Morning Edition

Authorities say a family from suburban Chicago went from Maryland to Texas stealing retail items. They're accusing of making $4 million auctioning the stolen property on eBay over the past decade.

The a capella group Straight No Chaser helped the Jacksonville teen with his video inviting his friend Megan to the prom. She said yes. The video is on YouTube.

Did the harsh winter hold down job creation last month? Or did employers brush away the snow and prepare for spring with a new round of hiring? The unemployment report is out on Friday.

Bitcoin's growth was built on the idea it was a currency of the people, unattached to any central bank or regulating authority. But a major theft has put that vision to a tough test.

Goodnight Songs is a compilation of formerly unpublished lullabies and poems by the author of Goodnight Moon, Margaret Wise Brown. Linda Wertheimer talks to Amy Gary, who discovered the new material.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene. It's been a tradition in the Windy City for 50 years. The water in the Chicago River is dyed green for St. Patrick's Day. Only this year some residents have a question: Can you dye ice?

That might be the challenge if the river doesn't thaw in time. Organizers are optimistic - even if it means using a tug boat to break up the ice. I am tempted to believe them. The group that dyes the river and unclogs it - as needed - is the local Plumbers Union.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Linda Wertheimer.

Wake Up and Smell the Bacon. No, we're not making breakfast in the studio. It's the name of Oscar Mayer's new app and iPhone device. It's a piece of limited edition hardware that plugs into the headphone jack. Along with your alarm, you get the signature smell and sizzle. It's a really nice way to wake up - unless, of course, you're a bacon-free family.

You're listening to MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

For all of California's troubles advertising health care to Latinos, that state has embraced the Affordable Care Act and is spending millions of dollars to get people to sign up. Florida is a different story.

Florida has a high rate of uninsured Latinos - almost 10 percent of all the country's uninsured Hispanics who are eligible for health insurance under the Affordable Care Act live in the state.

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This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning. I'm David Greene.

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

And I'm Linda Wertheimer.

A handful of Senate Democrats joined Republicans yesterday to defeat President Obama's choice to head the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division.

Debo Adegbile is a civil rights lawyer who once helped handle the appeal of a cop killer. He nomination forced a tough choice upon Democrats: Vote yes and infuriate law enforcement groups - or vote no and anger minority voters.

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In Pakistan, peace talks between the government and the Taliban came to a halt last month after militants executed 23 soldiers. Pakistan's military responded with airstrikes, and that led the Pakistani Taliban to declare a cease-fire. The government has now agreed to engage in fresh negotiations - even though attacks by splinter groups continue, underscoring just how decentralized these militants are.

A survey from Vouchercloud finds that a lot of Americans don't talk tech — at least not very well. More than 20 percent of respondents thought MP3 was a robot from Star Wars.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene.

We've all been there, out and about when nature calls. But public restrooms aren't easy to find and businesses have those customers-only signs. This is where AirPNP comes in. It's an app that connects full bladders with bathroom owners willing to share their facilities with strangers, for a small fee. Must have made Mardi Gras a much more pleasant experience this week; 29 people in New Orleans did advertise their porcelain palaces. The going rate, about three bucks.

An intense campaign is underway for the future of the United Kingdom. On Sept. 18, the people of Scotland will vote on whether to become an independent country. Here are answers to a few key questions about the issue.

1. Why would Scotland want to leave the U.K.?

There are some reasons grounded in logic, and others based in emotion.

Steve Inskeep has begun a journey along the U.S.-Mexico border — from the Gulf of Mexico to the Pacific Ocean. NPR reporters are also pursuing stories of people, goods and culture crossing the border. Over the next two weeks, the team will be sharing impressions at NPR's On The Road blog as it prepares stories to broadcast on Morning Edition and other NPR programs in late March.

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From Caracas to Kiev, protesters are organizing with the help of a social media tool called Zello. The walkie-talkie-like app allows smartphone users to send short voice messages from person to person or to a small group of people. And one key factor that's making Zello the go-to app among protesters, anonymity, something they don't get from Facebook or Twitter.

BILL MOORE: We've had multiple requests from authorities for information. And one way to solve it, in fact the way we solve is we just don't, we don't retain information.

