 2013 9:50 am

Credit Dan Charles / NPR

A unanimous Supreme Court ruled Monday that an Indiana farmer infringed on Monsanto's patent when he planted soybeans that had been genetically modified by Monsanto without buying them from the agribusiness giant.

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1:27pm

Thu May 9, 2013
Guns

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

Originally published on Thu May 9, 2013 1:45 pm

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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12:34pm

Wed May 8, 2013
North Korea

'Do Me a Solid,' Diplomat Rodman Says to North Korea's Kim

Originally published on Wed May 8, 2013 11:52 am

Credit KCNA / EPA /LANDOV

America's unlikeliest link to North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has reached out to his friend in a bid to have an American citizen released from one of the communist nation's notorious labor camps.

"I'm calling on the Supreme Leader of North Korea or as I call him 'Kim', to do me a solid and cut Kenneth Bae loose," former basketball star Dennis Rodman tweets.

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2:50pm

Tue May 7, 2013
Movies

Ray Harryhausen, Master Of Stop-Motion Animation, Dies at 92

Originally published on Tue May 7, 2013 12:51 pm

Credit Hulton Archive / Getty Images

Ray Harryhausen, who brought sword-fighting skeletons to the 1963 movie Jason and the Argonauts and was known as the master of stop-motion animation for his work on that and other films such as Clash of the Titans and The Golden Voyage of Sinbad, has died.

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1:14pm

Mon May 6, 2013
Technology

Gun Made With 3-D Printer is Successfully Fired

Originally published on Mon May 6, 2013 12:22 pm

10:43am

Fri May 3, 2013
Sports

Three Horses to Watch This Saturday in the Kentucky Derby

Originally published on Sun May 5, 2013 8:27 am

Credit Andy Lyons / Getty Images

This is a post for everyone (like us) who tunes into horse racing just once a year, on the first Saturday in May when the Kentucky Derby is run. Here are three horses that those who pay much closer attention say you should know about:

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8:18am

Fri May 3, 2013
Economy

165,000 Jobs Added In April, Jobless Rate Fell To 7.5 Percent

Originally published on Fri May 3, 2013 9:05 am

Credit Spencer Platt / Getty Images

(Most recent update: 10 a.m. ET.)

The nation's jobless rate edged down to 7.5 percent in April from 7.6 percent in March and employers added 165,000 jobs to their payrolls last month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported Friday morning.

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