Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Football fans were again glued to their TVs over the weekend, and the latest round of the NFL playoffs did not disappoint. The team with the best record in the regular season, the Green Bay Packers, lost to the New York Giants. And the New England Patriots beat the Denver Broncos, tamping down Tebow mania.

Here to discuss it all is NPR's Mike Pesca. Good morning.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello.

Standard and Poor's has downgraded the credit ratings of nine Euopean countries including France. They face exposure to financial troubles in Greece among other places. Zanny Minton Beddoes, global economics editors at The Economist, talks to Steve Inskeep about the latest European financial troubles.

Renee Montagne has business news.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli looks at what comes next for the crippled cruise ship Costa Concordia. The ocean-liner is nearly half submerged after running aground off the coast of Italy on Friday. So far it's not leaking oil but scientists are concerned about its impact on the largest protected marine park in Europe.

Everyone has nightmares sometimes. But for people with PTSD, it's different.

Sam Brace doesn't want to talk about what he saw when he was a soldier in Iraq eight years ago. In fact, it's something he's actively trying not to dwell on. But what he can't control are his dreams.

Austerity measures imposed by international lenders in exchange for billions in bailout loans have cut deeply into Greek pockets. If Greece defaults on its massive sovereign debt, it may be forced to leave the Eurozone.

Snoring was once considered a simple annoyance for bed partners, but there is a growing awareness in the medical community that the grunts and snorts of noisy sleepers can also be a sign of sleep apnea.

Scientists do experiments with millions of rats and mice each year, to study everything from heart disease to cancer to diabetes. Recently, some new recommendations about how to house female lab rodents and their babies caused an uproar, with experts at major research institutions now saying they're unsure of what they'll have to do to keep their government funding.

It's no secret who the most popular Republican is in this year's GOP presidential race. In just one single debate last year, GOP candidates mentioned the former President Ronald Reagan 24 times.

Right now, each candidate is vying for the mantle of Reagan conservatism. Yet some historians, and even some of the folks who worked for Ronald Reagan, are now wondering whether Reagan himself was enough of a Reagan conservative — at least the way it is defined today.

So what exactly is a Reagan conservative anyway? If he were alive, could Reagan get the GOP nod?