NPR News

The history of folk and pop music is littered with gorgeous intertwined voices: Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel, Gillian Welch and David Rawlings, The Jayhawks' Mark Olson and

After he was laid off in 2008, writer T.M. Shine adopted a unique approach to finding a job. He says his new goal is being nice to people, and he put that right at the top of his resume. Host Michel Martin speaks with Shine about his journey from unemployment back to work, which he wrote about for this week's Washington Post Magazine.

Singer-songwriter and roots musician extraordinaire Tim O'Brien closed the second of two Mountain Stage road shows in Grand Marais, Minn., on the shore of Lake Superior. A favorite of Mountain Stage audiences, crew members, listeners and fellow guest artists for 29 years, O'Brien has long held the record for appearing on the show more than any other performer. A multi-instrumentalist of the highest order, O'Brien sits in with nearly every guest on this episode.

Instead of staying on until his retirement in October, it was reported this morning that Florida A&M University President James Ammons' resignation will be effective immediately.

Republican and Democratic strategists tell NPR that most of the estimated $4 billion to be spent by the campaigns, political action committees and others on the 2012 presidential race will make no difference in the outcome.

Good morning.

Our early headlines:

-- New Week, Same Argument: Romney, Obama & Who's Being Dishonest.

-- Military Chief's Removal, Rise In Hemlines: Hopeful Signs In North Korea?

Less than a week after all the tea-reading over what, if anything, it means that Korean leader Kim Jong Un may have a love in his life, now there are these stories to ponder: