Morning Edition

The English-language version of the online encyclopedia will shut down for 24 hours Wednesday to protest an anti-piracy bill in Congress. Visitors to Wikipedia will be encouraged to call Congress. The site's co-founder Jimmy Wales tweeted he hopes visitors "will melt phone systems in Washington."

Alexis Rodriguez was treated for pneumonia, and received a bill for nearly $45 million. Grateful as he was for the care, the unemployed doorman complained. The Daily News reports the billing firm printed the invoice number instead of the price: $300.

Under heavy pressure from his rivals, front-runner Mitt Romney defended his record as a venture capitalist. He also insisted he bears no responsibility for attack ads aired by his allies, and grudgingly said he might release his income tax returns this spring.

Egyptian cyber activist and former Google executive Wael Ghonim talks to Steve Inskeep about his new book Revolution 2.0, which chronicles his role, and that of social media, in the toppling the regime of Hosni Mubarak.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

As they air their disagreements, the Republican presidential candidates agree on one thing: They want to repeal President Obama's health care law.

RENEE MONTAGNE, BYLINE: The biggest part of that law - a requirement that almost everybody must have insurance - does not take effect until well after the election. But any repeal effort would be complicated, because some of the law is already in effect.

INSKEEP: NPR's Julie Rovner is here to talk about how the law is changing the health care landscape. Hi, Julie.

The USDA's first crops supply report of the new year surprised some analysts. That's because it didn't lower the estimate for corn in storage. Predictably. that led the commodity to drop about 50 cents a bushel.

Fitch rating agency has downgraded its outlook on Russia's debt rating from positive to stable. The agency indicated the recent widespread protests in Moscow and other cities were behind the downgrade.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

There is no law against walking out the door during intermission, but it can be a dilemma. You're at a concert or a play and for whatever reason decide you don't really want to go back for the second half of the performance. If enough people think the same thing, it can mean a lot of empty seats after the break. It's something audience members do think about. And as NPR's Elizabeth Blair tells us, so do theaters and orchestras, some of which are tightening up their act.

The European company Airbus reports it took a record number of orders in 2011 — more than 1,400. The surge was driven by demand for its revamped A-320 aircraft which is supposed to be more fuel efficient. Meanwhile Boeing sold only about 800 aircraft last year.