Morning Edition

Former Prime Minister Geir Haarde was the first leader to be put on trial for his role in the global financial crisis. Renee Montagne talks to Michael Stothard, a correspondent for the Financial Times, about Haarde being found guilty of negligence for his handling of the financial crisis. He was cleared of three other charges.

Transcript

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

General Motors is making a bigger effort in what's become the world's biggest car market. At the Beijing Auto Show this week, GM said it plans to open 600 new dealerships in China this year. GM is trying to grow Chinese sales while they still can.

NPR's Frank Langfitt reports from Shanghai.

There's some soul-searching going on in the military these days.

The latest scandal to hit U.S. troops fighting in Afghanistan surfaced last week when The Los Angeles Times published photographs showing smiling American soldiers holding up body parts of a Taliban suicide bomber.

U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta addressed the latest incident during a trip to Brussels.

"That behavior that was depicted in those photos absolutely violates both our regulations and, more importantly, our core values," he said last week after a NATO meeting.

Misaki Murakami and his family lost everything in last year's tsunami in Japan. Waves carried his soccer ball — covered in notes from third grade friends — to a beach in Alaska. The ball is being returned.

In the 1990's, a Panthers' player earned a place in pro hockey lore when he found a rat in the dressing room, and whacked it with his hockey stick. Fans are encouraged to litter the ice with plastic rats after a win. In a playoff game Saturday, a player from the opposing New Jersey Devils raced for the puck, and kicked a toy rat instead.