All Things Considered

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Time for some hot stove baseball now. Yes. Even in chilly December, there's still reason to talk about the nation's pastime. For instance, one of baseball's biggest stars is changing uniforms.

Albert Pujols is leaving the World Series champion St. Louis Cardinals. He's been with the Cards for 11 seasons and two World Series rings, but money talks and Pujols is on his way to L.A. and the other league. He'll be playing for the Angels.

Ron Paul is surging in the polls — at least in Iowa — reflecting the implosion of other candidates, his memorable debate performances and eclectic libertarian positions. He's for ending the wars — as well as what he calls the "socialist big government." What is his role in the GOP nomination race? Who is he hurting and helping? Could he conceivably win the nomination? Does he want to be president?

The case of a former FBI agent who disappeared from an Iranian resort island nearly five years ago has come back into the headlines. His family has decided to tell the media, for the first time, about some developments in the case that occurred last year — including a video of the former agent, Robert Levinson, who is shown asking the government to work for his release. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston talks to Lynn Neary about the questions surrounding the case and the family's efforts to bring Levinson home.

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This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Lynn Neary.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

I'm Robert Siegel.

And it's time now for our weekly talk on politics. And joining me are our regular political observers, columnists E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and the Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of The New York Times. Hello, to both of you.

DAVID BROOKS: How do you do?

E.J. DIONNE: Good to be with you.

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Here's another challenge for traditional retailers. Companies like Amazon and eBay now offer apps for your Smartphone that take a lot of the legwork out of comparison-shopping. While you're in a store, just take a picture of an item or scan the barcode on the box. You'll find out where else to get it and you might even get an extra discount for buying it on the spot.

Stephen Hoch teaches marketing at the Wharton School of Business and consults for some retailers.

Robert Siegel and Lynn Neary read emails from listeners.

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From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Lynn Neary.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

The shopping mall is in trouble. That fixture of the suburban landscape has been hit hard by the recession. Even as business picks up, malls must compete with the rush to shop online.

NPR's Larry Abramson takes us to one shopping mall that's trying to escape the dustbin of retail history.

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This is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Lynn Neary.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 runs hundreds of pages. It authorizes hundreds of billions in defense spending. And as it stands, the version of the bill approved by the Senate is facing a veto by President Obama.

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ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

From NPR News, this is ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Robert Siegel.

LYNN NEARY, HOST:

And I'm Lynn Neary. European officials are moving ahead today with a new package of economic reforms. That's after a long night of talks in Brussels. The effort to address the unyielding debt crisis has threatened European unity and one important country, the United Kingdom, has refused to sign off on the reforms. More on that in a moment, but first we hear about the new rules from NPR's Jim Zarroli.

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Mitt Romney was also in Iowa today. His campaign has spent the past several days on the offensive against Newt Gingrich. As Iowa Public Radio's Kate Wells reports, the former Massachusetts governor is facing a bigger challenge than he planned.

KATE WELLS, BYLINE: Remember when Mitt Romney wasn't supposed to really need Iowa?

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)

MITT ROMNEY: Thank you, Tom. Thank you.

(SOUNDBITE OF APPLAUSE)

U.S Attorney General Eric Holder told the House Judiciary Committee that the federal gunwalking program Fast and Furious was an unacceptable law enforcement tactic. But as Michel Marizco from the Fronteras Changing America Desk reports, Holder also suggested Congress needs to move forward.

President Obama supports expanding a program that allows certain foreigners to come to the US without a visa. But as Hernan Rozemberg reports from the Fronteras Changing America Desk, a new congressional report concludes that may not be such a good idea.

A new report from the Department of Homeland Security Inspector General says 69 million dollars of taxpayers' money meant for border fence construction has been wasted. From the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Ruxandra Guidi has the story.

Lynn Neary speaks with Sarah Weinman, the news editor for Publishers Marketplace, about the antitrust probe of Apple and six publishing houses over the prices of e-books. It is being investigated by the Department of Justice and the European Commission.

The gloves are off in the race for the GOP presidential nomination. Newt Gingrich's surge to the front of the pack appears to have more staying power than any of the other challengers to Mitt Romney's standing as party favorite. And so, team Romney is firing back, for the first time, at a candidate other than President Obama.

A museum dedicated to Pulitzer Prize-winning World War II columnist Ernie Pyle is in danger of closing. The site, in Pyle's hometown of Dana, Ind., attracts fewer than 2,000 visitors annually. The state recently cut off support to the museum and moved a number of the artifacts to the capitol. Now, a group of community volunteers is rallying to try to preserve the museum and Pyle's legacy.

Editors of the American Heritage Dictionary have rewritten the definition of a controversial entry. The term "Anchor baby" was one of about ten thousand new words added to the dictionary last month, but as Jude Joffe Block reports for the Fronteras Changing America Desk, the definition sparked criticism.

Ever since Arizona's controversial S-B-10-70 became law last year, other states and cities have tried to follow its example. But as Ruxandra Guidi reports for the Fronteras Changing America Desk, few cities have defied both state and federal immigration laws like the city of Escondido, California.

After sailing through the U.S. House of Representatives, a bill that proponents called a small, but significant, step toward immigration reform has met a roadblock in the Senate. From the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Jill Replogle has the story.

The number of Americas over age 65 grew faster than any other age group in the country. From the Fronteras Changing America Desk Monica Ortiz Uribe reports that retirees contributed to most of the growth in the southwest.

A national conservative Hispanic group is calling for Texas Governor Rick Perry to drop out of the presidential race. From the Fronteras Changing America Desk, Hernán Rozemberg has more.

New emails released by the Department of Justice show that top officials were worried about the public perception of its gun walking programs in Arizona. As Michel Marizco reports for the Fronteras Changing America Desk, this was even before two of those guns turned up at the scene of a Border Patrol agent’s murder. 

The hip-hop band The Roots might currently be the hardest-working band in show business. Five nights a week, it's the house band on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and is constantly collaborating with other artists. And this week, the band issued its 10th studio album.

Time now for a home-viewing recommendation from our film critic, Bob Mondello. With a new movie version of Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy opening this week, Bob's suggesting the TV original.

At some point in my youth, I must have known the nursery rhyme "Tinker, tailor/ soldier, sailor/ rich man, poor man/beggar man, thief," but since 1979, the instant someone says "Tinker Tailor," the next two words that occur to me are "Alec Guinness."

The audio link above is a radio story for All Things Considered about the late Larry Levan, the producer and DJ whose residency at New York's Paradise Garage between 1977 and 1987 remains the most storied in clubland.

In the past two weeks, Russia's president has once again slammed the U.S. for its missile defense plans in Europe. President Dmitry Medvedev told his nation Russia would aim its missiles at U.S. missile interceptors when they are deployed in Europe. He also said Russia might even pull out of the new START agreement, which limits both sides' strategic nuclear warhead deployments. We've heard these complaints and threats before from Moscow. Nevertheless, the tone of the Medvedev's remarks was quite sharp.

Soul music lost one of its great voices last week. Singer Howard Tate died Friday after a battle with cancer at the age of 72. Tate had made his name with a string of classic records including "Get It While You Can," before sliding into obscurity and addiction. But Tate got sober, found religion and he enjoyed a successful encore career over the past decade.

Tate's first turn at the music business came in 1966, when the single "Ain't Nobody Home" hit the R&B charts.