Transcript

ROBERT SIEGEL, HOST:

The number of Americans who use food stamps is now close to 46 million, that's 15 percent of the population. The program is formally known as SNAP these days, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program. And the number of people who depend on it to buy groceries has grown substantially, even since the recession was officially declared over, back in June of 2009.

Organic Italian olives are the unlikely suspects in a new botulism outbreak, which has sickened two people in Europe. The Food and Drug Administration has urged people not to eat Bio Gaudiano organic olives stuffed with almonds, and the United States distributor has recalled the product.

The government released a new experimental poverty measure Monday that found that the poverty rate was 16 percent last year — slightly higher than previously thought.

The new measure won't replace the official one, but it is an effort to get a more accurate picture of who is and isn't poor.

Allegedly, there's a tsunami washing up on American shores. It originates in Chinese beehives and the American beekeepers who've spotted it are hopping mad.

As he listens to the current debate in Washington over the budget deficit, taxes and economic policy, former President Bill Clinton says the discussion lacks a lot.

"It's all about 'is the government good or bad or taxes always good or bad?' " he told Morning Edition co-host Steve Inskeep during an conversation that's scheduled to air Tuesday. "There's very little talk about what actually works."

That's why Clinton has a new book — Back to Work — with this subtitle: Why We Need Smart Government for a Strong Economy.

Update at 4:16 p.m. ET: A California jury has found Dr. Conrad Murray guilty of involuntary manslaughter in the 2009 death of pop icon Michael Jackson.

As the clerk read the verdict, Murray looked on with a blank stare. When the clerk said guilty, an emotional shriek was heard in the courtroom.

As the judge read the jury more instructions, the Houston cardiologist sat next to his counsel without any visible emotion. Television images showed that Jackson fans outside the court house rejoiced.

The United States Supreme Court heard arguments on Monday in a case that combines the Middle East conflict with the dueling foreign policy roles of Congress and the president. Specifically, the question was whether Congress can force the executive branch to list Israel as the birthplace for United States citizens born in Jerusalem.

Barnes & Noble announced today that it, too, was entering the tablet market. Its Nook Tablet aims to compete with Amazon's Kindle Fire and Apple's iPad.

The Wall Street Journal reports: