Expectant moms thankfully no longer have their mother’s delivery room experience, with Don Draper era dads sitting in waiting lounges until a doctor reports that baby has arrived. But the pendulum may have swung too far in the other direction.These days, delivery rooms can be rife with drama as grandparents-to-be vie for the best camera angle, or a mother-in […]

Just call him Python Dundee.A Miami man pulled an 18-foot Burmese python out of roadside brush and wrestled with it for 10 minutes before cutting its head off with a knife.The 128-pound specimen turned out to be the biggest Burmese python ever captured in Florida, besting the previous record by more than a foot, wildlife officials said."I was pretty exh […]

By Suzanne Choney, Contributing Writer, NBC NewsThe loss of life and stunning devastation in Oklahoma City suburbs after a monster tornado ripped through the area are heart-wrenching. But within hours, relief organizations were getting out the message on how to help.American Red CrossThe Red Cross has set up shelters in various communities. You can donate to […]

There are "confirmed casualties" at an elementary school that was flatted by a tornado Monday, and rescuers were searching for survivors in the rubble as night fell, officials said.Several children and teachers were pulled alive from the ruins of Plaza Towers Elementary School in Moore after the building took a direct hit Monday afternoon.A little […]

By Devin Coldewey, Contributing Writer, NBC NewsThe tornadoes in Oklahoma, Texas, Kansas and other states are wreaking havoc, but relief efforts are underway. Local schools, churches and community organizations lucky enough to escape damage are coordinating food and shelter for displaced residents and accepting donations of food, blankets and other much-need […]

The dangers of texting while driving gets more headlines and drunk driving remains one of the main causes of automobile accidents, but a large, new study published Monday helps explain why so many teens and young adults are involved in motor accidents.They're sleepy.Report after report shows it -- sleepy drivers cause car crashes. In the new study, rese […]

Whatever course it chooses, the Federal Reserve will have to grapple with the reality that while its policies have helped levitate stocks, they've been considerably less effective at expanding the economy. While rising equity prices help add to total growth, the stock market is not the economy. The U.S. economy, rather, is propelled by consumption, whic […]

Strapless, multi-way, demi, the “pushups of summer” – if you want a bra, Victoria’s Secret stocks it. Unless you’re a breast cancer survivor, that is, and looking for a pocketed bra capable of holding a prosthetic breast form.Allan Maiden, the 28-year-old daughter of a breast cancer survivor, had hoped to change that and gathered 120,000 signatures last Janu […]

By Douglas Main, LiveScienceTornado season has been relatively quiet this year. There were only 72 tornadoes nationwide in April, 70 percent below the 10 year average, according to the Weather Channel. But within in the last week, tornado outbreaks have been erupting from North Texas to Minnesota.Why do these tornadoes seem to be hitting all of a sudden?An e […]

Several children and teachers were pulled alive Monday from the ruins of an elementary school in Moore, Okla., but rescuers were searching for more kids as hysterical parents converged around the rubble.A little girl was lifted out of the debris by rescuers, while a small boy was carried to a triage area by a woman whose face was streaked with dirt and etche […]

Protection against the disease pertussis, or whooping cough , doesn’t appear to be as strong with the currently administered vaccine when compared with the older version administered up until the 1990s, according to a new study in Pediatrics . During a pertussis outbreak in 2010–11 in California teens who had received four doses of the current vaccine were a […]

Pre-dawn emergency workers searched feverishly for survivors in the rubble of homes, primary schools and an hospital in an Oklahoma City suburb ravaged by a massive Monday afternoon tornado feared to have killed up to 91 people and injured well over 200 residents. [More]

From Nature magazine [More]

Turkey hunting in Texas dried up along with the state's water due to the epic drought of 2011. And while the drought has relented, turkey season hasn't been the same. [More]

Residents of Manhattan will not just sweat harder from rising temperatures in the future, says a new study; many may die. [More]

This story was originally published by Inside Science News Service . [More]

Identification and treatment issues surrounding attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are challenging enough. Now research is shedding light on long-term outcomes for people with ADHD. A May 20 study in Pediatrics reports that men who had ADHD in childhood are twice as likely to be obese in middle age, even if they no longer exhibit symptoms of the […]

Artists and material scientists alike bend, melt and mold materials into useful and aesthetically pleasing forms. But nothing human hands have made can match the intricacy of convoluted corals or the delicate and unique geometry of a snowflake. In a study published yesterday in Science researchers exploited nature’s sculpting methods to create visually stunn […]

Hot on the heels of detecting the two highest-energy neutrinos ever observed, scientists working with a mammoth particle detector buried in ice near the South Pole unveiled preliminary data showing that they also registered the signal of 26 additional high-energy neutrinos. The newfound neutrinos are somewhat less energetic than the two record-setters but no […]

A portrait of John James Audubon shows the artist and naturalist in a dark wolf-skin cloak, cradling a gun and sporting curly dark hair that was likely smoothed back with bear grease. The picture was painted during Audubon's 1826 trip to England and Scotland, when he was playing up his role as the American woodsman to raise money for his opus, The Birds […]

Microsoft unveiled its new Xbox One Tuesday, displaying a device that takes new steps in game consoles' journey into becoming all-purpose entertainment and communication devices. The new console replaces the Xbox 360, which has been on the market for more than seven years.

Rewards to policyholders for claims that don't meet the annual deductible can be a boon for healthy people. But the approach might not pass the smell test in 2014 when the federal health law bans discriminating against people based on their health status.

Brands that found their original audiences in traditional, old-media platforms are finding ways to keep going in the world of new media.

Apple CEO Tim Cook faced tough questions on Capitol Hill on Tuesday. He defended a tax strategy that allows Apple to avoid taxes on tens of billions of dollars of profits. Cook also called on the Congress to lower the U.S. corporate tax rate.

The tech industry is getting a lot in the Senate's immigration overhaul bill. It increases the number of temporary worker visas for skilled technical workers but the industry is pushing for more, including the end of provisions meant to protect American tech workers from unfair competition. The industry's goals and tactics are antagonizing other gr […]

JPMorgan Chase shareholders have rejected a proposal to force Jamie Dimon to give up his dual role as both chairman and CEO of the bank. Of the shareholders who voted, 32 percent voted to split the roles. A year ago 40 percent voted in favor.

Square is the much buzzed-about digital payments company started by the founder of Twitter. With the launch of a new product last week, we check in on the company's promise to revolutionize how we buy things.

Apple CEO Timothy Cook made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, testifying after congressional investigators revealed that Apple avoided billions in taxes. The New York Times' Charles Duhigg and guest host Jennifer Ludden talk about the tax code and the digital economy.

People who use Airbnb, the web company that pairs travelers with residents who rent out their homes on a short-term basis, are breaking New York City's laws, according to an administrative law judge. The vacation rental business was found to run afoul of the city's occupancy code.

Some shareholders said splitting the roles would lead to better governance. The proposal received only 32 percent of the vote.

There is word of another controversial leak investigation by the Department of Justice. The target is Fox News reporter James Rosen, who was monitored by the department after breaking a story about North Korea's nuclear weapons program in 2009.

IRS and Treasury officials can expect a hard time in their appearances on Capitol Hill Tuesday. A key question that so far has not gotten much attention: How did it come to be that social welfare organizations became vehicles for political activity?

In Italy, the youth jobless rate is nudging 40 percent, a record high in post-war history. Demographer Stefano Rosina says the Italian welfare system has always been skewed toward the middle-aged and elderly, leaving Italian youths with no political or trade union representation.

When news of Yahoo's purchase of Tumblr first hit, Tumblr users took their reactions online. The posts were quirky and sharp with plenty of worry about the future.

Tim Cook will address reports that his company pays billions less than it should in U.S. taxes each year at a Tuesday hearing in Washington. According to a report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations, Apple avoids the tax payments by shifting profits to subsidiaries in Ireland.

The Guardian Council, which vets all candidates, approved eight names, but left out an influential former president and a top aide to the current president. Their exclusion gives establishment-friendly candidates a clear path to the presidency in the June 14 election.

Hipsters may just be discovering the joys of backyard chickens, but in African megacities, people have been bringing their animals into the slums with them for decades. That's creating a new ecosystem of animals and huge numbers of people living closely together like never before.

A pair of sandals, a shawl and a drinking cup that were used by the Indian independence leader are among the objects going under the hammer in the U.K.

When Margot Adler learned that a cousin had hidden from the Nazis in Amsterdam, she was stunned. Adler started digging around and discovered that like Anne Frank, 25,000 Dutch Jews hid, and two-thirds of them survived. Her cousin was one of them.

Dominique Venner, a well-known French historian who embraced and wrote about ultra-conservative causes for decades, committed suicide today in front of the alter at Notre Dame Cathedral. He had left a post on his blog decrying the legalization of same sex marriage in France. "An infamous law ... can always be repealed," he wrote. "It will requ […]

China has been building museums with abandon, opening about 100 annually in recent years. Two of the biggest opened on the same day last fall on opposite banks of Shanghai's Huangpu River. But filling these museums — with both art and visitors — is proving more challenging.

The government has argued that the classified images could spark violence against Americans abroad.

You are a poor country with chronic power shortages. The summer is blazing hot. What do you do? In Pakistan, the prime minister has banned air conditioners in government offices — but says it's OK for workers to go without socks.

Scientists in Canada were working at an experimental research farm, testing crops like corn and barley. But packs of Canada geese had been swooping in and destroying the crops. Two border collies were hired to chase away the geese.

The late Indian leader Mohandis Gandhi, who became known as Mahatma, or venerated one, had an appendectomy decades ago. Afterward, doctors took samples of his blood. Two microscope slides bearing that blood are being auctioned in London.

In Italy, the youth jobless rate is nudging 40 percent, a record high in post-war history. Demographer Stefano Rosina says the Italian welfare system has always been skewed toward the middle-aged and elderly, leaving Italian youths with no political or trade union representation.

The deadly collapse of a textile factory in Bangladesh has heightened awareness about cheap clothes. Many Americans have become used to inexpensive clothing, but the garments are also discarded at a remarkable rate: Billions of pounds of clothing are recycled each year; nearly half is exported.

The former Royal Navy flagship fell victim to a 2010 defense review that recommended scrapping the vessel and selling its Harrier jump jets.

The 1,200-year-old European pilgrimage route known as the Way of St. James is undergoing a revival. Tens of thousands of people are walking across France to the Spanish coastal city of Santiago de Compostela, and the relics of St. James. Once a religious affair, it's now a cultural and social phenomenon as well.

What do you do when you can't openly wage a campaign for the presidency? Some Iranians inside and outside the country have turned to the heroine of an online graphic novel who has embarked on a virtual campaign.

Is there any reasonable objection to same sex marriage? Les Green discusses this controversial issue from a philosphical perspective with Nigel Warburton for this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. 

Hitting someone, throwing a ball hard at someone's head, spitting at someone: these are all examples of harmful acts, called 'battery' in Tort Law, and most of us judge those who do such things without the victim's implied or actual consent as morally blameworthy. Could widespread aversion towards such acts be due to some kind of fundamen […]

Thomas Hobbes' Leviathan, published in 1651, remains one of the great works of political philosophy. Noel Malcolm has recently published a 3 volume scholarly edition of this book, based on decades of research. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast he discusses how a better understanding of the context in which Hobbes was writing can lead to ne […]

Is there any connection between philosophy and running. Mark Rowlands, who began running to exercise his pet wolf thinks there is. Find out why in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast, which was recorded at the 2013 'Words by the Water' Literary Festival at Keswick. Philosophy Bites is made in association with theInstitute of Philosophy. […]

What are constitutions and how are we to interpret them? John Gardner addresses these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in assocation with the Institute of Philosophy.

What is a hallucination? How does it differ from an illusion? Fiona Macpherson of Glasgow University discusses these questions with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Jeff McMahan argues against the private ownership of guns in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Descartes believed that we can have knowledge that was independent of experience. In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast Colin McGinn makes a case for there being some such knowledge. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

What, if anything, is wrong with surveillance? Why value privacy? Tom Sorrell answers these questions in conversation with Nigel Warburton in this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast. Philosophy Bites is made in assocation with the Institute of Philosophy.

What can philosophers learn from schizophrenia? In this episode of the Philosophy Bites podcast John Campbell discusses this intriguing question with David Edmonds. Philosophy Bites is made in association with the Institute of Philosophy.

Brands that found their original audiences in traditional, old-media platforms are finding ways to keep going in the world of new media.

China has been building museums with abandon, opening about 100 annually in recent years. Two of the biggest opened on the same day last fall on opposite banks of Shanghai's Huangpu River. But filling these museums — with both art and visitors — is proving more challenging.

Graduation season is upon us and that means a slew of uplifting commencement speeches trying to motivate young adults to greatness. Science and experience tell us that everyone is motivated differently, so how do speakers, coaches and business managers inspire people?

J.J. Abrams isn't the first guy to bait Star Trek fans by messing with the brand.

In his new HBO film, the acclaimed director examines the five-year relationship between the flamboyant entertainer and Scott Thorson, who was 40 years Liberace's junior and still a teenager when they met. Michael Douglas plays Liberace and Matt Damon plays Thorson.

Also: the legacy of Kierkegaard; the creator of Lyle Crocodile has died; Aussie airliner Qantas commissions flight-length books.

George Packer's The Unwinding explores the social and economic upheavals that have transformed the U.S. over the past 30 years. In a nuanced work of literary journalism, colorful characters from across the class divide tell their own stories of a social contract in tatters.

Read an exclusive excerpt of Lionel Shriver's latest, Big Brother. Shriver is no stranger to controversial topics, from school massacres to the American health care system. Big Brother is a comedic take on obesity and its effect on an Iowa family.

On an icy night in 1984, a commuter plane crashed in the wilderness. Six passengers died, but four survived: the pilot, a politician, a policeman and a prisoner. Carol Shaben's Into the Abyss describes their fight to make it through that frigid night alive.

Jackson is famous for his philosophical take on basketball and for the many stars he led to championship triumphs. He taught his players yoga and gave them assigned reading — but also pushed them to intensely practice fundamental skills. His new book looks back on a legendary coaching career.

Launched as an alternative to the stale stylings of the '80s stand-up circuit, Beth Lapides' event bills itself as a venue for "idiosyncratic, conversational comedy." It's helped establish careers for performers from Kathy Griffin to Randy and Jason Sklar.

Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah is about a young Nigerian woman who moves to the U.S. It's a story of relocation, far-flung love and life as an outsider. But reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says that despite the author's talent, much of the storytelling feels flat.

The screenwriter, producer, director and actor, whose name has become synonymous with American comedy, talks about his penchant for spoofs and his decades-long friendship with Carl Reiner. Brooks, who is among a handful of people who've won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, is the subject of a new documentary on PBS.

On Sundays, it can seem like we're a nation of critics. But we're not.

Quidditch was invented "in a small hotel in Manchester after a row with my then boyfriend," writes the Harry Potter creator. Other book news: Ireland puts an entire short story on a postage stamp; Daniel Handler on Midwestern literature; and the best books coming out this week.

J.J. Abrams isn't the first guy to bait Star Trek fans by messing with the brand.

Launched as an alternative to the stale stylings of the '80s stand-up circuit, Beth Lapides' event bills itself as a venue for "idiosyncratic, conversational comedy." It's helped establish careers for performers from Kathy Griffin to Randy and Jason Sklar.

For this week's Sandwich Monday, we celebrate an expert panel's recommendations about salt intake by taking in as much salt as we can, with The Saltwich.

Chimamanda Adichie's Americanah is about a young Nigerian woman who moves to the U.S. It's a story of relocation, far-flung love and life as an outsider. But reviewer Rosecrans Baldwin says that despite the author's talent, much of the storytelling feels flat.

Take a metronome. Then take another. Then another. Set them ticking at different times. Look. Lift. (That's the key part.) Watch. Then Laugh. Because you will be dumbfounded.

It's the end of the academic year and students everywhere are taking tests. What for? Commentator Tania Lombrozo suggests we should shift our focus from testing for assessment to testing for learning.

