Morning Edition

Alzheimer's disease doesn't just steal memories. It takes lives.

The disease is now the sixth leading cause of death in the U.S., and figures released Tuesday by the Alzheimer's Association show that deaths from the disease increased by 68 percent between 2000 and 2010.

President Obama announced his choice to be Labor secretary on Monday. It's Tom Perez, a Justice Department civil rights leader — bringing a high-profile Latino to the Cabinet.

Two Democrats and 16 Republicans are running for South Carolina's 1st Congressional District seat in a special election Tuesday. The seat is open because former Rep. Tim Scott was tapped to replace Sen. Jim DeMint, who retired midterm.

The biggest name in the race is former Gov. Mark Sanford, whose infamous affair led to his political downfall. Sanford is trying to stage the political comeback of a lifetime.

And he's doing it one diner at a time — greeting customers over eggs and grits at Page's Okra Grill, just outside Charleston in Mount Pleasant.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep.

Sixty years ago, Private Bob Rodgers arrived at Fort Campbell, Kentucky for training. He wrote his wife a letter. He said all he did was, quote, "shine boots, shine boots and shine more boots and brass and more brass." Sixty years later, the Postal Service finally delivered that letter to Jean Rodgers. A postmaster says she has no idea why it took so long. But the postmaster adds the important part of it is it did get delivered.

Citizens of Cyprus did not react well to the news that their government wants to allow the European Union to take nearly 10 percent of their savings deposits in exchange for a $13 billion bailout. Banks are closed through Tuesday after worries over bank runs. Depositors stood in long lines to withdraw money over the weekend.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

OK. The field is set for the NCAA Division One men's basketball tournament. Top seeds include Kansas, Louisville, Indiana and Gonzaga. The team previously known for its heroic upsets in the NCAA tournament is now one of the teams to beat. NPR's Mike Pesca is here to discuss the selections. Mike, good morning.

MIKE PESCA, BYLINE: Hello.

INSKEEP: How'd Gonzaga do it?

PESCA: I know, right? You read those other teams, and it's, like, perennial power, perennial power, perennial power, Jesuit school from Spokane.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

If some of your co-workers seem distracted today - well, it's not any old Monday - huh, Steve?

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

I'm sorry, Renee. We're you saying something? I was busy filling out an NCAA Tournament bracket here. Our last word in business, as a matter of fact, is about that. It's lost productivity.

First, Russian President Vladimir Putin granted citizenship to French actor Gerard Depardieu. Now, Putin is hobnobbing with the actor Steven Seagal. The star of Under Siege toured a new sports facility with Putin, who used the occasion to call for reviving a Soviet-era fitness program in which kids threw javelins, learned to ski and fired guns.

Reba Williams of Columbus, Ohio, finished her last class back in 1925. But the 106-year-old didn't receive her high school diploma until Wednesday. Her daughter told the Mansfield News-Journal that young Reba, who was a good student for all 12 years, was headstrong. She refused to read a book assigned by her teacher that she'd already read and didn't like.