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MICHEL MARTIN, HOST:

I'm Michel Martin, and this is TELL ME MORE, from NPR News. Coming up, as we approach Mother's Day this Sunday, we're checking out a new book. It's called "What My Mother Gave Me." It's about the special gift mothers give their daughters. That's just ahead.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. Good morning.

When you consider the amazing discovery of three kidnapped women living in Cleveland, two thoughts come to mind about the neighborhood. The first is about the decency of Charles Ramsey, the neighbor who rescued Amanda Berry as she tried to escape.

INSKEEP: A natural second thought is to wonder if the women were held prisoner for a decade, how could it be that nobody saved them sooner?

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

When Charles Ramsey talked with a 911 operator about the woman he'd found, the operator had this question.

(SOUNDBITE OF 911 CALL)

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON: Can you ask her if she needs an ambulance?

CHARLES RAMSEY: You need an ambulance or what? She needs everything. She's in a panic. I bet she's been kidnapped, so you know, put yourself in her shoes.

INSKEEP: Put yourself in her shoes.

NPR's Carrie Johnson reports law enforcement is trying to do just that.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

The discovery of the three women in Cleveland has overshadowed another story here in Washington, about an 83-year-old woman found dead yesterday near Reagan National Airport. Victoria Kong suffered short-term memory loss. She arrived at the airport Friday on a flight, but went missing after wandering off on foot. The stories, taken together, paint a broad and varied picture of what it means to be missing in America, and the two cases sent us looking at the latest missing-persons numbers.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

You're listening to ALL THINGS CONSIDERED from NPR News.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The people of Lewiston, Maine, are on edge. Over the past week, fires have destroyed eight apartment buildings and left nearly 200 people homeless. Two 12-year-old boys have been arrested.

But as Susan Sharon of Maine Public Radio reports, the city still has a big problem on its hands: A surplus of condemned and vacant buildings.

It's hard out here for a black man the Internet accidentally thrusts into the limelight. Those 15 minutes ain't no joke.

Charles Ramsey, the Cleveland man who helped Amanda Berry escape from her captor and free her fellow captives, is already a full-fledged Thing On The Internet, primarily owing to a live local television news interview. During that interview, Ramsey proved himself a fantastic storyteller, and he kept it extra-extra-real.

"Margaret Groening died peacefully in her sleep on April 22, 2013, in Portland."

That paid obituary, which ran Monday in The Oregonian, marked the life of the woman who served as the inspiration for one of the best-known characters on television and arguably pop culture: the beehive-coiffed Marge Simpson.

Groening was 94.

Updated at 9:29 pm ET --- Former South Carolina Republican governor Mark Sanford easily beat Democrat Elizabeth Colbert Busch to regain the House seat he once held.

For Sanford, the victory in the strongly Republican 1st Congressional District was sure to be widely viewed as a personal redemption. Sanford left the governor's mansion in 2009 after an extramarital affair with an Argentinian woman who is now his fiancee led to the breakup of his marriage.

Since 1993, the United States has seen a drop in the rate of homicides and other violence involving guns, according to two new studies released Tuesday. Using government data, analysts saw a steep drop for violence in the 1990s, they saw more modest drops in crime rates since 2000.

The auditorium at James Blake High School in Silver Spring, Md., is packed when Cy Maramangalam strolls onstage, sporting jeans and a shaved head.

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AUDIE CORNISH, HOST:

From NPR News, it's ALL THINGS CONSIDERED. I'm Audie Cornish.

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

And I'm Robert Siegel. In Cleveland, Ohio, there are more questions than answers today, as investigators piece together the kidnappings of three women. They were rescued from a house last night, after roughly a decade in captivity. Three brothers are behind bars. Now, police and residents are asking how this could have happened in that working class neighborhood. From member station WCPN in Cleveland, Nick Castele reports.

President Obama says the United States and South Korea are determined to stand firm against North Korean threats and that the days of Pyongyang manufacturing a crisis to get international concessions "are over."

In a joint news conference with South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Tuesday, Obama said the two leaders "very much share the view that we are going to maintain a strong deterrent" against North Korea.