The screenwriter, producer, director and actor, whose name has become synonymous with American comedy, talks about his penchant for spoofs and his decades-long friendship with Carl Reiner. Brooks, who is among a handful of people who've won Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony awards, is the subject of a new documentary on PBS.

On Sundays, it can seem like we're a nation of critics. But we're not.

Author Ethan Rutherford started reading Daphne du Maurier's collection of stories, Don't Look Now, while it was still light out and didn't move from his chair until dark. Each one features characters who endure the strange and the extreme, and who are forever changed by the events that befall them.

For our series on the Changing Lives of Women, we're asking NPR women about their careers — and inviting you to join the conversation. We asked Weekend Edition host Rachel Martin to recall an instance where she stood up to stand out.

Hadfield just spent 146 days up at the International Space Station, during which time he performed rock concerts and shared his dazzling photographs with nearly a million Twitter followers.

Research shows that prime-time television isn't a bad place to find portrayals of working women. Working moms and working women over 40 are another story.

In this Q&A, author Elliott Holt discusses her six favorite novels about expatriates. She also talks about what it's like to be in your 20s, and the importance of travel and exploration.

What do you get when you get a college diploma? To hear David Foster Wallace tell it, you get a muscle that will help you forever after — in shopping lines, overcrowded parking lots, in traffic jams. This muscle, he says, frees you when the world gets painfully dull.

Audie Cornish speaks with political commentators E.J. Dionne of The Washington Post and Brookings Institution and David Brooks of The New York Times. They discuss controversial IRS audits, the release of White House emails on Benghazi talking points and the Justice Department's seizure of AP phone logs.

In Italy, the youth jobless rate is nudging 40 percent, a record high in post-war history. Demographer Stefano Rosina says the Italian welfare system has always been skewed toward the middle-aged and elderly, leaving Italian youths with no political or trade union representation.

When you think about poverty, you might picture dilapidated urban neighborhoods or rural areas. But a new book says the rate of poverty in the suburbs has grown by 64 percent in the past decade, and doesn't show signs of stopping. Host Michel Martin speaks with Elizabeth Kneebone, author of Confronting Suburban Poverty.

Asian-Americans have the highest income and education levels of any racial group in the country. So it might be surprising that they have a higher poverty rate than non-Hispanic whites. Michel Martin discusses the issue with Algernon Austin of the Economic Policy Institute and Rosalind Chou, co-author of The Myth of the Model Minority.

Yahoo will pay about $1.1 billion for the six-year-old blogging site. Tumblr's leadership won't change and Yahoo promises it will be independently operated.

The number of poor people living in America's suburbs now surpasses those in cities or rural areas. Long focused on the urban poor, social service agencies are now trying to respond to the basic needs of a much more far-flung population.

The iconic Industrial Trust Tower in downtown Providence is empty for the first time in 85 years. Developers want to turn it into luxury apartments — and want the state and city to pay for it. But Providence — like the rest of Rhode Island — faces its own economic problems, as well as a recent failed investment.

When the factory she worked at closed down, Tammy Thomas reinvented herself as a community organizer; and when Dean Price's truck stop business went belly up, he became a champion of biofuel. In a new book, George Packer examines how ordinary people are adapting to a new America.

Fed up with working for free, some interns are suing their employers. Last week, a judge ruled that interns could not sue the Hearst Corp. as a class action, which could be a legal setback for young workers tired of exploitative unpaid internships.

Nobel Prize-winning psychologist Daniel Kahneman is the latest subject in our Desktop Diaries series, although he has no desk. Kahneman, professor emeritus at Princeton University, won the Nobel Prize in economic sciences in 2002 for his research with the late Amos Tversky on our sometimes irrational intuitions and how they affect decision-making.

African-American entrepreneurs from all over the country have gathered in Ohio this week. Guest host Celeste Headlee speaks with Mike Green of the America21 Project about how to help black youth become more competitive in business. We also hear from teen entrepreneur Amber Liggett who started her own business, 'Amber's Amazing Animal Balloons. […]

Millennials are now driving less, waiting longer to get licensed, and turning more to public transportation and car-sharing. So is America's so-called driving boom over? Guest host Celeste Headlee asks Paul Eisenstein of TheDetroitBureau.com.

