By Frank James

Our comments function is now back up and running. So feel free once again to join the discussion. As I wrote earlier, the problem was apparently with a third-party vendor. We're sorry for the inconvenience.

By Frank James

Readers may have noticed that the comments on the blog have disappeared. We're aware of the problem. They're due to technical difficulties at the vendor who handles the "community applications" for NPR.org.

We hope this problem is solved soon but who knows with technology, right? We'll keep you posted.

By Frank James

Mark and I plan on taking a break from blogging over the Labor Day weekend in honor of the five- day work week, paid holidays and all those other innovations brought to these shores by the American labor movement.

We hope all of you have a pleasant weekend, too.

Of course, if major news breaks, or if something just too irresistible to ignore pops up, we'll reverse course and start posting again. But absent that, we plan on not being back at it until Tuesday.

Enjoy the weekend.

By Frank James

Even though it's summer, the news isn't taking a vacation. In the coming week, here is some of what we expect to be blogging about.

President Barack Obama will try to get back on message on the need to overhaul health care after he distracted the media and public by wading into the controversy following the arrest of Harvard scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr.

On Tuesday, the Senate Judiciary Committee is scheduled to vote on the nomination of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court.

Then there's the official start of the federal government's "cash for clunkers" program.

Of course, when it comes to the news, there's always the unexpected and we'll be blogging on that too.

Sunday starts a new week and a new look for NPR.org, which includes The Two-Way.

The new NPR.org is meant to be faster, more visually appealing and easier to navigate than the previous version. It's all about improving the way we get your news and information to you as well as your overall experience on NPR sites.

We hope you like the new look as much as we do.

July 4, 2003, in Washington, D.C. Alex Wong/Getty Images

By Mark Memmott

The Two-Way plans to take a three-day weekend to celebrate Independence Day and we hope many of you do too (Friday is a federal holiday, after all; mail will be delivered, but most post offices will close at noon).

Our plan is to pick things up again early Monday morning. But as always, if there's important news that needs to be passed along we'll jump back into the blog.

In the meantime, what better way to get into a patriotic mood than with Morning Edition's traditional reading of the Declaration of Independence?

Oh, and please remember: Be careful with those fireworks!

U.S. Army Pvt. Zach Lawson, 22, of Portland, Ore., places American flags on graves at Arlington National Cemetery for Memorial Day. AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin

 

By Frank James

The The Two-Way blog has only been in existence for five days and already we're getting our first three-day weekend.

Mark and I plan on going dark for the next three days but promise to come back up sooner if major news happens.

We hope everyone has a safe holiday weekend. And let's all remember the reason the holiday was established in the first place -- to honor those who have given the nation, as Abraham Lincoln said, "the last, full measure of devotion."

By Mark Memmott

Photo: Coburn Dukehart/NPR

"Please allow me to introduce myself ... "

If you're old enough to immediately know the song that line is from — and old enough to remember hearing it on AM radio — you've got an idea how long I've been around. And, I suppose, you've now got an idea about three things I like a lot:

— Rock 'n' roll

— American politics

— News

(Sympathy for the Devil is, after all, a song that combines all three.)

But in the interest of full disclosure, or something close to it, here's a bit more about me:

Continue reading "Meet The Host: Mark Memmott" >

By Frank James

Photo: Coburn Dukehart/NPR

Like many journalists, I've been fortunate to witness history large and small and to have people open their everyday lives to me.

I stood yards away from Nelson Mandela in Cape Town when he emerged from the parliament building with his white predecessor, part of the ceremony that marked his becoming South Africa's first black president.

I've watched a neurosurgeon snip a tumor from a patient's brain, working through a small hole in the skull like an an ice fisherman going after a sturgeon.

I accompanied a hardworking, grieving single mother as we both looked down on her only child on a funeral-home gurney, a baby-faced teen shot in the back by fellow gang member, an instance of urban friendly fire.

I held my breath in the back of a racing Chicago police cruiser as it joined the chase of a motorcyclist who must've thought doing more than 100 mph on city streets would help him escape. It might've if he hadn't lost control.

I sat in Alan Greenspan's office when he was revered as the Federal Reserve Chair and got the Maestro's take on the economy. That was before the economy spun out and wrecked, just like that motorcyclist, with Greenspan catching a lot of blame for contributing to the excesses.

I shouted, respectfully of course, in a U.S. Capitol corridor to catch the attention of a young senator to discuss immigration-reform. It seemed a stretch then to think he would become president in less than two years. He did, proving that the improbable sometimes happens.

You get the picture. In my years as a journalist, first at The Wall Street Journal, later at the Chicago Tribune I, like so many other newspaper reporters of my vintage, have had a glorious ride filled with interesting people, places and stories.

Continue reading "Meet The Host: Frank James" >

We're glad you've dropped by to check us out.

This is NPR's news blog. It's a place to come for breaking news, for analysis and for stories that are just too interesting — or too entertaining — to pass up.

The Two-Way is written by veteran journalists Mark Memmott and Frank James. But it's really a team effort.

We'll be drawing on the resources of our partners at Morning Edition and All Things Considered. We'll also hear from other shows, NPR newscasters and correspondents. And we'll constantly be on the watch for the best stories that others in the news media and on the World Wide Web have to offer.

Our goal is to be timely, fair, serious when we need to be and fun when we want to be.

And we want this to be a two-way conversation with you, the readers, about the day's news. Join the comment threads. Send us e-mails. Keep us honest.

In NPR parlance, by the way, a "two-way" is an interview. Most often, it's a conversation between a show's host and a newsmaker. We think it's a good name for this blog for a couple reasons:

• It recognizes NPR's rich radio history.
• It captures the tone we want to set — conversational and engaging.

Welcome to the team. We hope you enjoy The Two-Way.