Morning Edition

Steve Inskeep talks to Tunisian journalist Asma Ghribi about threats to personal freedoms and human rights under the Islamist-led government. Amnesty International released a report after a journalist critical of the government was arrested on "public morals" charges for drinking on a beach.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The famed Sturgis motorcycle rally is wrapping up its 72nd year in South Dakota this weekend. As the rally ages so do many of the riders. We look at what's new on three wheels.

The Mars rover Curiosity is exploring the surface of the Red Planet in the Gale Crater, and it is also tweeting about its mission. The rover has a distinct personality, albeit one made by the strokes on a keyboard from the Jet Propulsion Lab in Pasadena, Calif.

A Senate panel found last year that Goldman Sachs marketed four sets of complex mortgage securities to banks and other investors, but failed to tell clients the securities were very risky. The Justice Department said the "burden of proof to bring a criminal case" could not be met.

Denny's Corp. is opening a flagship restaurant in downtown Las Vegas. It will take up 6,400 square feet and include a full bar and wedding chapel. And of course, it will be open 24-7.

The allegations this week against London-based Standard Chartered Bank raise questions, not just about the bank's viability but also about the efficacy of U.S. laws when it comes to foreign banks. Standard Chartered allegedly violated U.S. sanctions against Iran, and regulators said the bank's executives lied to investigators as part of a cover-up.

The case serves as yet another reminder that U.S. regulations, which have strengthened since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, apparently did not deter foreign banks from laundering money through their U.S. operations.

The Mars rover Curiosity is beginning its fifth day on the red planet, and it's been performing flawlessly from the moment it landed.

That's been especially gratifying for NASA landing engineer Adam Steltzner. Last Friday, while Steltzner was still on pins and needles waiting for the landing to take place, I told the story of Steltzner's decision as a young man to give up his life as a rocker and go for a career in space engineering.