NPR News

By an overwhelming majority, the British House of Commons passed a bill that legalizes gay marriage. The bill is expected to become law because it is supported by Prime Minister David Cameron.

The House passed the bill with a vote of 400 to 175.

The CBC reports:

"Same-sex civil partnerships have been allowed in the U.K. for eight years. One of the more high-profile unions is between musician Elton John and his Canadian partner, David Furnish.

Florida voters in 2010 approved constitutional amendments by nearly 2-to-1 margins that forbade state legislators from coordinating with political parties or favoring incumbents when drawing new congressional districts.

So what did lawmakers in Tallahassee do? The Republican leaders in charge of drawing new maps coordinated with Republican Party consultants to protect Republican incumbents.

Men can be forgiven for being confused over screening for prostate cancer. Doctors are confused, too.

When it comes to figuring out if the benefits are worth the risks, the simplest solutions may not be best, a study of the options finds.

While the economy will benefit from continued improvement in "underlying" conditions, the federal government's push to tighten its spending will slow overall growth in 2013, the Congressional Budget Office projects.

In an updated "Budget and Economic Outlook" reported released Tuesday afternoon, the agency forecasts:

-- 1.4 percent growth in gross domestic product this year, vs. 2.3 percent in 2012.

-- 2.6 percent growth in 2014.

-- 4.1 percent growth in 2015.

It happens all the time: The government announces some giant settlement with a company that's been accused of doing something wrong. The company agrees to pay some massive fine. Then, in the fine print, there's something along the lines of: "The company neither admits nor denies any wrongdoing."

Recently, though, some powerful people have been pushing back, rejecting deals that include this kind of fine print.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan.

And now, a look beyond Baltimore and Beyonce to the enduring possibilities of an ephemeral event. When the lights went out at Superdome on Sunday, Twitter lit up. Advertising teams from several companies tried to capitalize with instant ads. Like many of the regular ads, almost of these flopped, but one produced an idea that people are still buzzing about, Oreo cookies. If you work in the ad business, how does social media changed the game? Give us a call, 800-989-8255. Email: talk@npr.org.

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NEAL CONAN, HOST:

This is TALK OF THE NATION. I'm Neal Conan in Washington. For most of this hour, we'll focus on the experiences of mixed-status families and the complications of navigating the gray areas in the shadows of immigration, when one or some are citizens and others are here illegally.

Grab a guitar, hit those three chords (A, D, E) and take three minutes to pay your respects:

Reg Presley, who sang Wild Thing with The Troggs in 1966, is dead. He was 71 and had suffered a series of strokes recently.

The band's website says Presley "died peacefully" on Monday, "surrounded by all of his family."

NPR's Neda Ulaby tells our Newscast Desk that:

Marking a new escalation in tensions between countries with the world's second and third largest economies, Japan formally complained today that China had locked a military radar on one of its ships.

The Washington Post reports this was a "brief but dangerous escalation" in a continued dispute over territory. The Post adds:

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

This is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. I'm Michel Martin. Coming up, if you're planning something special this Valentine's Day, here's another question you might want to ask that special someone first: What's your credit score? In our Money Coach today, we'll hear about why some singles are asking this question pretty early in the dating game these days.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE from NPR News. Coming up, people often talk about the struggle to get into college but for many students, finishing is really the big challenge. Our next guest has some practical tips for students, to help them make it to the finish line.

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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

Now we'd like to talk about education, as we often do, and we know that college students are back on campus for the spring term, and we have to assume that a good number of them are not feeling so great about the first term. Why do we say that? In large part because, as we've reported previously, the data shows that too many students are struggling, not just to get into college but to finish within a reasonable amount of time.

Pop singer Rihanna recently announced she's back together with recording artist Chris Brown, after an abusive relationship and public breakup. She says he's changed, but many people say this shows just how complicated domestic abuse can be. Host Michel Martin finds out why victims reconcile and whether abusers can really change.

