Morning Edition

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. A touch of Paris has arrived in L.A. Angelinos, like Parisians, can now enjoy fine dining with their pet dogs. The Health Department has deemed dogs perfectly safe as eating companions. Effective immediately, canines will be welcomed in the outdoor seating areas of restaurants. But pet dogs will be denied some elements of standard restaurant service. For one thing, dining does not include sitting on a chair. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

Gean Brown Jr. was installing pipes in an attic in Spring Hill, Kan., and somehow he lost his wallet. He never expected to see it again. More than three decades later, Brown received a call last week. The current owner of that house had found the wallet.

The senior police official investigating wrongdoing by journalists in London says there was a culture of illegal payments at the Sun tabloid to create a network of paid informants across the British government. The Sun is the second tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp to be the focus of wrongdoing.

The heightened tensions between Israel and Iran over its nuclear weapons program have some residents in the Jewish state nervous. Israel's leaders have been talking about a possible conflict.

Throttling is a way for the cell phone company to limit its unlimited customers. Bloomberg technology columnist Rich Jaroslovsky talks to David Greene about what AT&T has been doing to customers who use the most data.

Matt Spaccarelli was one of those unlimited data customers being throttled by AT&T. He took his beef to small claims court, and last Friday he was awarded $850. His was a lone suit. AT&T's contract forbids class-action lawsuits.

In certain parts of Syria, the violence is unending and it is mainly focused on the city of Homs. For the past 25 days, the Syrian army has been bombarding the neighborhoods of Homs that have been resistant to the government.

David Greene has business news.

Privacy protections on Internet browsers are anything but ironclad. Companies circumvent them routinely. Most people know they are being observed online but figuring out how is complicated.

Ford is betting technology can help relieve traffic congestion around the world. In a speech Monday, Executive Chairman Bill Ford Jr. said the company is investing in systems that will bypass traffic jams, locate parking spots and communicate with other vehicles to avoid accidents.

Russia holds a presidential election this Sunday, and Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is widely expected to win. If he does, he'll return to the office he held from 2000 to 2008. Putin is the subject of the book, The Strongman: Vladimir Putin and the Struggle for Russia. David Greene talks to its author Angus Roxburgh, a journalist who once served as a public relations adviser to the Putin-run Kremlin.

Morning Edition's Steve Inskeep talks to David Wessel, of "The Wall Street Journal," and Zanny Minton Beddoes, of "The Economist," about how to read the latest economic signs, and whether there are any bright areas for growth.

Weeks ago, GOP rival Rick Santorum had caught up to front-runner Mitt Romney in the polls in Michigan. On Monday, he spent the final day before Michigan's primary campaigning in the state.

India has been home to vegetarians for centuries. Many Hindus and most Buddhists do not eat meat, but commentator Sandip Roy says in today's India, meat is what's for dinner.

When my friend Lakshmi, a lifelong vegetarian, went to America as a student more than 20 years ago she knew she was in for a hard time. Vegetarian dorm food meant a lot of cheese pizza, french fries, pasta and if she was lucky, grilled vegetables.

After 10 years in San Francisco's vegetarian mecca, when she returned to live in India a few years ago, she had an unexpected identity crisis.

Travelers in Sacramento, Calif., got a surprise when they approached airport security and no one was at the metal detector. Five passengers went on through without any screening. Finally, officials noticed the unattended metal detector and shut down the terminal until the passengers were found and screened.

A man in Washington, Pa., was at home when a burglar broke in. The Observer-Reporter newspaper says the thief pulled a knife. So the homeowner pulled out a ceramic coffee mug and smacked him on the head.

The Artist became the first silent film to triumph at Hollywood's highest honors since the original Oscar ceremony 83 years ago. The film's lead actor, Jean Dujardin, also took home an Academy award for best actor while Michel Hazanavicius, the film's director, also won.

As Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum battle for first place in the Michigan GOP presidential primary, rival Ron Paul is not expected to come in first or second. Paul doesn't really stand a chance at winning the nomination, but he can impact the party's platform

Along with Arizona, Michigan holds its Republican presidential primary Tuesday. If Rick Santorum beats native son Mitt Romney in Michigan, it could throw the race into turmoil.