"We're not going to reward provocative behavior, but we remain open to the prospect of North Korea taking a peaceful path," he said.

The four women who survived a fire that erupted in a moving limousine Saturday did so by squeezing through a narrow partition window between the passenger cabin and the driver's area. As we reported Monday, the tragedy claimed the lives of five other women on a bridge over San Francisco Bay.

The FBI recently made Joanne Chesimard the first woman on its list of most wanted terrorists. But the crimes she was convicted of happened 40 years ago. Host Michel Martin talks with sociology professor Alondra Nelson of Columbia University about Chesimard, aka, Assata Shakur, and why she's on the same list as Taliban and Hezbollah leaders.

Charles Ramsey helped save three missing women from a home in Cleveland, Ohio. But he said something interesting about why he answered their call for help. Host Michel Martin explores what Ramsey's comments may say about race in America.

There's controversy about what to do with the body of Boston Marathon bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. But what happened to the bodies of other similar figures in recent history like Adam Lanza or the Virginia Tech shooter? Host Michel Martin finds out.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION, from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep. This is one of those news stories that leaves your jaw on the floor; an incredible story in Cleveland. Three women who were kidnapped a decade ago have been found alive, in a house not far from where they disappeared.

(SOUNDBITE OF NEWS CONFERENCE)

STEPHEN ANTHONY: For Amanda's family, for Gina's family, for Michelle's family, prayers have finally been answered. The nightmare is over.

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, whose weight has been both joked about and treated as a real health concern, told The New York Post on Monday that he "secretly underwent lap-band stomach surgery [in February] to aggressively slim down for the sake of his wife and kids."

"I've struggled with this issue for 20 years," he told the Post. "For me, this is about turning 50 and looking at my children and wanting to be there for them."

The Massachusetts funeral director who is trying to find a cemetery that's willing to bury the body of Boston Marathon bombings suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev says he has gotten 120 offers from graveyards around the U.S. and Canada.

But when Peter Stefan "calls officials of the cities or towns involved, nobody wants the body," The Associated Press reports.

(Most recent update: 11:40 a.m. ET. Click here to see how we cover stories such as this.)

"Help! Help me!"

A young woman's desperate cries alerted neighbors Monday to a frightening tale in Cleveland.

Tamerlan Tsarnaev is stuck in a no-man's land.

The body of the suspected Boston Marathon bomber has been at a funeral home in Worcester, Mass., since Friday, refused burial by local cemeteries.

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

On a Tuesday, it's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm David Greene.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

We're tracking an amazing story out of Cleveland. Three women who went missing as teenagers about a decade ago, in separate cases, have been found alive together. They were not far from where they disappeared. Two of had had been feared dead, until yesterday when police received this 911 call.

AMANDA BERRY: Help me, I'm Amanda Berry.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: You need police, fire or ambulance?

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DAVID GREENE, HOST:

By the end of next month, nearly $30 million in private contributions may be handed out to hundreds of victims of the Boston Marathon bombing. The administrator of the fund outlined plans last night for who might be eligible and how the money will be divided. But survivors and their families are questioning how a dollar value can be given to their injuries and losses.

NPR's Tovia Smith reports.

The FBI says Monday it foiled a terrorist attack in a small Minnesota town, but officials offered few details.

There was a time when Jim DeMint was committed to helping Sen. Marco Rubio achieve his goals.

Not anymore.

At least not when it comes to remaking the nation's immigration laws.

DeMint is president of the conservative-leaning Heritage Foundation, which on Monday released a report contending that an immigration overhaul would cost U.S. taxpayers $6.3 trillion over 13 years in direct and indirect spending like welfare and public schools.

Congress is considering a bill that would allow states to collect sales taxes from online retailers. Proponents say a law is necessary to level the playing field with brick-and-mortar stores and to raise revenue for states.

Is there a code of ethics when it comes to burying a body, no matter what that person did while he or she was alive? The family of Tamerlan Tsarnaev is finding out, as they've received rejections from local cemeteries to bury the 26-year-old bomb suspect's body. Audie Cornish talks to undertaker and author Thomas Lynch for his perspective.