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In France, Politicians Make Halal Meat A Campaign Issue

Credit Anna Maria Jakub / Getty Images

French President Nicolas Sarkozy listens to a butcher during a visit to the butchery pavilion at the Rungis international food market, near Paris, in February.

By Eleanor Beardsley

Originally published on Thu March 15, 2012 7:29 pm

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A provocative comment by an extreme right presidential candidate has started a debate that is dominating the French presidential campaign. France may be in the middle of an economic crisis, but politicians seem more interested in talking about halal meat and religious dietary rules.

It all began when National Front Party presidential candidate Marine Le Pen said that non-Muslims in Paris were unwittingly eating halal meat.

10:01 pm

Wed March 14, 2012

China's Giant Pool Of Dollars

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Credit Xinhua /Landov

There is an advantage to strengthening the currency for people in China: It makes their imports cheaper. A clerk counts bank notes in a bank in Nantong, east China's Jiangsu Province.

Credit Jacob Goldstein / NPR

Rosalia Yang, at the Shanghai factory where her company makes imitation-wood flooring for export.

By David Kestenbaum and Jacob Goldstein

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China's central bank is sitting on a giant pool of U.S. dollars. It's the world's biggest holder of foreign reserves, worth over $3 trillion at last count.

All that money has piled up because every year, China exports more than it imports; it runs a trade surplus.

There are lots of reasons for China's trade surplus. In the past few decades, China has built an amazing manufacturing ecosystem. It's become the factory to the world.

4:08 pm

Wed March 14, 2012

Santorum: Puerto Rico Must Adopt English If It Wants Statehood

Credit Christopher Gregory / Getty Images

Carlos Diaz, 84, reads local newspaper "El Vocero" with a front page depicting both Mitt Romney and Rick Santorum and a headline reading, "The National Battle Arrives on the Island."

By editor

Rick Santorum waded into a controversial issue today when he gave an interview to El Vocero, one of the biggest newspapers in Puerto Rico.

The issue? The island's primary language.

The paper asked the former Pennsylvania senator if he would back Puerto Rican statehood if Spanish along with English remained its official languages.

3:29 pm

Wed March 14, 2012

King Returns: Ex-Gov. Fights For Snowe's Senate Seat

Credit Joel Page / AP

Former Maine Gov. Angus King has been out of office since 2003. He currently teaches at Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine.

By Susan Sharon

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3:05 pm

Wed March 14, 2012

Romney Might Like The View From Peoria

Credit Jeff Haynes / Reuters /Landov

Peoria, Ill., as seen from across the Illinois River.

By Don Gonyea

Originally published on Wed March 14, 2012 8:10 pm

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Mississippi and Alabama were big wins for Rick Santorum in the fight for the GOP presidential nomination.

While never considered strong for Mitt Romney, those states further revealed the vulnerabilities of his campaign, specifically, problems identifying with many elements of the Republican base.

The next big contest is Tuesday in Illinois.

It's a state rich in delegates (69) and in something else that should be good news for Romney: more moderate Republicans. But he still needs to connect with even those voters.

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