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A Royal Wedding without a Hitch
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A Royal Wedding without a Hitch

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With all the trappings of history, will today's royal wedding raise the spirits of a modern nation in the throes of austerity? What's the attraction of a marriage between two people whose power is more symbolic than real? Also, today's Endeavour is scrubbed, and President Obama surveys wreckage and consoles victims in Alabama.

Banner image: Their Royal Highnesses Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge make the journey by carriage procession to Buckingham Palace past crowds of spectators following their marriage at Westminster Abbey on April 29, 2011 in London, England. Photo: Tom Pilston - WPA Pool/Getty Images

Making News

Endeavour Launch Scrubbed ()

Commander Mark Kelly and his crew were on their way to the launch pad this morning, when NASA scrubbed the much-awaited last launch of space shuttle Endeavour. The next attempt will be on Sunday at the earliest. Scott Powers is at Kennedy Space Center for the Orlando Sentinel.

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Main Topic

A Royal Wedding in an Age of Austerity ()

With two billion people watching around the world, Britain's Prince William and Kate Middleton became the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge today. Among very few surprises were two kisses instead of one a white dress on the bride's sister and the Prime Minister's wife attending without a hat. Some British leftists are refusing to celebrate the marriage of the future King and Queen Consort. There's even a button with the image of a small crown and the slogan, "Stuff the wedding, fight the cuts." What's the attraction of an event with only symbolic importance? With record austerity measures just setting in, was it worth some $80 million? We hear from supporters and skeptics about the British monarchy and the echoes of empire in the modern world.

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Reporter's Notebook

President Obama Visits Tornado-Ravaged Alabama ()

President Obama won't be seeing a space-shuttle launching today, since the Endeavor lift-off has been postponed. But he did make another scheduled stop — to Tuscaloosa, Alabama, a city devastated by a swarm of tornadoes. The President expressed condolences to tornado victims in six southern states, praised state and local officials for their efforts and said the federal government will do everything it can to help communities rebuild. Barnett Wright is senior reporter with the Birmingham News.

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