Mark Memmott

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Mark Memmott is one of the hosts of NPR's "The Two-Way" news blog.

"The Two-Way," which Memmott helped to launched when he came to NPR in 2009, focuses on breaking news, analysis, and the most compelling stories being reported by NPR News and other news media.

Before joining NPR, Memmott worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor at USA Today. He focused on a range of coverage from politics, foreign affairs, economics, and the media. He's reported from places across the Unites States and the world, including half a dozen trips to Afghanistan in 2002-2003.

During his time at USA Today, Memmott, helped launch and lead three USAToday.com news blogs: "On Deadline;" "The Oval;" and "On Politics," the site's 2008 presidential campaign blog.

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12:23pm

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Rupert Murdoch And Wife Wendi Are Divorcing

Credit Hubert Boesl / DPA /LANDOV

11:15am

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Will Rain-Disrupted U.S. Open Be Too Easy, Or Hard As Ever?

Originally published on Thu June 13, 2013 12:05 pm

Credit Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images

After being suspended less than two hours after the first players teed off, play is set to resume early Thursday afternoon at the U.S. Open golf championship, which this year is being held at the Merion Golf Club in Ardmore, Pa., outside Philadelphia. Heavy rains forced the delay.

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9:53am

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

At Least 93,000 Syrians Have Died During Conflict, U.N. Says

Credit Philippe Desmazes / AFP/Getty Images

"The constant flow of killings continues at shockingly high levels," the U.N. high commissioner for human rights said Thursday as her office reported there have been at least 92,901 conflict-related deaths in Syria since March 2011.

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9:48am

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Natural DNA Cannot Be Patented, Supreme Court Rules

Originally published on Thu June 13, 2013 10:28 am

In a decision that could have broad-reaching effects on the future of science and medicine, the Supreme Court ruled Thursday that:

-- "A naturally occurring DNA segment is a product of nature and not patent eligible merely because it has been isolated."

-- But, synthetically created "strands of nucleotides known as composite DNA (cDNA)" are "patent eligible" because they do not occur naturally.

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8:51am

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Now He Tells Us: 'Tang Sucks,' Says Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin

Originally published on Thu June 13, 2013 10:02 am

Credit Neil Armstrong/NASA / Reuters /Landov

Hey, we were told in the '60s that we'd grow up to be astronauts if we drank Tang and that our heroes loved it!

But the second man on the moon — Apollo 11's Buzz Aldrin — says "Tang sucks."

TMZ.com broke the news that Aldrin let loose with his real opinion during taping of Spike TV's Guys Choice awards, which airs Thursday at 9 p.m. ET.

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7:07am

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

Colorado Fires: New Evacuations, More Homes Burned

Originally published on Thu June 13, 2013 6:31 pm

Credit Chris Schneider / Getty Images

Update at 7:15 p.m. ET. Two Deaths Reported:

The El Paso County Sheriff says that two bodies were recovered Thursday in the burn area of the Black Forest fire near Colorado Springs. A "coroner investigation is ongoing," the department says.

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6:36am

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

VIDEO: Gov. Christie Slow Jammin' The News With Jimmy Fallon

Originally published on Thu June 13, 2013 8:38 am

Credit Theo Wargo / Getty Images

6:14am

Thu June 13, 2013

5:26am

Thu June 13, 2013
The Two-Way

So Far Not So Bad As Storms Head East, But Threat Remains

Originally published on Thu June 13, 2013 7:56 am

Credit Scott Olson / Getty Images

The good news is that "a massive storm system originally forecast to affect one in five Americans from Iowa to Maryland surged Thursday toward the Mid-Atlantic after largely failing to live up to its billing in ferocity through the Upper Midwest."

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1:45pm

Wed June 12, 2013
The Two-Way

Legos Are Getting Angrier And That's Not Funny, Study Says

Credit Axel Heimken / DPA/LANDOV

This is not from The Onion:

"The number of happy faces on Lego toy mini-figures is decreasing and the number of angry faces is increasing, a University of Canterbury robot expert says."

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12:12pm

Wed June 12, 2013
The Two-Way

50 Years Later, Medgar Evers' Widow Relives The Pain

Credit Jan Somma-Hammel / Staten Island Advance /Landov

As NPR's Debbie Elliott has reported for Morning Edition and on the Code Switch blog, "for Myrlie Evers-Williams, the widow of slain NAACP leader Medgar Evers, the memories of 1963 are still raw."

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11:08am

Wed June 12, 2013
The Two-Way

Soccer Star Lionel Messi And His Father Accused Of Tax Fraud

Credit Rebecca Naden / PA Photos /Landov

Lionel Messi, the Argentine superstar who is generally thought of as the best soccer player in the world these days, has been accused of tax fraud by Spanish authorities.

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10:24am

Wed June 12, 2013
The Two-Way

Public's Opinion Of George W. Bush Is Turning Positive

Credit Larry W. Smith / EPA /LANDOV

For the first time since 2005, when George W. Bush was in the Oval Office, the public's opinion of the former president is "more positive than negative," the pollsters at Gallup say.

Gallup says its latest polling shows:

-- 49 percent of those surveyed have a favorable opinion of the former president.

-- 46 percent have an unfavorable opinion of Bush.

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8:36am

Wed June 12, 2013
The Two-Way

Live Blog: Boston Gangster Whitey Bulger Goes On Trial

Originally published on Wed June 12, 2013 10:07 am

Credit EPA /Landov

Whitey Bulger is finally getting his day in court.

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7:45am

Wed June 12, 2013
The Two-Way

Colorado Fires: Thousands Evacuated; Prisoners Moved

Originally published on Wed June 12, 2013 8:58 am

Credit Kirk Siegler / NPR

More than 900 prisoners were evacuated from a state prison near Colorado Springs, Colo., early Wednesday as one of four wildfires across the Front Range moved toward the facility, The Associated Press writes.

About 2,500 homes and businesses in northeast El Paso County have also been evacuated, according to The Denver Post.

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