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6:28 am
Thu January 19, 2012

So, Um, What Is A Private Equity Firm?

Credit David L. Ryan / Boston Globe via Getty Images
Before entering politics in the 1990s, Romney co-founded Bain Capital, one of the nation's largest and most profitable private equity funds.

Originally published on Thu January 19, 2012 2:57 pm

In the run-up to Saturday's GOP presidential primary in South Carolina, candidates have clashed over the role of Bain Capital — a firm that either creates or kills jobs, depending upon whom you believe.

Front-runner Mitt Romney sees the bright side. Before entering politics in the 1990s, he co-founded Boston-based Bain Capital, one of the nation's largest and most profitable private equity funds. He has said he created 100,000 jobs while at Bain.

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The Two-Way
6:25 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Kodak Calls Bankruptcy Filing 'Necessary Step'

Credit Guy Solimano / Getty Images
Eastman Kodak Co.'s corporate headquarters in Rochester, N.Y.

"Running short of cash and unable to sell 1,100 digital imaging patents that could have rescued it," as Rochester's Democrat and Chronicle writes, Eastman Kodak Co. today took the long-expected but still painful step of filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

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Around the Nation
6:06 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Twitter Fills The Gap When Wikipedia Went Black

Wikipedia was shut down on Wednesday to protest anti-piracy bills in Congress. But Twitter was there to fill the encyclopedic void. "Facts Without Wikipedia" became a trending topic. One tweet informed readers that Star Wars was based on the work of William Shakespeare.

Around the Nation
5:59 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Pregnant Woman Delivers Baby In Stuck Elevator

Katie Thacker of Tacoma, Washington, was in labor when she stepped into an elevator at St. Joseph Medical Center. On the way to the maternity ward, the elevator got stuck. She left the elevator with a baby named Blake.

The Two-Way
5:55 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Report: Iowa Recount Puts Santorum Ahead By 34 Votes, Result 'Unresolved'

Credit Charles Dharapa/pool / Getty Images
Republican presidential candidates Rick Santorum (left) and Mitt Romney during a debate in South Carolina on Monday.

Rick Santorum has ended up 34 votes ahead of Mitt Romney after a recount of the results from the Jan. 3 Iowa Republican presidential caucuses, The Des Moines Register is reporting.

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NPR Story
3:00 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Business News

In a moved that had been expected, Kodak filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Thursday. It raises the specter that the 132-year-old trailblazer could become the most storied casualty of a digital age that has whipped up a maelstrom of economic, social and technological change.

NPR Story
3:00 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Must A Captain Go Down With The Ship?

Nearly a week after a cruise ship capsized off the coast of Italy, its captain is under house arrest and could face charges of multiple manslaughter, shipwreck and abandoning ship. Rod Sullivan, professor of maritime law at the Florida Coastal School of Law, tells Steve Inskeep the captain has no legal obligation to go down with the ship.

NPR Story
3:00 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Are More U.S. Manufacturing Jobs Being Created?

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Let's look now at another side of the economy: manufacturing. The Federal Reserve yesterday said American manufacturing had a very strong finish last year. To find out if that's likely to last and what it means for the big issue of jobs, we turn, as we so often do, to David Wessel. He's economics editor of The Wall Street Journal.

Good morning.

DAVID WESSEL: Good morning, Renee.

MONTAGNE: So after all the handwringing about the death of U.S. manufacturing, are American factories B-A-C-K?

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

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Asia
3:00 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Pakistan's Prime Minister Makes Rare Court Appearance

Originally published on Thu January 19, 2012 9:36 am

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

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

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. Good morning.

Pakistan's civilian government is in the midst of one of the many dramas that seem to occupy all its time. The prime minister appeared before the country's Supreme Court. He was ordered to explain why he should not be held in contempt. The prime minister has been refusing to prosecute a corruption case against his own boss, President Asif Ali Zardari.

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Africa
3:00 am
Thu January 19, 2012

Egypt's Military Government Quiets Revolutionaries

It's been nearly a year since the uprising began in Egypt that toppled President Hosni Mubarak began. The revolutionaries that started it all are again finding themselves persecuted. The military council that runs Egypt is targeting them, using the court system and prison to shut them up. Unlike a year ago, the revolutionaries can no longer count on much popular support.

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