Entire Program - March 13, 2009

(1) World Leaders met in London today to figure out how to best tackle the global financial crisis. (2) Lawrence Summers, the President's top economic advisor, talked to the Brookings Institute today. (3) More bad news in the newspaper industry. Jenny Shalant reports.

(1) In an emergency meeting today, the Metropolitan Transit Authority discussed ways to stave off drastic fare hikes and service cuts. (2) The first contracts for a new tunnel between Manhattan and northern New Jersey were released today. (3) City police officers issued more than nine thousand tickets during a 24-hour crackdown on phoning-while-driving. (4) And if you thought you saw a house floating up the East River this morning, you weren’t hallucinating. Maura Walz reports

How many instruments can you play with a guitar ? We take you to a concert by an Italian musician who makes his guitar work as a mini orchestra. Adi Narayan reports.

Protestors from the New York City Coalition to Stop Budget Cuts paid a visit to Mayor Bloomberg's home on the Upper East Side. Chana Dorrough reports.

Host Eleanor Boudreau talks with Lisa Smith, professor of law at Brooklyn Law School and former Executive Assistant District Attorney, about domestic violence.

March Madness officially begins Sunday when the NCAA announces the 64 teams that will compete for this year’s college basketball championship. It’s the time of year when the most demure office worker can moprh into a hard-core gambler who pores over the championship brackets. I talked yesterday to author Alan Zaremba about his new book: March Madness: Bonding and Betting with the Boys in Las Vegas. He followed for years a particularly devoted group of gamblers – people who spend each basketball season in Las Vegas gambling parlors.

Zaremba will be blogging throughout the NCAA tournament at madnessofmarchblog.blogspot.com

During lean times, nonprofit leaders are meeting and scrambling together to find money for their futures. Kathleen Brooks reports.

In the fall, New York University will admit the first batch of applicants to its new video game design program. It shows the school recognizes that one of the industries least affected by the recession is also the most eager to fire up its economic engines in New York City. Dan O'Donnell has this report.

The famed muscial West Side Story is opening again on Broadway, this time with a twist. The Puerto Rican characters will perform portionis of the play in Spanish. Eric Eagan talked to some Puerto Ricans who said they love West Side Story, but are excited for an update.

If you're looking for charity to help you through these tough times, try getting an animal to make your case. That's an idea being put to the test at commentator Jenny Shalant's office, where there are plenty to choose from -- at least for now.

For bailed-out banks, sponsoring skilled foreign workers ain't what it used to be. Marine Olivesi reports.

Horse racing is a $15 billion dollar industry and, like other sports, it has its share of injuries. While a football player might sit out a few weeks with a broken leg, a horse may be euthanized on the track for the same injury. Sung Moss reports from a Queens racetrack where three race horses were put down last week.

In February news spread of a plan to boycott celebrations of the Tibetan New Year Losar. This was to protest Chinese rule and to mourn Tibetan lives lost in protests last year. As Maura Walz reports, this may signal a tactical change in the movement for Tibetan indepedence.

Recently there's been some good news for unions. Their numbers are rising and the Democreats won the election. Kathleen Brooks reports on whether this will change the fortunes for America's labor movement.