NPR News

So, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg (I) wants to ban nearly all sales of big, sugary drinks.

Goodbye Big Gulp.

This comes after his earlier campaigns to stamp out smoking and trans fats.

It might seem counterintuitive that Amazon is doing a deal with New Jersey to build two distribution centers in exchange for collecting sales tax on purchases made in the Garden State starting July 1, 2013.

After all, the free lunch enjoyed by many consumers as they shop tax-free online is one of the huge draws, right?

The first-edition Book of Mormon brought faithful from around the country to a book store in Mesa, Ariz.

As the AP describes it, the book is one of 5,000 printed "after Joseph Smith found the gold plates that he translated into the Book of Mormon, which members of the faith consider to be scripture alongside the Bible."

So when people came to take pictures with the book Helen Schlie, a converted Mormon, would always oblige, telling people when they touched the book they shared "their DNA with Joseph Smith himself."

• Today, a Turkish court approved the indictment of pianist and composer Fazil Say for inciting hatred and public enmity and insulting "religious values" in a series of Twitter posts. One of his lawyers says that he has also received death threats. The trial has been scheduled for October 18.

When an old musical "friend" puts out a record, I secretly pray for greatness, as if rooting for a favorite team. These later records often pale in comparison to their early predecessors, but still I listen and try to find something I love.