Mark Memmott

Credit Doby Photography / NPR

Mark Memmott is one of the hosts of NPR's "The Two-Way" news blog.

"The Two-Way," which Memmott helped to launched when he came to NPR in 2009, focuses on breaking news, analysis, and the most compelling stories being reported by NPR News and other news media.

Before joining NPR, Memmott worked for nearly 25 years as a reporter and editor at USA Today. He focused on a range of coverage from politics, foreign affairs, economics, and the media. He's reported from places across the Unites States and the world, including half a dozen trips to Afghanistan in 2002-2003.

During his time at USA Today, Memmott, helped launch and lead three USAToday.com news blogs: "On Deadline;" "The Oval;" and "On Politics," the site's 2008 presidential campaign blog.

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The Two-Way
4:10 pm
Tue January 10, 2012

New Hampshire Primary: Join Us For Live Updates

Here it is: The New Hampshire Republican presidential primary — the second significant vote of the 2012 presidential campaign.

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The Two-Way
12:24 pm
Mon January 9, 2012

White House Chief Of Staff Daley Stepping Down

Credit Win McNamee / Getty Images
White House Chief of Staff William Daley.

Originally published on Tue January 10, 2012 5:20 am

White House Chief of Staff William Daley is stepping down from his post and will be replaced by Budget Director Jack Lew, NPR's Scott Horsley has confirmed.

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The Two-Way
11:50 am
Mon January 9, 2012

20-Year Ban Put On Mining Claims Near Grand Canyon

The Obama administration just announced a 20-year federal ban "on new mining claims affecting a million acres near the Grand Canyon, an area known to be rich in high-grade uranium ore reserves," as The Associated Press writes.

And "in doing so," the wire service adds, "the administration brushed off pressure from congressional Republicans and mining industry figures who wanted a policy change."

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The Two-Way
10:12 am
Mon January 9, 2012

In Alaska: Nome Waits For Fuel; Cordova Digs Out From 18-Feet Of Snow

Credit Erv Petty/Alaska Div. of Homeland Security and Emergency Management / AP
They're running out of places to put the snow in Cordova, Alaska. This photo was taken on Saturday (Jan. 7, 2012).
The Two-Way
8:00 am
Mon January 9, 2012

Beer For Bowser? It's Been Around For A While

Our friends at Morning Edition picked up on the news from Newcastle, England, that The Branding Villa pub has created a non-alcoholic beer for dogs and is inviting its customers to bring their four-legged friends in to have a pint or two.

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The Two-Way
6:15 am
Mon January 9, 2012

Steelers Dared Tebow To Beat Them, And He Did

  • David Greene and Tom Goldman talk football

Just as football fans around the country (outside of Denver, that is) were thinking that Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow was out of miracles because he hadn't played well in recent weeks, he came through Sunday on the first play of overtime against the favored Pittsburgh Steelers.

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The Two-Way
5:00 am
Sun January 8, 2012

At One Maryland Prison, They're 'Knitting Behind Bars'

  • Lynn Zwerling talks with Michel Martin

This blogger's mom was a knitter. She and a friend made hundreds of knit caps that went to children in Rochester, N.Y. Some made their way to a village in Afghanistan when her youngest son went there on assignment for USA Today in 2002 and 2003.

Watching her, it always seemed as if knitting was calming and challenging at the same time. It's repetitive, yet also has to be done precisely right if you want to succeed. And if you mess up, you may have to unravel and start over.

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The Two-Way
12:00 pm
Fri January 6, 2012

Mountain Dew Mouse Story Goes Viral

Credit Eric Isselee / iStockphoto.com
No, he wasn't going extreme, Pepsi says.

We thought the World Wide Web was supposed to make information fly.

But now we have to question that notion.

It's taken a year and a half for us to hear that Pepsi is defending itself against a lawsuit claiming that a mouse was found in a can of Mountain Dew by saying that the furry little creature couldn't have been there because:

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The Two-Way
10:00 am
Fri January 6, 2012

U.S. Navy Reports Rescuing 13 Iranians From Somali Pirates

Credit U.S. Navy photo
Thursday: The guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd responds to a distress call from the master of the Iranian-flagged fishing dhow Al Molai.
The Two-Way
9:25 am
Fri January 6, 2012

Pained By Prices At The Pump? They're Likely To Go Even Higher

This could be "the year of the gas-pocalypse" analysts tell the Los Angeles Times, "because gasoline prices are the highest ever for the start of the year, and they're on the rise, supercharged by expensive oil and changes in refinery operations."

Indeed, check out some of this reporting and analysis from GasBuddy.com:

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The Two-Way
8:30 am
Fri January 6, 2012

Report: Tiny Miscalculation Might Have Slightly Skewed Iowa Caucuses Count

Credit Dave Weaver / AP
Barb Hansen tallies votes during a GOP caucus in precinct 42 near Smithland, Iowa, on Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012.

Originally published on Fri January 6, 2012 8:38 am

"Could Typo Rewrite Caucus History?"

That's the headline at the website of Des Moines' KCCI-TV, which reports that one Republican from Iowa's Appanoose County thinks a miscount at a caucus attended by 53 people there might have mistakenly contributed to Mitt Romney's reported eight-vote victory over Rick Santorum.

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