NPR Blogs

Pages

The Two-Way
1:55 pm
Wed May 29, 2013

Nasdaq Agrees To $10M Penalty For Handling Of Facebook IPO

Credit Emmanuel Dunand / AFP/Getty Images
A year ago, before the initial public offering of stock, Nasdaq and Facebook were quite excited.

One year after Facebook's troubled initial public offering, the Securities and Exchange Commission announced Wednesday that it has "charged Nasdaq with securities laws violations resulting from its poor systems and decision-making ... [and that] Nasdaq has agreed to settle the SEC's charges by paying a $10 million penalty."

Read more
The Two-Way
12:52 pm
Wed May 29, 2013

Tempest Over A Teapot: JC Penney Removes 'Hitler' Billboard

Credit Imgur, via KPCC
Photos of a JC Penney billboard in Culver City, Calif., spurred an online debate over whether the tea kettle resembles German tyrant Adolf Hitler.

Originally published on Wed May 29, 2013 6:45 pm

After receiving complaints that a billboard advertisement included an image resembling Adolf Hitler, JC Penney has reportedly taken the sign down. The move came after images of the billboard in California's Culver City spurred a controversy on Reddit and elsewhere online. The retailer says any resemblance to the late leader of the Third Reich was unintended.

Read more
The Two-Way
12:35 pm
Wed May 29, 2013

Drone Said To Have Killed Key Pakistani Taliban Commander

Credit U.S. State Dept.
Waliur Rehman, who was reportedly killed Wednesday in Pakistan.

It's not confirmed that he's dead. But if a suspected U.S. drone strike on Wednesday did kill Waliur Rehman, as Pakistani officials say it did, then a top Pakistani Taliban commander with a $5 million price on his head has been taken off the battlefield.

According to the U.S. State Department's "rewards for justice" program:

Read more
The Two-Way
11:53 am
Wed May 29, 2013

VIDEO: Obama Explains How That Lipstick Got On His Collar

Credit Brendan Smialowski / AFP/Getty Images
I can explain, the president said Tuesday.
The Two-Way
11:26 am
Wed May 29, 2013

Bomber Attacks International Red Cross's Afghan Compound

Originally published on Wed May 29, 2013 4:27 pm

A coordinated attack has struck the offices of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Jalalabad, Afghanistan, Gunmen reportedly assaulted the compound after a suicide bomber detonated a device at the entrance, where a guard was killed.

Update at 3:58 p.m. ET. Reaction From Red Cross:

"We condemn this attack in the strongest possible terms," ICRC's head of operations for South Asia, Jacques de Maio, says. "Right now, our thoughts go out to the family of our dead colleague."

Read more
The Two-Way
10:46 am
Wed May 29, 2013

Larry King Signs Up With The Russians

Credit Bryan Steffy / Getty Images for Keep Memory Alive
Larry King in April at a charity gala in Las Vegas.

Larry King, who signed off from CNN in December 2010, has signed on with the English-language arm of RT, the Russian TV channel that aims to cover "the major issues of our time for viewers wishing to question more and delivers stories often missed by the mainstream media."

Read more
The Two-Way
10:12 am
Wed May 29, 2013

6 Stories To Mark 60 Years Since First Summit Of Everest

Credit AFP / AFP/Getty Images
Mount Everest.
The Two-Way
9:27 am
Wed May 29, 2013

Smithfield Foods To Be Sold To Chinese Firm For $4.72 Billion

Credit LM Otero / AP
Smithfield Foods, makers of ham products under a variety of brand names, is being purchased by Chinese food maker Shuanghui International, for $4.72 billion in cash.

Originally published on Wed May 29, 2013 10:11 am

The makers of Smithfield Ham, an icon on America's culinary scene for decades, are selling the publicly traded company to China's Shuanghui International Holdings Limited for about $4.72 billion in cash. The deal also includes an exchange of debt.

The purchase values Smithfield Foods at $7.1 billion — a figure that would make the purchase "the largest Chinese takeover of a U.S. company," according to Bloomberg News.

Read more
The Two-Way
8:28 am
Wed May 29, 2013

Tuesday's Tornadoes To Be Followed By More Storms Wednesday

Credit National Weather Service
Where the weather is expected to be the worst Wednesday.

Tuesday's warnings about more severe weather and the likelihood of tornadoes across much of the nation's midsection proved accurate.

Read more

Pages