Morning Edition on 89.5-1

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

More than 50 international leaders wrapped up talks Tuesday in Seoul, South Korea, on what needs to be done to secure vulnerable stockpiles of plutonium and highly enriched uranium. President Obama hosted the first such summit two years ago. He praised the achievements since then, but said much more needs to be done.

Libertarians say it's like watching dear friends in an ugly divorce, as the billionaire Koch brothers try to take control of the highly regarded Cato Institute. The head of Cato says the Kochs are out to politicize the think tank.

Pope Benedict is in Cuba, Latin America's least Catholic country. He arrived Monday in Santiago, where Cuba's revolution began in 1953. He urged Cubans to seek unity and overcome their divisions, but his message wasn't especially political.

The Pennsylvania capital Harrisburg is more than $300 million in debt. The budget is controlled by a state-appointed custodian. City and law enforcement services are under strain and residents worry violent crime may be growing.

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And our last word in business today is: billion euro real estate. That's how much artist Frank Buckley's Dublin apartment cost. In theory, he actually got the materials for free from Ireland's central bank.

The walls, furniture and detailing in his apartment are all made from bricks of shredded euro notes. Buckley estimates each brick contains 40 or 50,000 euro's worth.

FRANK BUCKLEY: I collected two trailer-fulls of shredded notes - 1.4 billion euro.

At the Supreme Court, lawyers and justices will continue to spar over the new health care law. Tuesday's debate will center on whether the requirement that everyone carry health insurance — the individual mandate at the heart of the law — is constitutional.

Transcript

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Now, let's turn to another case where legal questions are swirling. In Sanford, Florida, and across the country yesterday, thousands of people held rallies yesterday demanding the same thing - the arrest of George Zimmerman. Zimmerman is the neighborhood watch volunteer who last month shot and killed a black teenager named Trayvon Martin. As NPR's Greg Allen reports, city officials in Sanford say the case is now out of their hands.