NPR News

Brian Unger is the host of the History Channel show How The States Got Their Shapes.

When we talk about our moms, many of us end up crying. Barbra Walters made her career exploiting this universal weakness. Newt Gingrich proved it recently, very publicly, in Iowa talking about his mom.

I'm going to try to control my emotions as I discuss my mom.

Because I'm not ashamed to say — lately, there have been a few tears.

My mom's not sick. No, she beat cancer.

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- In Italy, Search Of Stricken Cruise Ship Suspended.

-- If You Really Need Wikipedia Today, You Can Get To It.

Though forecasters have scaled back from ominous predictions of up to 10 inches of snow today in Seattle and 4 feet in the Cascade Mountains, it's still going to be "a mess" in much of western Washington State today, The Seattle Times reports.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Lancaster is not social networking, but it is fighting crime with real tweets by birds. The city's mayor tells The Wall Street Journal that birds put residents in a "better place." And though police say the causes are many, crime in the city is down.