Morning Edition

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The Occupy camp in Los Angeles has become something of a microcosm of the city. Some differences are showing among people who call themselves the 99 Percent, homeless people clustered in an area called Skid Row. You find protesters with jobs in an area dubbed Westwood, an affluent community near UCLA. Gloria Hillard reports.

GLORIA HILLARD, BYLINE: Rain the night before has given way to a crisp and clear Los Angeles morning. Shelly Moss pulls a crocheted maroon sweater over her blond hair and adjusts her glasses.

The Canadian company that wants to build an oil pipeline from Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico says it will shift its route. Monday's announcement came after President Obama said he would delay a decision to approve the $7 billion project. Nebraska residents were concerned about the pipeline running through an environmentally sensitive area, and possibly contaminating water supplies.

The Federal Housing Administration today issues its annual report to Congress. A Wharton School professor is warning the FHA's problems are worse than the agency is letting on. The professor predicts that taxpayers will have to provide another multi billion dollar bailout if the economy doesn't improve soon.

The video game "Batman: Arkham City" is one of the hottest titles of the year. Its publisher, Warner Brothers, has found several ways to make extra money from its sales. Renee Montagne talks to Kill Screen Magazine co-founder Jamin Warren about the industry's creative business models.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The pro basketball season had been getting canceled a couple of weeks at a time, but now the entire season could be lost. Players rejected last night what the owners said was their best offer. And the players made a dramatic move as well. They actually disbanded as a union. We're going to talk about this with NPR's Mike Pesca. He joins us from the studios of our member station WBUR in Boston.

Mike, good morning.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello.

INSKEEP: Hope WBUR is taking good care of you up there.

PESCA: They are.

The House of Representatives is set to debate this week a constitutional amendment requiring a balanced federal budget each year. It's part of the same mandate of this summer's debt ceiling law that more famously requires Congress to slash $1.2 trillion from the deficit or face automatic, across-the-board cuts.

Despite a constant flow of economic setbacks at home and abroad, the U.S. economy has been growing. But it hasn't been growing swiftly or adding many jobs. Steve Inskeep talks with David Wessel of The Wall Street Journal, and Zanny Minton Beddoes of The Economist, about how the U.S. will generate economic growth in the future.

Donald Glover is a truly multifaceted talent. He is a stand-up comedian. He has written for the NBC show 30 Rock and Comedy Central's The Daily Show, and has attracted significant attention for his role on the NBC show Community. As if that weren't enough, he also raps under the moniker Childish Gambino, and has just released a new album called Camp.

Mike Winder, the mayor of a Salt Lake City suburb, thought there was too much crime in the paper. So he started a second career as a freelance writer, under the pen name Richard Burwash. Before a policy against pen names forced him to confess, he provided more than a dozen articles, and even quoted himself.

The artist Makana was performing for President Obama and leaders of nations bordering the Pacific who were meeting in Honolulu. The singer opened his jacket to reveal an "Occupy with Aloha" T-shirt. And then launched into a protest song. Makana said the song did attract stares. Still, the Obamas appeared too busy with guests to notice.