Morning Edition

When the Washington Monument was damaged after an earthquake last summer, Congress committed $7.5 million to fix it but expected the public to pay the other $7.5 million. It turns out the public will be just one person. The Washington Post reports billionaire David Rubenstein will make the $7.5 million donation Thursday.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Next, we'll explore the laws and customs that are supposed to govern the captain of a ship in distress. A cruise ship remains on its side in Italy. Captain Francesco Schettino is under house arrest. He was in charge when the ship ran aground. When it capsized, he made it to a life raft well before many passengers and did not follow demands to return to the ship.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Italian spoken)

INSKEEP: A Coast Guard official barked there, you go aboard. It is an order.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Let's look now at another side of the economy: manufacturing. The Federal Reserve yesterday said American manufacturing had a very strong finish last year. To find out if that's likely to last and what it means for the big issue of jobs, we turn, as we so often do, to David Wessel. He's economics editor of The Wall Street Journal.

Good morning.

DAVID WESSEL: Good morning, Renee.

MONTAGNE: So after all the handwringing about the death of U.S. manufacturing, are American factories B-A-C-K?

(SOUNDBITE OF LAUGHTER)

A candidate forum was held in Greenville, S.C., Wednesday night, sponsored by the anti-abortion rights group Personhood USA. Participating in the event were Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, Ron Paul, and Rick Perry. Front-runner Mitt Romney did not attend. South Carolina holds its primary on Saturday.