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"If we want to make media better then we've got to start consuming better media," says open-source-Internet activist Clay Johnson. His new book, The Information Diet, makes the case for more "conscious consumption" of news and information.

France was among nine European countries that saw their sovereign debt ratings cut Friday. The move could boost borrowing costs in Paris and undermine a plan to contain the European debt crisis. But the loss of France's AAA rating is also likely to play a role in President Nicolas Sarkozy's re-election bid.

Six thousand miles. Seven time zones. And endless cups of hot tea. NPR reporter David Greene along with producer Laura Krantz and photographer David Gilkey boarded the Trans-Siberian Railway in Moscow and took two weeks to make their way to the Pacific Ocean port city of Vladivostok.

Democrats plan to turn in petitions by the truckload to try to force a recall election of Gov. Scott Walker, an effort that follows the governor's move to strip public workers of union bargaining rights. But the petitions will then be scrutinized for months, particularly by lawyers for Walker's campaign.

As Otto Perez Molina takes office Saturday, one of his top priorities is regaining U.S. military aid, which the U.S. banned because of alleged abuses during Guatemala's civil war. Experts say exactly how Perez will tackle the current wave of violence — or if his approach is effective — remains to be seen.

There is something truly winning about a politician who doesn't just talk the talk but jumps the jump. Zambia's tourism minister Given Lubinda jumped off a bridge this week and popped up smiling.

Karaoke machine manufacturers and the distributors of karaoke CDs have had an uphill battle fighting copyright infringement cases brought by music publishers. One player in the karaoke business is fighting a joint venture of Sony and the estate of Michael Jackson over a $1.28-billion bill. Host Scott Simon has more.

On the one hand, Mitt Romney's landslide win in New Hampshire put him solidly on a course to focus on the general election last week. On the other hand, a new series of attacks on his years as a venture capitalist forced him to engage more directly than before with his primary rivals. NPR's Ari Shapiro reports from Aiken, S.C.

Gary Oldman has played everyone from Sid Vicious and Dracula, to Sirius Black in the Harry Potter films, and now George Smiley in Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy. Also, writer Susan Orlean details how Rin Tin Tin became one of the biggest film stars of the silent era in Rin Tin Tin: The Life and Legend.

An enormous cruise ship is lying on its side in the Mediterranean this morning. The Italian ship, Costa Concordia ran aground off Italy's Tuscan Coast, killing at least three people while dozens yet to be found.