Over the weekend, Japan commemorated the 66th anniversary of the American bombing of Hiroshima. Some used the event to protest nuclear energy. This spring's massive earthquake caused a meltdown at a nuclear plant north of Tokyo. The recent disaster has many Japanese re-thinking their nation's relationship with nuclear energy.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

Let's stay now with the economic fallout from the downgrade of the U.S. credit rating as well as troubled economies in Europe. That's caused markets in Asia to plunge today. NPR's Anthony Kuhn joins us from Jakarta, Indonesia to talk about all of this. And Anthony, how bad is the carnage on those Asian markets?

ANTHONY KUHN: Well, stock markets in the region are down about two to five percent, which means billions of value were wiped off of them. That's on top of last week, which saw the biggest rout in Asian stock since 2008.

Turmoil in the financial markets has coincided with an annual fishing trip for economists and top executives deep in the woods of Maine near the Canadian border. While the economists were together, Standard and Poor's took the unprecedented step of downgrading the U.S. government's credit rating.

A majority of Navy SEALs who died when their helicopter was shot down over the weekend in Afghanistan were based in Norfolk, Va.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, host:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, host:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning. This is one of those mornings when we remember how interconnected the world economy has become. Asian investors are worried about their exports to America. Europeans are responding to their own continent's debt problems, even as they react to the Standard and Poor's downgrade in its rating of U.S. credit. And of course the Dow Jones Industrials, we'll find out how they do today.

Renee Montagne talks to NPR's Sylvia Poggioli about the response in Italy to the S&P downgrade of the U.S. government's credit rating.

Steve Inskeep has business news.

With Hollywood movies dubbed over in Spanish and steadfast trade with Latin America, Spaniards haven't needed to be bilingual until now. Globalization and a recession have sparked a run on language classes in Spain. But it's not English proficiency they're after. German academies are seeing a surge in enrollment, as Spaniards look northward for jobs in Europe's strongest economy.

Want your child to love veggies? Start early. Very early. Research shows that what a woman eats during pregnancy not only nourishes her baby in the womb, but may shape food preferences later in life.

At 21 weeks after conception, a developing baby weighs about as much as a can of coke – and he or she can taste it too. Still in the womb, the growing baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid daily. That fluid surrounding the baby is actually flavored by the foods and beverages the mother has eaten in the last few hours.

Want your child to love veggies? Start early. Very early. Research shows that what a woman eats during pregnancy not only nourishes her baby in the womb, but may shape food preferences later in life.

At 21 weeks after conception, a developing baby weighs about as much as a can of Coke — and he or she can taste it, too. Still in the womb, the growing baby gulps down several ounces of amniotic fluid daily. That fluid surrounding the baby is actually flavored by the foods and beverages the mother has eaten in the last few hours.