The Two-Way
8:40 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Boston's Back Bay Slowly Recovering After Smoky Fire Causes Chaos

Credit Bianca Vazquez Toness / WBUR
The smoke over Boston from Tuesday's electrical fire.
  • WBUR's Bianca Vazquez Toness
  • NPR's Tovia Smith

Repair crews are working this morning to restore power to thousands of homes and businesses in Boston's Back Bay district, "after two transformers caught fire Tuesday night, knocking out power" and sending think black smoke billowing over the area, our colleagues at WBUR report.

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Africa
8:16 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Congo Warlord Convicted Of Recruiting Child Soldiers

Judges at a war crimes tribunal convicted Congolese warlord Thomas Lubanga of snatching children from the street and turning them into killers. A sentencing hearing will now be scheduled. Lubanga faces a maximum sentence of life imprisonment.

The Two-Way
8:05 am
Wed March 14, 2012

'Tragic Day For All Of Belgium': 22 Children Killed In Bus Crash

Credit Sebastien Feval / AFP/Getty Images
The mangled front of the bus. The crash happened in a tunnel in Sierre, in the Swiss canton of Valais.

There's been a horrible traffic accident inside a Swiss tunnel. At least 28 people — 22 of them children mostly around the age of 12 — were killed Tuesday night when the bus they were in crashed.

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Presidential Race
7:58 am
Wed March 14, 2012

After Santorum Wins, Romney Hopes To Regain Edge

For Mitt Romney, the string of victories that would lock up the Republican nomination for president remains elusive.

Last week, Romney looked more or less inevitable to many political observers, thanks to his victories in six of the 10 states that voted on Super Tuesday.

But since then, the former Massachusetts governor has gone on a losing streak. He lost caucuses in Kansas, which voted on Saturday, and primaries in both Alabama and Mississippi, which voted Tuesday.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum won all three of those races.

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The Two-Way
7:45 am
Wed March 14, 2012

In Afghanistan, Panetta Says Mission Continues

  • Larry Abramson, reporting from Afghanistan

At Camp Leatherneck in southern Afghanistan today, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta urged U.S. military personnel to not be deterred from their mission and continue "to make life difficult" for the Taliban and al-Qaida, says NPR's Larry Abramson, who is travelling with Panetta.

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Around the Nation
7:40 am
Wed March 14, 2012

City Council Breaks Paper Products Stalemate

The City Council in Trenton, N.J., rejected a contract to supply paper products because they didn't like the high price of hot drink cups. But without the contract, the city also didn't buy toilet paper. Finally, the city had to approve an emergency purchase. Senior centers, police headquarters and other city offices were running out of toilet tissue.

Around the Nation
7:33 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Georgetown's Team Mascot Sidelined With Injury

March Madness has barely begun and a key figure in Georgetown basketball has suffered an injury. Team mascot Jack the Bulldog has torn the doggie version of his ACL. Jack's keeper tweeted the injury was likely from jumping on the couch.

The Two-Way
7:15 am
Wed March 14, 2012

6.8 Magnitude Quake Shakes Japan, But Tsunami Warning Canceled

The same general area of Japan that was devastated by an earthquake and tsunami almost exactly one year ago was rattled today by a 6.9 magnitude temblor that led authorities to warn of another possible tsunami along the nation's northeast coast. (Note at 7:42 a.m. ET: The U.S.

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The Two-Way
7:00 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Santorum Wins In Dixie, Romney Takes Hawaii And American Samoa

Credit Sean Gardner / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum with supporters Tuesday night in Lafayette, La. Louisiana's primary is on March 24.
  • Mara Liasson on 'Morning Edition'

After another set of presidential contests the story remains much the same — pundits say former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney remains the front runner in the race for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination, but former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum continues his strong challenge.

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It's All Politics
6:26 am
Wed March 14, 2012

Why It's Time For Newt Gingrich To Say Good Night

Credit Marvin Gentry / Reuters /Landov
After his losses in Alabama and Mississippi on Tuesday, Newt Gingrich will face increasing pressure to drop out of the GOP race. Here he waves to supporters after speaking at an election night rally in Hoover, Ala. on March 13.

It is time for the much-winnowed field of Republican presidential contenders to shrink a little further. It is time for Newt Gingrich to bid adieu and wrap up his bid for the nomination.

Rick Santorum, who won the Alabama and Mississippi primaries on Tuesday, has proven himself the conservatives' favored alternative to front-runner Mitt Romney. He did this by winning the voters who mattered most in the deep-dyed red states of Alabama and Mississippi, the white evangelical "born again" voters who cast more than two-thirds of the vote in each state.

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