Morning Edition

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Russian President Vladimir Putin is in the Middle East today. He's on a tour of the region that begins in Israel, where he's accompanied by a four-plane convoy carrying an entourage of 300 businessmen and policymakers.

NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports on the agenda in a country where Putin's policies have caused a lot of consternation.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

We're expecting soon to learn Supreme Court decisions on two gigantic cases. One case involves the Arizona immigration law. The federal government has challenged that law as an intrusion into federal authority.

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Justices are also deciding the constitutionality of President Obama's health care law. The main challenge is to the individual mandate, which after 2014 would require most people to get health insurance or pay a fine.

Rheumatoid arthritis is a disease that causes painful joint inflammation and can be debilitating for many people who suffer from it. New research shows that the female hormone estrogen, along with proteins produced by the body's fat cells, may play an important role in the development of the disease.

When 6.5 million LinkedIn passwords were stolen earlier this month, the revelation made Internet users think again about their ubiquitous words and phrases, and what they can do to make their online accounts a bit safer.

Shoppers in a suburban Seattle mall were asked recently about their password habits. Aaron Brown and Erin Gilmer have very different approaches.

"I try to keep as few as possible," Brown said.

And Gilmer said she has too many.

The battering Mitt Romney took from Republican rivals during the primary made big news. What seemed less noteworthy at the time — the knocks he took from Republicans in Congress — is now much more significant if there is to be a President Romney.

"He's the least of the candidates running right now that would be considered a Tea Party candidate," Rep. Tim Scott, R-S.C., told CNN.

After Romney won Florida, GOP Rep. Allen West told CBS that Romney has to do a far better job in "making the appeal as far as being a strong constitutional conservative."