Morning Edition

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. A suspect in Iowa will not have to go far to find a jury of his peers. Jury selection was underway in a court in Waterloo when a potential juror left her wallet on a bench. She returned from a break and found cash missing. Witnesses and security cameras in the court led authorities to a suspect. The man was another potential jury member. Police arranged a court date for him in the same legal system he had been serving a short time before. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

Acorn Media distributes British TV series in the United States, and now it's acquired a controlling interest in the estate of Agatha Christie. The late author of murder mysteries has sold billions of books.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

The battle over social issues in the Republican presidential primaries has extended through most of another week. This time the flashpoint was a remark by Mitt Romney. The former Massachusetts governor said he opposed, and then clarified that he actually favors, legislation involving contraception.

NPR's Tamara Keith reports it was not what Romney intended to discuss in Ohio.

Campaigning in Tennessee Wednesday, GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum's camp took the opportunity to slam rival Mitt Romney for having a "liberal Record" on freedom of religion. At Nashville's Belmont University, Santorum spoke about his own views of religious freedom.

A federal appeals court hears arguments Thursday in legal challenges to tough new state immigration laws in Alabama and Georgia. The Justice Department and civil rights groups have sued. At issue are both civil rights violations, and whether states can constitutionally engage in immigration enforcement.