In NCAA men's basketball action Thursday night, Iowa State defeated the the University of Connecticut 77-64. The Huskies were last year's champions. Also, VCU beat Wichita State 62-59 to advance to weekend play.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

We're learning more about the American staff sergeant accused of killing 16 villagers in Afghanistan. Last night, his lawyer said the soldier did not want to go to Afghanistan, his fourth deployment for the Army. He had been wounded twice and he didn't think he was healthy enough to deploy. The attorney didn't release the soldier's name, but did say he was the father of two young children and added that the soldier's family was totally shocked by the allegations against him.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne with Steve Inskeep.

The heirs to one Latin America's biggest media conglomerates, a brother and a sister, spent years with their real identities in question. They've long been thought to be part of a group of children stolen from their birth parents more than 30 years ago. That was during Argentina's Dirty War, the terror campaign waged by the military junta then ruling Argentina against members of the opposition.

The United Nations estimates some 8,000 people have been killed in Syria since the uprising began one year ago. One of them was Abdulrahman Abu Lebdeh, 24, who was killed in the town of Tal Kalakh last fall. His parents, his brother and one of his friends, who was also an activist, told the story of his life and death to NPR's Kelly McEvers and Lava Selo.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Now for our last word in business: crooner.

(SOUNDBITE OF MUSIC)

JOSEPH KOBZON: (Singing in foreign language)

MONTAGNE: Joseph Kobzon has been called Russia's Frank Sinatra for his voice and also for his suspected mob connections. That's why the U.S. has banned him from entering the country since 1995.

The Federal Trade Commission is looking at complaints raised last month when it was discovered Google was bypassing the privacy settings on Apple's Safari browsers to track user activity on the web. The agency wants to know whether the company "misrepresented" its privacy policy.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The Israeli film "Footnote" has racked up a pile of awards - Best Screenplay at Cannes, nine awards at Israel's Oscars, and a nomination for Best Foreign Language film at the Academy Awards.

Film critic Kenneth Turan says it's all deserved.

KENNETH TURAN: "Footnotes"'s subject matter sounds dry, unlikely, even obscure. The film is set in Jerusalem's Hebrew University and deals with the implacable rivalry between two scholars of the Talmud, the complex and sacred text of the Jewish religious tradition.

On today’s Your Call, it’s our Friday media roundtable. This week, we’ll discuss coverage of the massacre in Afghanistan. A U.S. Army Staff Sergeant allegedly killed 16 people in villages near Kandahar. How are the media covering this tragedy? What questions should reporters be asking? We’ll be joined by the Sydney Morning Herald’s Paul Mcgough and independent journalist Anna Badkhen and The Times’ Jeremy Kelly.Join us at 10 or email feedback@yourcallradio.org. Where did you see the best coverage of Afghanistan this week? And what was your story of the week?

One night in 1995 completely reshaped the lives of Phil and Laura Donney. Their parents were arguing, and their father stabbed their mother, killing her. Phil was 7; his sister was 4.

Ken Donney was sent to prison, and the children went to live with their mother's sisters.

Phil, 23, recently sat down with his aunt, Abby Leibman, the twin sister of his mother, Nina Leibman.

"What was it like becoming a parent to my sister and I overnight?" Phil asks.

The Defense Department is bracing for billions of dollars in budget cuts — and that has defense contractors looking for new markets. Homeland Security is one of the most promising, particularly border security, which hasn't suffered any big cuts. So companies are lining up in hopes of landing a contract.

At a border security trade show in Phoenix, Ariz., there's enough surveillance equipment on the floor of the convention center to spot a federal appropriation from 5 miles away.