Morning Edition

Gov. Candidates Debate
The two main candidates for governor came out swinging Wednesday night in their first, and possibly only debate. KJZZ's Mark Brodie was there, and has this report.
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Topics from the Most Recent Show

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  As the combat mission ends in Iraq, 30,000 additional troops are heading to Afghanistan. Comparisons between the two wars are inevitable. Gen. David Petraeus, who commanded U.S. forces in Iraq, brings to Afghanistan many familiar military faces and the strategy of creating local forces to take control of security at the grass-roots level.
• Australian School Drops 'Gay' From Classic Song
  A school principal in Melbourne says he meant no offense when he asked his students to stop using the word "gay" when singing a classic children's song. The principal says he just wanted students to stop laughing when singing "Kookaburra Sits in the Old Gum Tree."
• Polamalu's Hair Insured For $1 Million
  The Pittsburgh Steelers' Troy Polamalu has a price on his head. It's an insurance policy on his hair. The pro football player's long curly locks won him shampoo deals with Procter and Gamble. The company insured his hair for $1 million with Lloyds of London.
• Blair's Key To Success: 'Skills Of Persuasion'
  Former British Prime Minister Tony Blair is out with a memoir called <em>A Journey: My Political Life.</em> Steve Inskeep asks him to relate one story about a quality Blair realized he had in common with the late Princess Diana -- one that had a hand in his own political success.
• Regulators Sue Former WesCorp Executives
  Federal regulators this week filed suit against two former executives of failed Los Angeles credit union WesCorp, according to published reports. It was seized by the government in March after it racked up $7 billion in losses -- most related to bad mortgage investments.
• Ex-Lehman CEO Fuld Blames Regulators
  The former head of Lehman Brothers said the company could have survived, if regulators offered the same kind of help it did to Lehman's competitors. Richard Fuld testified before the commission that's investigating the financial crisis Wednesday. Fuld said it was regulators -- not bad investments -- that did Lehman in.
• British Villages Rescue Vital Community Services
  Village life in Britain is under threat, with the closure of the pubs and stores that form the center of small communities. In the Oxfordshire village of Appleton, local people have set up their own "community shop" staffed and managed by volunteers. The British government is introducing legislation to make it easier for rural communities to manage their own affairs.
• Help For Texters Who Are All Thumbs
  Textees is an item you slip on your thumb. A little pointer helps you avoid hitting the wrong key. An ad says "Textees is the smart way to make texting easier!"
• State Department Hosts Formal Mideast Peace Talks
  Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams are getting down to work at the State Department Thursday -- with low expectations and amid more violence in the West Bank. President Obama hosted a dinner Wednesday night for the visiting Israeli and Palestinian leaders and other would-be peacemakers. The President challenged them to walk the path of peace.
• South Korean Christians Try To Help Struggling North
  South Korea's large Christian community is divided over how to help people in the North. A majority support efforts to send computers, cell phones and food clandestinely to the North. About 15 percent have pro-North Korean beliefs and favor dialogue with the government there.
• Boy Howdy! You Can Deep Fry Beer
  Amateur chef Mark Zable from Texas has a new culinary invention: fried beer. Zable tells Steve Inskeep this is the first time anyone has successfully deep fried a liquid. He'll debut his fried beer at the Texas State Fair later this month.
• Critics Target States' Double-Dipping Pensioners
  As states battle with their budgets, reporters have been looking into the benefits government employees get when they're working and after they retire. But what happens when workers retire and then take new jobs in the public sector while still getting paid from the state's pension fund? One case could define the battle over how to make government transparent while protecting the privacy of its workers.
• Mideast View On The Proposed Islamic Center
  Morning Edition wants to know how people in the Middle East view the debate over the proposed Islamic center near the site of the former World Trade Center in New York. Ramez Maluf, professor of journalism at the Lebanese American University in Beirut, talks to Steve Inskeep about how the debate.
• Sen. Murkowski Concedes To Tea Party Favorite
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• Community Near Ground Zero Almost Like Any Other
  The neighborhood around the site where the World Trade Center once stood -- which now includes the site of a proposed Islamic community center -- is like many others in New York City. It has Starbucks, ethnic restaurants, churches and strip clubs. There's also a small mosque. But the gaping hole where the buildings crumbled is ever present.