Health
FDA Restricts Marketing Tobacco To Youth
[3 min 57 sec]
March 19, 2010
Friday's Show Full Rundown >
Ben Margot/APToyota Deals Get Customers Back To Showrooms
Thanks to specials like zero percent financing and price cuts, Toyota sales have risen sharply. A recent Edmunds.com dealer survey finds that so far this month, Toyota has regained the same market share of sales it had before the gas pedal recall.
iStockphoto.comRunaway Cars: Driver Error Or Car Malfunction?
The problems with Toyota's gas pedals have been front page news for weeks now, but what about the people in front of the pedals? Earlier studies have found that the majority of car-surging incidents were actually the fault of the driver. But the recent problems with cars continuing to accelerate haven't been studied yet.
Julie Jacobson/APExploring The Taliban's Complex, Shadowy Finances
Western nations have long criticized Afghanistan's failure to curtail opium production, a main source of income for the Taliban. But counterterrorism officials say the problem is far more complex than just drug money, including diverted charity payments and "protection money" from convoys seeking to resupply U.S. forces in Afghanistan.
Business
Austinites Angle For A Piece Of SXSW Cash Cow()
The South by Southwest music festival bills itself as "the premier destination for discovery." It's also the destination for truckloads of cash, as music and art fans flock to Austin, Texas, each March. Last year's event brought nearly $100 million to the city, according to one analyst.
Politics
Stakes High For Obama Presidency In Health Care Bill()
President Obama is making a final frenzied push before the health care bill comes up for a vote in the House on Sunday. If the bill fails, he will be severely weakened. He will have failed to deliver his signature initiative, and his Democratic Party will look incapable of governing.
Middle East
Tehran Halts Travel By Poet Called 'Lioness Of Iran'()
Simin Behbahani, Iran's most prominent poet, was about to board a flight to Paris when police seized her passport. Behbahani, 82 and nearly blind, has not been charged with any crime. Many fear her treatment may signal a rise in repressive tactics by Iran's government.
StoryCorps
A Grandmother's Other Role: Midwife()
Graciela Kavulla grew up in Texas near her grandmother, Adelaida. As Graciela recalls, her grandmother was determined to become a midwife. To learn how, a doctor gave her some medical books. But there was a problem: She couldn't read.
Planet Money's Toxic Asset
Toxic Assets Market Awaits Rebound()
During the peak of the housing market, the value of the mortgages that got stuffed into those complicated mortgage bonds known as toxic assets was more than $3 trillion. But now the market has stalled, in part because many sellers are waiting for the economy to improve.
Education
Parents Fight For The Right To Sell Treats At School()
New York City parents want the right to bake their cake and sell it, too, after officials began enforcing a once-a-month limit on PTA bake sales during the school day. Schools say they're trying to balance health with the need to find ways to fund programs. But parents say their treats are more wholesome than the prepackaged foods that schools do allow.
Media
The Word Is Out: A New Voice For 'On Language'()
This weekend, Ben Zimmer will take over The New York Times Magazine column William Safire originated in 1979 and continued to write until his death last year. Zimmer's first column will be on the word "no."
