Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

He's already got an EGOT, which is an Emmy, a Grammy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Last night, Mike Nichols got his ninth Tony and a standing ovation at the Tony Awards celebrating the best of Broadway, where he won as best director for "Death of a Salesman."

(SOUNDBITE OF AWARDS CEREMONY)

MIKE NICHOLS: There's not a person in this theater that doesn't know what it is to be a salesman, to be way out there in the blue riding on a smile and a shoe shine, and as we know, a salesman has got to dream. It goes with the territory.

Katie Crutchfield didn't see much snow growing up in northern Alabama, but in January of last year, her hometown got its worst winter storm in decades. Schools and businesses closed as the roads iced over; for a few days, the area effectively shut down.

An Israeli court last week upheld a government plan to deport all South Sudanese residents now living in the country, a move that comes amid a wider government crackdown on the 60,000 African nationals who've entered Israel illegally over the past few years.

Human rights groups have objected to Israel's handling of the Africans, saying the government does not do enough to differentiate between economic migrants and genuine asylum-seekers.

There's a slow-motion bank run happening in Europe, as depositors move their money from financially troubled countries like Greece and Spain to stronger countries like Germany.

Banks take depositors' money and lend it out. So even a strong bank is in trouble if all the depositors suddenly decide to pull their money out. A full-blown run can sink a bank in an afternoon.

Once a run starts, there are basically three ways to stop it.

1. Slow it down

In Europe, the concept of austerity has meant deep, painful cuts to government spending. In India, however, austerity looks a little different.

India's government has started by reeling in departmental spending on things like hotel space and foreign travel. It may seem like window dressing, but it can be difficult to make deep spending cuts in that country. Many voters see government largesse as a right and usually applaud pork-barrel spending.

A couple of weeks ago I got an e-mail from my son's middle school alerting families that several students had been diagnosed with whooping cough, also called pertussis. I didn't pay too much attention; my son has been vaccinated and he got a booster shot a couple of years ago so I hoped he would be protected.

Then I started to cough.

A visit to my doctor and a pertussis test confirmed that I am one of the 338 people infected with it in Oregon this year. That's three times higher than last year.

All of Washington is breathlessly awaiting the Supreme Court's imminent decision on the Obama health care overhaul. Rumors circulate almost daily that the decision is ready for release. As usual, those rumors are perpetrated by people who know nothing, but the decision is expected by the end of this month.