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Greg Novak calls his snowman Granddaddy. It took him five weeks and hundreds of hours to construct.

Linda Wertheimer gets a progress report on Syria's disposal of chemical weapons from Amy Smithson, an expert at the Center for Non-Proliferation Studies.

As Russia strengthens its military control over Crimea, what options and obligations do the U.S. and its NATO allies have to protect Ukraine? David Greene talks to retired Adm. James Stavridis.

Dooley became a campus celebrity as an undergraduate at Columbia University. She won over Internet critics with a comedy Web series. She combines sweetness and irony in some irreverent lyrics.

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Good morning, I'm David Greene. The YMCA in Quincy, Massachusetts has a new food offering. Honey Dew Donuts has been cleared to open one of their stores there. Just one restriction: No donuts, because the Y is focused on health and fitness. A spokeswoman says the donut shop's signature item is banned. Salads, fruit cups, smoothies are allowed, so are Honey Dew's low-fat muffins, which actually have more sugar and calories than the donuts. So take that to the treadmill.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

Seems bad boy Danny Zuko still doesn't do his homework. The star of "Grease" had a walk-on last night in the Oscars. John Travolta introduced Idina Menzel, calling her wickedly talented. She starred in "Wicked" on Broadway. But it quickly became clear he'd never heard of her. He introduced her as Adele Dazim. The song Ms. Menzel sang, from "Frozen," won the Oscar, anyway.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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The prolific French filmmaker Alain Resnais died over the weekend, at the age of 91. Resnais' films captured international awards for over seven decades. And as NPR's Eleanor Beardsley reports, he was making movies up until the very end.

ELEANOR BEARDSLEY, BYLINE: Alain Resnais cemented his reputation as a filmmaker with the 1959 classic, "Hiroshima, Mon Amour," made with author Marguerite Duras as scriptwriter.

(SOUNDBITE OF "HIROSHIMA MON AMOUR")

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: (Foreign language spoken)

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Standardized tests: a good or bad thing? Some argue the tests remain a useful tool in the college admissions process. Others contend tests do not predict future success or failure for college students. Elizabeth Kolbert recently took the test as a grownup and wrote about the experience for The New Yorker.

Good Morning.

ELIZABETH KOLBERT: Good Morning.

WERTHEIMER: So what did you learn?

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(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm David Greene.

OK, stop me if you've heard this one before. A man walks into a bar with a tiger. People swear that's what happened at Uncle Richie's in the Chicago suburb of Lockport this week. Sure, the tiger was little and on a leash but, according to, WBBN TV, police didn't think a tiger out for an evening walk was very funny at all. The owner is facing misdemeanor charges. He runs a place called the Big Run Wolf Ranch where he keeps mountain lions, tigers and wolves, oh my.

There's never a good week for nuclear waste, but this week has been a particularly bad one. Officials at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant in New Mexico have disclosed that 13 employees inhaled radioactive material after a major accident earlier this month.

While there's no risk to the public and the exposed workers did not need immediate medical treatment, the incident is shaping up to be a major setback for the nation's only dedicated nuclear waste dump.

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Now any day of the week is a good time to watch Liam Neeson play an action hero. He famously chased down bad guys and blew things up in the movie "Taken" and its sequel a few years back. Los Angeles Times and MORNING EDITION film critic Kenneth Turan has this review of "Non-Stop," Neeson's latest action flick.

KENNETH TURAN: "Non-Stop" is a crisp, efficient thriller that benefits from the intangibles Liam Neeson brings to a role.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

On Broadway, Thursday is about to become the new Wednesday.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG FROM THE MOVIE, "PHANTOM OF THE OPERA")

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Singing in a foreign language)

GREENE: Several shows, including the "Phantom of the Opera," plan to move their traditional Wednesday matinee to Thursday. Wednesday afternoon performances have never been huge money makers, and some Broadway executives think Thursday matinees will draw in tourists coming for a good long weekend in New York.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene with a wild story of adventure and escape. OK, not that wild. Mundu, two year old koala, went missing from his exhibit at the San Diego Zoo on Tuesday. Not to worry, he's been found. He escaped his enclosure and fell asleep, spending the day in a tree nearby. Zookeepers lured him back with eucalyptus.