Mark Memmott

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- U.S., Other 'Friends Of Syria,' To Call On Syria's Assad To Step Aside.

-- Obama's Tax Plan Is 'Step Forward,' But Not Enough, Key Republican Says.

Slightly more than one year after a series of controversial events led to top leaders' depatures, NPR this morning announced "a new executive structure" and named two current managers to key posts.

NPR President and CEO Gary Knell said that:

As Syrian security forces continue to pound the city of Homs and surrounding areas, "the United States, Europe and Arab countries were set Friday to back a proposal for Syria's president to step aside and allow in humanitarian assistance to end a brutal crackdown against opponents," The Associated Press writes.

President Obama's proposal to cut the top corporate tax rate from its current 35 percent to 28 percent (and in some cases, to 25 percent) is "a good step forward and I welcome looking at the details," the chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee said today on Morning Edition.

Once again, former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is in the news and the story is one of this morning's "talkers."

Another big batch of emails she wrote while in office has been released, and as The Associated Press writes:

This alleged crime in Madison, Wis., is odd enough — or funny enough, depending on your point of view — to begin with.

It seems that 52-year-old James B. Summers went into a local Denny's restaurant Tuesday afternoon and said he was the new general manager. This was a surprise to the folks working there.

Summers, though, insisted that he was indeed the new boss. And he seemed to be familiar with the kitchen — he grabbed a soft drink and cooked up a cheeseburger and fries.

A United Nations panel says it has evidence that top Syrian officials "bear responsibility for crimes against humanity and other gross human rights violations" during the nearly year-long crackdown on dissent that has left thousands of civilians dead.

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Dozens Killed, Hundreds Wounded In Iraq; Attacks Blamed On Al-Qaida.

-- Report: Two U.S. Troops Killed In Afghanistan; Quran Burnings Backlash?

The buzz is building about the news that, as The New York Times has reported, there soon may be "Google glasses" that can "stream information to the wearer's eyeballs in real time."

(This post was updated with breaking news at 9:27 a.m. ET.)

Seven U.S. Marines were killed Wednesday night when two helicopters collided over the Yuma, Ariz., Training Range Complex, according to a statement just emailed to the NPR Newscast Desk by a spokesman for the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing.

The statement adds that:

"The aircraft, an AH-1W 'Cobra' and an UH-1Y 'Huey,' were conducting routine training operations around 8:00 p.m. Identities of the Marines will be withheld until next of kin have been notified."

There were 351,000 first-time claims for unemployment insurance last week, unchanged from the four-year-low level of the week before, the Employment and Training Administration just reported.

It adds that "the 4-week moving average was 359,000, a decrease of 7,000 from the previous week's revised average of 366,000."

Saying that "we must reject the conclusion that privacy is an outmoded value" and that it has been "at the heart of our democracy from its inception," President Obama this morning released his administration's "Framework for Protecting Privacy and Promoting Innovation in the Global Digital Economy" — a "Consumer Privacy Bill of Rights."

"Two U.S. troops have been shot to death and four more wounded by an Afghan solider who turned his gun on his allies in apparent anger over the burning of Qurans at a U.S. military base in Afghanistan, an Afghan official tells CBS News."

Officially, the International Security Assistance Force says that:

"A rapid series of attacks spread over a wide swath of Iraqi territory killed at least 50 people on Thursday, targeting mostly security forces in what appeared to be another strike by al-Qaida militants bent on destabilizing the country," The Associated Press reports.

As the case against former Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak came to a close today, the trial judge announced he expects to deliver a verdict on June 2.

According to al-Jazeera:

There were 4.3 percent more existing homes sold in January than in December, and the 4.57 million annual rate was the highest since May 2010, the National Association of Realtors reports.

Sales have gone up three of the past four months.

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- Killing Continues In Syria, Two Western Journalists Among Victims.

-- Protests Continue In Afghanistan Over Quran Burnings; Some Killed.