This news got our attention, and not just because The Two-Way's home office is in the nation's capital:

Washington, D.C., and its surrounding suburbs are the worst place in the nation to be if you absolutely, positively have to get to an important appointment on time.

So what did you do during the blackout on Super Bowl Sunday? Other than, say, apply some deer antler spray?

For most Americans, it was trying to figure out the ScuttleButton puzzle on Super Bowl Sunday. Actually, it's always difficult trying to solve ScuttleButton while watching the game on Super Bowl Sunday. But now it's time to focus on the new puzzle.

The U.S. Ski and Snowboard Association says that American skier Lindsey Vonn crashed during the women's world Super-G competition in Austria today and was airlifted to a nearby hospital. Reports indicate she may have a serious knee injury.

The gold-winning Olympian was trailing the race leader by 0.12 seconds, according to the USSA, when she crashed. She was taken for medical treatment by helicopter, which the organization says is 'standard protocol'.

(We updated the top of this post at 1:30 p.m. ET.)

Looking to head off deep, automatic spending cuts set to kick in on March 1, President Obama on Tuesday afternoon said that to avoid the negative economic effects that come with "political disfunction," Congress should move quickly to pass "a smaller package of spending cuts and tax reforms" that won't hurt the economy.

We had this show all wrapped up last Friday. It was totally in the can! Then My Bloody Valentine dropped its highly anticipated new album over the weekend and threw our previously recorded show into total chaos! But hey, it was worth it. We (and all the other My Bloody Valentine fans out there) have been waiting more than 20 years for this! Hear a new cut from the album and tell us what you think in the comments section.

It's a real bummer to be told to eat less of something. Especially when it's salt, the ubiquitous ingredient that seems to make everything taste a little better.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

It's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Seigel.

A week-long hostage standoff in Alabama is over. Last week in the southeastern part of the state, a man kidnapped a boy from a school bus and took him into an underground bunker. Authorities had been trying to negotiate his release ever since. Late today, it was announced that the kidnapper is dead and the five-year-old hostage is OK.

Here's the FBI's Steve Richardson giving a statement in Midland City.

A young man graduates from college. At his father's insistence, he begins interning at a law firm. But when it comes time to pursue the profession, he refuses: He wants to do something more meaningful. He wants to write.

Sound like your son/cousin/roommate/best friend? It was Honoré de Balzac.

That's right – before he became a founder of realism and an unlikely literary sex icon ("Do not suppose," an Italian count wrote to his wife, "that the ugliness of his face will protect you from his irresistible power"), the young Balzac was proofreading legal filings.

Here's a turnabout in Mali: ethnic Tuareg rebels once allied with Islamist militants have captured two militant leaders in the northwestern part of the country as they tried to escape into Algeria.

If you're investing to protect yourself from something that may happen 20 or 30 years down the road, you'd like to be confident that your plan will keep pace with the times.

That's a calculation purchasers of long-term care insurance have to make. But a provision in those policies that people rely on to help ensure their coverage will meet their needs decades hence may fall short.

"Slumping personal computer maker Dell is selling itself for $24.4 billion to its founder and a group of investors that includes Microsoft," The Associated Press writes, in "the largest deal of its kind since the Great Recession dried up financing for risky maneuvers like this."

The wire service adds that "the complex agreement announced Tuesday will end Dell Inc.'s nearly 25-year history as a publicly traded company. Shareholders are receiving $13.65 per share for their stock. ... Founder Michael Dell will remain the company's CEO and largest shareholder."

Good morning, here are our early stories:

Broader Justification Emerges Of When U.S. Can Kill Americans Who Join Al-Qaida.

Dramatic End To Alabama Hostage Standoff Took Careful Planning.

And here are more early headlines:

American citizens who become leaders in al-Qaida or other terrorist organizations overseas and pose "an imminent threat" to Americans may be killed with drone strikes even when there's no evidence that they have specific plans to attack Americans or U.S. interests, according to a Justice Department memo that surfaced Monday.

NPR's Carrie Johnson tells our Newscast Desk that: