They're teeing off this morning in Augusta, Ga. It's the Masters, the first of the "major" tournaments for men each year.

Fans had a chance to be immortalized in the stadium by buying personalized bricks. The animal rights group PETA bought one. The group's brick contained a hidden message that spells out an anti-fishing website.

The human toll from the financial crisis in Greece now has a human face.

After 77-year-old retired pharmacist Dimitris Christoulas killed himself Wednesday outside the parliament building in Athens, a suicide note he left was reported to say that he felt he must take a "dignified end to my life" because austerity measures and "annihilated all traces for my survival," particularly his pension.

A Seattle man came home to discover that his dog had eaten his tickets to the Masters in Augusta, Ga. After the dog threw up, he managed to re-assemble the tickets. After all that effort, the Masters says they'll re-print his tickets anyway.

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STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

The Master's begins today in Augusta, Georgia. It's the first of the four majors that punctuate the golf season, and the only one of the majors that is always played at the same course: the perfectly manicured Augusta National. Behind the gorgeous imagery, the private golf club is dealing with an awkward issue, and USA Today sports columnist Christine Brennan is here to talk about it.

Christine, good morning once again.

CHRISTINE BRENNAN: Good morning, Steve.

Mitt Romney is closer to winning the GOP presidential nomination after primary victories this week in Wisconsin, Maryland and Washington, D.C. Halfway through the GOP nominating season, Romney's attacks on President Obama are intensifying.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

This is MORNING EDITION from NPR News. I'm Renee Montagne.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

And I'm Steve Inskeep.

Martin Luther King was assassinated 44 years ago this week. When people in Miami held a rally to mark that anniversary, local activist Billy Hardemon brought up the killing of another Martin.

BILLY HARDEMON: Two Martins that died too young, Trayvon and Martin Luther King.

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RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

And our last word in business today is cardboard to classy.

Today, Domino's Pizza is hoping to complete its rebranding as a place that does not sell lousy pizza. The effort started a couple of years ago when the company actually criticized itself in ads like this one.

(SOUNDBITE OF DOMINOES PIZZA AD)

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN: Dominoes Pizza crust, to me, is like cardboard.

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

A Spanish bond auction went poorly Wednesday, suggesting that Spain may be becoming the next Greece. It was the first auction without a lot of help from the European central bank.

First of four parts

Ultimately, all roads lead home for Rupert Murdoch.

"The story of our company is the stuff of legend: from a small newspaper in Adelaide to a global corporation based in New York, with a market capitalization of about $44 billion," he said last October, when he addressed a News Corp. shareholders meeting in Los Angeles.

Australians view the company's history differently.