Morning Edition

The Catholic Church is drawing a line in the sand.

Perceiving its core beliefs to be under threat from popular culture, the White House and even Catholics themselves, the Vatican and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops are pushing back.

In recent months, the church leadership has been cracking down on liberal theologians, disciplining nuns and emphasizing a more orthodox theology.

Most dog lovers will insist a canine friend makes for a happier home. A number of studies back that up, too, touting the health benefits of four-legged companions.

But there's new evidence that dogs can make for a better workplace as well, making employees happier and more productive.

It is not facetious to say that dying may not have been the worst thing to happen to Joe Paterno this past year.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Visitors to the Columbus Zoo over the weekend were startled witnesses to a family feud. A fight broke out when mother elephant Phoebe was disciplining her son Beco. Another elephant, known as Aunt Connie, disapproved and the females started shoving each other. A zoo director told the Columbus Dispatch that elephants, like humans, sometimes disagree about child rearing. He also said the little elephant Beco is a punk. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Linda Wertheimer. Wal-Mart wanted more Facebook fans, so it asked rapper Pitbull for help. Pitbull agreed to a show at the Wal-Mart store with the most likes. The campaign went viral, then rural. As of this morning, more than 40,000 people have liked the Wal-Mart in Kodiak, Alaska. Kodiak is on an island, a town of less then 10,000, plus bears, of course. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Linda Wertheimer.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And I'm Renee Montagne.

People in states from the Midwest to the Atlantic are still dealing with the damage and power outages from Friday night's derecho. That's the name for the line of storms which swept through with shearing winds and intense lightening. Chicago was among the cities hit by a second severe storm on Sunday. We'll get an update from there in a moment.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

Jobs and the economy are big issues in this election. And from Alabama, we have a story of jobs coming from overseas to the U.S. European aircraft manufacturer Airbus is making a bold move into North America to compete in the largest market in the world for passenger jets.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The firm will build its first U.S. assembly plant on the Gulf Coast in Mobile, Alabama. NPR's Debbie Elliott reports the region has been working for years to attract Airbus.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And before kicking off Pie Week, MORNING EDITION sponsored a pie contest here in the office. One of our winners was science editor Maria Godoy, who baked a medieval pork pie.

MARIA GODOY, BYLINE: It was a sweet and savory dish made of ground pork and currants, dates and honey. And then I got these dragon figurines breathing flames to sort of guard the dish.

MONTAGNE: Maria was inspired by the fantasy novel and HBO series "Game of Thrones."

(SOUNDBITE OF THEME MUSIC, "GAME OF THRONES")

A planned runoff in the 100 meters between Allyson Felix and Jeneba Tarmoh was canceled at the U.S. Olympic Track and Field Trials in Eugene, Ore., Monday. Tarmoh decided not to race. The two had tied for third place in the women's 100.

As more people take shift work in the still struggling economy, the need for after hours child care has increased. Throughout the country, many daycare centers have begun offering evening hours or 24-hour care. Parents say their kids should be sleeping at home at night, but they have no choice but to work when jobs are available.

In France, a law just took effect that requires all drivers, including tourists, to buy a breathalyzer test to keep in their cars. Drunk driving is huge problem in France — causing more accidents per year than speeding. It was recently discovered that the head of the group that lobbied for the law also works for a company that makes the kits.

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LINDA WERTHEIMER, HOST:

NPR's business news starts with another bye-bye at Barclays.

No power and high heat equal no fun in parts of Illinois. Some worry that July 4 celebrations will be affected.

It's Pie Week on Morning Edition, and we wanted to know more about where pie comes from. Linda Wertheimer talks to food anthropologist Deborah Duchon about the history of pie.

Whether economic sanctions can force a government to change course is far from clear, but Iran should be a good test case.

A European Union embargo on Iranian oil took full effect this week, complementing U.S. measures that have grown much more severe in recent weeks. Other Western sanctions now in place target Iranian banks, foreign companies that provide shipping insurance for Iranian oil tankers, and foreign firms that invest in the Iranian oil industry.