NPR 2012-04-01

 Three days away from the delegate-rich GOP Wisconsin presidential primary vote, Mitt 1 Romney is working to establish himself as the inevitable 2 Republican standard bearer and the man to deny President Obama a second term.

 
“They just kill economic freedom. They make it harder and harder for our economy to grow and put people back to work, and the proof is in the pudding. Look at this recovery: the most tepid 3, weakest recovery we've seen since Hoover.”
 
Also campaigning in Wisconsin, Pennsylvania's Rick Santorum continuing to argue that he, not the former Massachusetts governor, is the man to get the job done. 
 
“We’re able to win, not with moderate candidates, but with conservative candidates, with the people who knew when they went to Washington DC, you could trust them to do what they say. No Etch-a-Sketch. Not written on an Etch-a-Sketch, but written on your heart.”
 
In addition to Wisconsin, there will be primaries Tuesday in Maryland and in the District of Columbia. President Obama used his weekly address to call for higher taxes on millionaires. NPR's Neda Ulaby has details.
 
The president said the point is to make the country a little more fair.
 
“Should we ask middle-class Americans to pay even more at a time when their budgets are already stretched to the breaking point? Or should we ask some of the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share?”
 
The president named Warren Buffett, Bill Gates and himself as examples of people who he says are not paying their fair share when it comes to taxes. The Buffett Rule got its name from the billionaire who famously observed that his tax rate is lower than his secretary's. The president's budget proposal would require people who make a million dollars a year or more to pay a tax rate equal or higher to those paid by middle-class families. Neda Ulaby, NPR News.
 
Lottery 4 winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland will split a 640-million-dollar jackpot. As NPR's Joel Rose reports, lottery officials say that total was the highest ever. 
 
Wannabe millionaires across the country held their breath last night when the winning numbers were picked. The odds 5 of winning — 176 million to one. 
 
“…in history. Our first number tonight is 46 that's followed by 23. Of next we have 38 that's followed by...”
 
When it got settled, winners in Kansas, Illinois and Maryland were each holding a ticket expected to be worth more than 213 million dollars before taxes. The other winners are the 42 states and the District of Columbia that sponsor the lottery. The greater than normal interest in the Mega Millions jackpot should translate into tens of millions of dollars in extra revenues for the House. Joel Rose, NPR News.
 
Around the world today, major cities are participating in Earth Hour. Starting it off Sydney, Australia, where the Harbor Bridge and Opera House went dark for an hour, part of a global environmental campaign to focus on climate change by briefly 6 turning off the lights. 
 
This is NPR News in Washington. 
 
French police have swept that nation for suspected radical 7 Islamists, apprehending 8 19 people, later freeing two. The sweep followed a spate 9 of deadly attacks in southwest France by a gunman claiming the links to al-Qaeda. He was killed by police after a standoff. A French intelligence official is telling a newspaper in Marseilles that the suspects had sophisticated weapons, conducted training and may had been preparing a kidnapping. 
 
The Final Four tips off in New Orleans tonight. Kansas takes on Ohio State in the late game. Louisville plays state rival Kentucky in the first game. NPR's Mike Pesca has a preview. 
 
Kansas was supposed to have a down season as their best players from last year left Laurence for the NBA. Instead, key reserve Thomas Robinson transformed himself into a first-team All-American, and guard Tyshawn Taylor provides spark and grip, though his jump shot has betrayed him at times during this tournament. Their foe 10, Ohio State, features Jared Sullinger down low and guard Aaron Craft harassing 11 opponents defensively. In the early game, Louisville hopes to figure out a way to slow down a Kentucky team that has seemed invincible 12 at times during the tournament. Louisville's coach Rick Pitino, who once coached Kentucky to a national title, has his hands full. Mike Pesca, NPR News, New Orleans.
 
Sold at auction 13 in London today for 120,000 dollars, the Titanic's first-class lunch menu from the day the ocean liner collided with an iceberg 14 and sank. It made its way off the ship in the purse of the wife of a prominent San Francisco banker. On the menu, chicken a la Maryland among other items.
 
I'm Louise Schiavone, NPR News, Washington.