Morning Edition

The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday tossed out an Arizona law that required proof of citizenship for its voters. In a 7-2 majority, the justices said the state's voter-approved Proposition 200 interfered with federal law. For more on the ruling, David Greene speaks with NPR's Carrie Johnson and Ron Elving.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm David Greene. Mayoral races across Mexico are turning into a zoo. In Xalapa, a cat named Morris is running with the campaign slogan: Tired of voting for rats? Vote for a cat. Candidates in other cities include Chon the Donkey and Tina the Chicken. Now, Morris the cat is in the lead - at least on social media.

He has 115,000 likes on Facebook, more than any of the five human candidates. And to think if he loses, that cat has eight more chances. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

When New England Patriots' owner Robert Kraft met with then-Russian President Vladmir Putin in 2005, he showed off his Super Bowl ring. Kraft told a crowd last week Putin put the ring on, and said, "I can kill someone with this ring." He then put it in his pocket, and walked away. The Kremlin says the ring was a gift.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

The U.S. Open concluded yesterday at the Merion Golf Club, just outside Philadelphia. And for American Phil Mickelson, this was another case of always the bridesmaid, never the bride. Mickelson finished as runner-up at the Open for a record sixth time, despite leading for most of the tournament. In the end, it was England's Justin Rose who took the prize, winning his first major tournament.

And for a recap of all the drama, we reached USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan, who covered all the action. Hey, Christine.

The home-improvement retailer Lowe's has reportedly agreed to buy Orchard Supply Hardware Stores. The sale price is expected to top $200 million. Orchard is a California-based hardware-and-garden chain. It was once owned by Sears, and is now about $230 million in debt.

More than 40,000 scientists in Spain have signed a petition calling on their government to freeze budget cuts blamed for an exodus of the country's best and brightest researchers. As the Spanish government struggles to avoid a bailout, it has cut the number of university jobs and research grants.

Boring TV is such a hit in the Scandinavian nation of Norway that broadcasters are scrambling to produce even more shows to satisfy the appetites of viewers. One idea being considered is a live show with knitting experts, according to The Wall Street Journal.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

OK, Scott just made clear economic issues have some competition for top billing at the G 8 Summit in Northern Ireland. We do, though, want to drill down into one economic question this morning, and that's why interest rates here at home are going up. The bond market has pushed them to the highest levels in 15 months, and that includes mortgage rates.

Let's turn, as we often do, to David Wessel. He's economics editor of The Wall Street Journal. David, good morning.

DAVID WESSEL: Good morning.

Jordan is hosting major military exercises known as Eager Lion 2013. More than 15,000 soldiers from 18 countries, including the U.S., will be participating. The war games kicked off as Syria's civil war rages next door.

In northern Lake Michigan, explorers are stepping up their effort to find a ship that sank in 1679. French and American archeologists are on the lake looking for the ship sailed by French explorer Rene-Robert Sieur de la Salle. So far, the excavation has uncovered a wooden beam that looks like the mast of a ship.

Moderate cleric Hasan Rouhani replaces Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has been in power since 2005. David Greene talks to Thomas Erdbrink, a reporter for The New York Times in Tehran, about Iran's newly elected president.

President Obama is in Northern Ireland Monday — the first stop on a three-day European visit that includes a G-8 summit meeting and a side trip to Berlin.

The president begins his tour with a speech in Belfast, celebrating Northern Ireland's peace process and urging young people in the country to keep it moving forward.

Later, Obama joins leaders of other industrial countries at a remote golf resort in County Fermanagh for talks on Syria, trade and the global economy.

Call it the Affordable Care Act, call it Obamacare, call it whatever you want — it's coming. And soon. In less than four months people without health insurance will be able to start signing up for coverage that begins Jan. 1.

A lot has been said about the law, most of it not that understandable. So starting now, and continuing occasionally through the summer and fall, we're going to try to fix that.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Renee Montagne.

The European Union is a big fan of traveling pets. It has pet passports that allow them to travel through all the member states. Still, until this week there was a limit. Travelers could only take up to five pets across the borders. Now, thanks to a pet-loving member of the EU Parliament, those who prefer to travel with herds of animals are now free to roam, as long as they're heading for a competition or a sporting event.

It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.