Morning Edition

In northern Iowa, a group of farmers have banded together to buy nearly 30 miles of railroad track to assure they can get their grain to the ethanol market. Short line tracks are being idled across the country as railroads concentrate on longer trains.

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North Carolina has become the 30th state to approve a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. State law already prohibits same-sex marriage, but supporters of this amendment say they wanted extra protection. Jessica Jones reports from North Carolina Public Radio.

The Gold Bullion Development Corporation, a Montreal-based exploration company, will allow its shareholders to have their dividends paid in gold. Company President Frank Basa has been paid in gold for more than 20 years.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

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

DAVID GREENE, HOST:

And I'm David Greene. There are new developments this morning in the story of the al-Qaida plot to bomb an airplane heading to the United States. It turns out that the man who was thought to be the bomber was actually a double agent - that, according to U.S. officials.

Japanese automaker Toyota on Wednesday announced its January to March profits quadrupled over last year to $1.5 billion. The company struggled with production after last year's earthquake and tsunami caused huge delays at its factories. With production back to normal, Toyota expects this to be its most profitable year since before the global financial crisis.