Morning Edition on WEKU

It's been revealed that a widely-read Syrian blog, "Gay Girl In Damascus" was in fact written by an American male grad student living in Scotland. The blogger's accounts were watched even more closely in recent months as the Syrian government cracked down on the popular uprising that's spread throughout the country.

It's not often that you hear of Native American tribes flourishing thanks to the U.S. government, but that's what happened to Colorado's Southern Ute.

The Great Hamster of Alsace is the last wild hamster species in western Europe. It's also a major headache for France. The E.U.'s highest court ruled France failed to protect the endangered rodent and its food supply.

Fans of the Miami Heat are trying everything to support their team in the NBA Finals. The Miami Herald reports a sharp increase in sales of voodoo dolls. Some fans are buying them to put a hex on the Dallas Mavericks.

Republican Presidential candidate Newt Gingrich says he is staying in the race. On Thursday, 16 members of his staff resigned. Steve Inkseep and Linda Wertheimer talk to NPR's Don Gonyea about why the staff may have resigned. They'll also discuss GOP candidate Mitt Romney's decision not to participate in one of the most watched straw polls in the presidential campaign season.

President Obama's nominee to head the Pentagon faced questions from senators on Thursday. Leon Panetta is currently the Director of the CIA and is expected to be confirmed. But senators still had plenty of questions for Panetta at his confirmation hearing about defense spending and the war in Afghanistan. NPR's Tamara Keith reports.

Steve Inskeep has the Last Word in business.

The Syrian army has moved in to restore security. Earlier this week, Syrian officials said 120 security personnel were killed there.

Steve Inskeep talks with Oliver Miles, who served as the British Ambassador to Libya in the 1980s, about yesterday's meeting of the Libya Contact Group that Secretary Hillary Clinton attended in Abu Dhabi, and about the future of the Libya conflict.

Japan's economy is doing better than the government initially estimated in the first quarter. Linda Wertheimer talks to Kenneth Cukier of "The Economist" about why that is, and what challenges remain as the country rebuilds from March's devastating earthquake and tsunami.

The Dallas Mavericks won Game Five of the NBA Finals with a 112-103 victory over the Miami Heat Thursday night. Game Six will be in Miami Sunday night.

A jury in California has convicted a Black Muslim leader in the murders of three men, including journalist Chauncey Bailey. The news paper editor was gunned down on his way to work four years ago. Bailey had been writing a story about the finances of Your Black Muslim Bakery in Oakland.

Having a career in the NBA would be a dream for many athletes and sports fans. For Marat Kogut, 31, his long-held dream came true when he became an NBA referee, in 2009. It was an outcome that may have seemed unlikely when Kogut's family emigrated from Ukraine in 1979.

Marat was just a newborn when his family came to the United States. They settled in Brooklyn, where his father, Leon, eventually opened his own barbershop. Speaking in New York recently, the two recalled how Marat decided on his future career at a very early age.

When one of this country's greatest composers died at age 39, novelist John O'Hara said, "George Gershwin died on July 11, 1937. But I don't have to believe it if I don't want to."

As is true for so many top musicians, Gershwin's works — his popular songs, his opera Porgy and Bess, his jazz-informed classical compositions — live on. Now, there's a new version of one of Gershwin's best-loved orchestral pieces, arranged for a brassy big band.

A policeman pulled over Robert McIntosh in Boulder, Colo., because he was driving 21 mpr over the limit in a school zone. McIntosh cursed at the officer, who then arrested him. But McIntosh won an out-of-court settlement for $21,000.

Mark Wilkinson of Birmingham, England, may have invited a bit of bad luck when he named his used 16-foot cabin cruiser Titanic 2. When the boat returned to harbor from its maiden voyage, it sank. The harbormaster took Titanic 2 in tow, and pulled Wilkinson out of the water.

Linda Wertheimer talks to Simon Johnson, the former chief economist at the IMF, about the debate over who should run the organization. For 65 years, the head of the International Monetary Fund has been chosen from industrialized Europe. Dominique Strass-Kahn of France recently resigned as head of the IMF after being arrested on charges he sexually assaulted a hotel maid in Manhattan.

Rumors about peace talks between the U.S. and the Afghan Taliban have been simmering even as the summer fighting season heats up. While the substance of any talks remain unconfirmed, the United Nations may take action this month to clear away obstacles to a political settlement. U.N. officials say they want to be ready to take advantage of any opportunity for a breakthrough even in the midst of heavy fighting.

The world has changed in many ways the last few months, but one thing remains the same: Moammar Gadhafi is still in power in Libya's capital. Diplomats including Secretary of State Hillary Clinton are gathering in the Persian Gulf city of Abu Dhabi to search for a way to remove him.

Steve Inskeep has the Last Word in business.

As Syria's uprising has moved north, the government has lost control of a large swath of the country bordering Turkey. And there are reports of thousands of Syrian troops massing to retake the region. Owen Bennett Jones, a reporter with the BBC, talks to Linda Wertheimer about what refugees are saying.

The Food and Drug Administration is warning that a popular cholesterol drug can cause muscle damage at high doses. The FDA is telling patients to see their doctor if they're taking the highest dose of Zocor, known generically as simvastatin.

Linda Wertheimer has business news.

How much you pay when you swipe your debit card will now be capped by the Federal Reserve. That's despite an effort in the Senate to delay new regulations over how much banks can charge for debit card transactions. Both banks — which collect those so-called swipe fees — and retailers — who pay them — mounted an intense lobbying effort.

California could give state-funded financial aid to undocumented immigrants in college. The bill, called the California Dream Act, is working its way through the state legislature. Proponents say kids who came here illegally shouldn't be punished for their parents' decisions. Opponents say that California can't afford the benefit and that it will only lead to more illegal immigration.

Since December, musicians have been responding to — and provoking — the protests in countries like Egypt and Tunisia, and much of the music being made about these movements is hip-hop. Some of these songs have played a direct role in popular uprisings, while others have helped galvanize international support. Songs are rapped in both English and Arabic, and international collaborations have helped to spread the music over the Internet, via Facebook and YouTube.

Walking through the serpentine streets of a Palestinian refugee camp on the outskirts of Beirut, Mohammed Turek stops at his homemade recording studio. It measures only six by twelve feet, and the walls are covered with foam-rubber baffling and political posters. Turek, known as TNT, records tracks here for his rap group, I-Voice.

Sparky's Homemade Ice Cream shop in Columbia, Mo., tried a new take on seasonal flavors: brown sugar, chocolate cicadas. The ice cream sold out immediately. Health officials advised against using the insects in food.

Over the weekend, a sheep named Shrek died. He was the sheep that wouldn't be shorn. According to the Telegraph newspaper, Shrek escaped his flock and his fleecing for six years. When he was finally found in a cave, his overgrown fleece made him appear triple his size.

A perk that allows government workers in Philadelphia to collect on their pensions before they retire is in jeopardy. Mayor Michael Nutter says the early pensions aren't affordable. But the City Council wants to preserve them.