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Across the country, state budgets are back in the black after years of belt-tightening and spending cuts. From California to Florida, in nearly every state, the economic recovery has produced a surge in tax revenue.

For governors and state legislators, that's produced a new question: how to spend the money.

The past three years have not been easy ones for elected officials. Nearly every state requires them to produce a balanced budget. And with declining revenue from sales, property and income taxes, that has meant big spending cuts.

Roughly one in four cellphone towers in the path of Hurricane Sandy went out of service. It was a frustrating and potentially dangerous experience for customers without a landline to fall back on. Now, local officials and communications experts are pushing providers to improve their performance during natural disasters.

Lori McCaskill lives in Brooklyn, and when Sandy hit last October, her Verizon cell service went out. She couldn't work. She couldn't check in with family and friends. Her sister was due to have a baby any day.

All parents are bound to disagree, argue or even raise their voices with each other.

But psychologists say parents can minimize the negative impact of their arguments on their children. It's just a matter of using a few simple techniques to turn down the heat and repair the damage after it's over.

Psychologist Suzanne Phillips at Long Island University says one of the most important things for parents to remember when they're on the verge of a big argument is not to involve the child.

The Tribune Co., emerging from bankruptcy and looking to reshape itself, is now considering the sale of all its newspapers — including the Chicago Tribune, the Los Angeles Times, The Baltimore Sun and five other regional newspapers. It's still very early in the sale process; although the newspaper unit has been valued at $623 million, significant debts are also attached, and Tribune has signaled that it reserves the right not to sell if there isn't a worthy bid.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Good morning, I'm Steve Inskeep with congratulations to Bill Clinton. The president, whose campaign theme was "Don't Stop Thinking About Tomorrow," caught up with Twitter. TV host Stephen Colbert made him a fake Twitter account, and then Clinton began using a real one. He's posted a few messages, including one saying he's enjoying Twitter so far. Where else can you hear from Bill Gates, Paul Pierce, John McCain, Ellen DeGeneres and Usher in one day? Hashtag: #Thisisgreat.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

Accelerating economic growth is at the top of NPR's business news.

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INSKEEP: U.S. economic growth regained speed in the first quarter of this year, although not as much as economists had hoped. The Gross Domestic Product grew at an annual rate of 2.5 percent. Consumer spending is up and home construction rose, but government spending fell and tax increases, as well as federal budget cuts, are expected to slow economic growth later in the year. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Good morning. I'm Renee Montagne. Alexander Graham Bell came up with one of the world's most important acoustical devices, but his own voice had been lost until now. The Smithsonian has found the inventor's voice on a wax disc from 1885. Listen closely.

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ALEXANDER GRAHAM BELL: Here is my voice. Alexander Graham Bell.

MONTAGNE: Alexander Graham Bell. That old recording was brought to life with digital technology. It's MORNING EDITION. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

The new movie from director Mira Nair is based on a novel published six years ago. But film critic Kenneth Turan says the themes found in "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" could not be more up to the minute.

KENNETH TURAN, BYLINE: In the shocking aftermath of the Boston Marathon bombing, President Obama asked why did young men who grew up and studied here as part of our communities and our country resort to such violence? "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" presents different ways to frame this very question.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The president's appearance at that memorial service came on the same day he joined with all his living predecessors. He met with Jimmy Carter, Bill Clinton, George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush, whose presidential library was dedicated in Texas.

A photograph sent out on Twitter, incidentally by former President Clinton, shows the five men in a circle, chatting. Three Democrats joined two Republicans on a day when political differences were overlooked.

Here's NPR national political correspondent Don Gonyea.