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A growing field of medical research aims to pinpoint exactly why pets can make us happier and healthier. Some studies show that animal interaction can increase a person's level of oxytocin, a hormone associated with love and trust. And the animals also benefit from positive human interaction.

Syndicated radio host Rush Limbaugh called a Georgetown student a "prostitute" and a "slut" after she testified before a Senate committee and called for federal health care coverage to include the cost of contraception. Limbaugh apologized, but it has prompted a re-examination of the term, "slut."

During his first news conference of the year, President Obama defended his decision not to intervene militarily in Iran and Syria.

"Sometimes [force] is necessary but we don't do it casually," he said. "There is a cost and we don't play politics with it."

Obama described the situation in Syria as "more complicated" than the situation in Libya and said deploying the military is not the only way to solve problems.

While the controversy continues to swirl around radio talkmeister Rush Limbaugh and his admittedly inappropriate comments about Georgetown Law Student Sandra Fluke, an analysis from the left-leaning Brookings Institution adds an economic twist to the debate over coverage of contraception.

The FBI is offering a $1 million reward for information leading directly to the safe return of one of its retired agents.

Robert Levinson disappeared five years ago this week on Kish Island, Iran. He worked at the FBI for 22 years before he retired, taking as a private detective. It was that job that sent him to Iran in March 2007, where he went missing.

Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., which in 2008 filed for the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history and whose collapse roiled world markets, says it has exited bankruptcy and will make its first payment to creditors on April 17.

The Wall Street Journal reports:

Nearly four years ago, the bank collapsed in the biggest bankruptcy in U.S. history — a record $639 billion. That set off a chain reaction and sent the economy spiraling. Lehman Bros. says now, it will continue to liquidate its holdings, and will start paying back creditors next month.

Transcript

MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. We are going to spend some time today talking about two issues in the news that are on a lot of people's minds, and they both touch on violence. Later in our parenting segment, we are going to talk about what we really know about why young people turn to deadly violence. We're thinking about this, of course, after that school shooting in Ohio that left three students dead.

Few would argue that the prices at movie theater concessions are a bit high: $11 for a Coke and popcorn, $6 for a box of gummy worms. Few would argue that it seems excessive.

As the Hollywood Reporter puts it, it may seem "like highway robbery, but is it actually unlawful?"

Joshua Thompson, a Michigan man in his 20s, is putting that question to the test by filing a class action lawsuit against his local AMC theater alleging the theater is price gouging.