A day after Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney spoke to the nation's oldest civil right organization, Vice President Joe Biden appeared at the NAACP's annual convention. He quickly tackled one issue that drew Romney sustained boos — the 2010 health care overhaul.

Biden appeared in place of President Obama, who made a brief videotaped address thanking the group for its work. He walked out to warm applause, and several of his remarks were interrupted by shouts of agreement.

This week, a federal panel is hearing arguments for and against a voter ID law in Texas. U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder says the Texas voter ID law is like a modern poll tax. Guest host Maria Hinojosa talks more about the issue with Rep. Jose Aliseda, who testified at the hearing. He's a Republican State Representative for Texas who was born in Mexico.

Guest Host Maria Hinojosa talks with Kamala Harris, California's Attorney General about the state's newly passed "Homeowner Bill of Rights." The law, which was signed yesterday by Governor Jerry Brown, makes it harder for lenders to seize a property and allows homeowners to sue to stop a foreclosure process.

Vice President Joe Biden spoke today at the NAACP's annual convention, where GOP Presidential hopeful Mitt Romney already faced a tough crowd. Guest host Maria Hinojosa discusses that and other political news of the week with Michael Fauntroy, professor of public policy at George Mason University and syndicated columnist Ruben Navarrette.

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Good morning. I'm Steve Inskeep. Prosecutors say no cats were harmed in the making of this news story. A man in Tacoma, Washington told a sad tale. He was involved in a car crash and two years later he said that collision had killed his cat named Tom. He filed a $20,000 insurance claim. But now, according to KOMO, he's been accused of fraud. Authorities say the cat never existed. The man allegedly backed up his claim with cat photos from the Internet. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright National Public Radio.

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In a scathing report that takes to task former head football coach Joe Paterno and other top Penn State officials, an independent report from investigators led by former FBI director Louis Freeh says there was a "total disregard for the safety and welfare" of Jerry Sandusky's child victims "by the most senior leaders" at the school.

That is "our most saddening and sobering finding," Freeh concludes about his investigation into the scandal that rocked the school last year.

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Sometimes friends become more than friends and Facebook just won't do. And if the friend in question are dogs, they may want to hear today's last word in business.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "PUPPY LOVE")

PAUL ANKA: (Singing) And they called it puppy love, oh I...

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Brazil's dog population is second only to the U.S. Two entrepreneurs - a brother and sister team - are hoping to capitalize on that by building an eight-story hotel for pets. With one floor apparently is dedicated to mating.

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It's MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Steve Inskeep.

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And I'm Renee Montagne.

It's a sobering morning at Penn State University. Today, former FBI Director Louis Freeh release released a scathing report on how Penn State dealt with a series of shocking allegations that led to the by Jerry Sandusky scandal.

Sandusky was the revered former defensive coach for the Penn State football team. He was found guilty last month of 45 counts of child sexual abuse.

Mobile apps are aggressively placing unwanted ads on phones. Lookout, a mobile security firm in San Francisco, tested mobile apps and found some disturbing practices. Those include transmitting consumer phone numbers and email addresses and transmitting to third parties and placing ads on the mobile phone's desktop.