With budgets tight, the court in San Joaquin County, Calif., stopped hearing all small claims cases in September. More than 800 people have since filed claims with no hearing dates in sight. Many other counties nationwide are experiencing similar delays for civil cases as they grapple with spending cuts.

The number of passengers planning to fly this summer will rise 1 percent from 2012, climbing back to the highest level since 2008, an industry group said Thursday. After years of instability, airlines welcome an easing in jet fuel prices. Even customers' complaints are quieting down.

As the summer travel season approaches, air travel provides a barometer for the health of the U.S. economy — and airlines report they're having a good year. After years of financial troubles, industry representatives hope U.S. travelers are more willing to fly. NPR senior business editor Marilyn Geewax explains what summer travel tells us about the heal […]

You could end up with a lot less savings at 65 than you ever anticipated because of fees charged by the financial institutions managing your retirement accounts. Robert Hiltonsmith, who researches retirement security, says those fees were disclosed to 401(k) plan participants until only recently.

Lois Lerner, who heads the IRS division dealing with nonprofits seeking tax-exempt status, will not testify on Wednesday despite a congressional subpoena, her attorney says. She is accused of closely scrutinizing conservative groups that sought tax-exempt status.

One commissioner ran the IRS when it engaged in targeted scrutiny of conservative groups applying for tax-exempt status. A second commissioner was in charge when the agency continued to withhold information from Congress. On Tuesday, they testified together for the first time, to the Senate Finance Committee.

Apple CEO Timothy Cook made a rare appearance on Capitol Hill on Tuesday, testifying after congressional investigators revealed that Apple avoided billions in taxes. The New York Times' Charles Duhigg and guest host Jennifer Ludden talk about the tax code and the digital economy.

The National Transportation Safety Board has recommended reducing the legal limit for blood alcohol content for drivers from .08 to .05. Critics say it won't significantly help prevent drunken driving. Guest LZ Granderson argues that without more checkpoints, a lower threshold would do nothing.

Closing arguments have wrapped up in a lawsuit challenging the New York Police Department's stop-and-frisk policy. Plaintiffs say the majority of the stops involved black and Hispanic men. But New York City says there's no racial motivation whatsoever. Host Michel Martin asks the tricky question: how exactly do you prove racial profiling?

A federal judge ruled that prosecutors failed to prove the executive knew about a pending congressional investigation into oil flowing into the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. The decision left in place a second charge against the executive, for allegedly making false statements to investigators about the oil flow rate.

Robert Siegel talks with Margot Adler about Monday's closing arguments in the lawsuit challenging New York City's controversial "stop and frisk" policy.

Prayers said before meetings of the town board in Greece, N.Y., have predominantly been Christian. A lower court ruled that officials hadn't done enough to seek out prayers from other faiths. That violates the Constitution's Establishment Clause, the court said. Now the Supreme Court will weigh in.

Closing arguments in the lawsuit challenging New York City's stop-and-frisk policy begin Monday in federal court. The plaintiffs in the class action trial claim police officers were pressured to stop, question and frisk hundreds of thousands of people each year — even establishing quotas.

Fed up with working for free, some interns are suing their employers. Last week, a judge ruled that interns could not sue the Hearst Corp. as a class action, which could be a legal setback for young workers tired of exploitative unpaid internships.

With the death of a possible suspect in one notorious case, activists are weighing the FBI's efforts to tackle cases from the 1950s and '60s. Some are calling for a congressional hearing to see whether the FBI has done enough investigating.

Authorities are revisiting a triple murder in the Boston suburb of Waltham. One of the victims may have been a friend of bombing suspect Tamerlan Tsarnaev. Tsarnaev would sometimes spar at the same mixed martial arts gym where the victim worked as an instructor.

A new poll finds 42 percent of Americans aren't sure that the Affordable Care Act is actually a law. Guest Host Celeste Headlee discusses this and other health care-related issues with Mary Agnes Carey, senior correspondent at Kaiser Health News, and NPR's Senior Washington Editor, Ron Elving.

The Justice Department has been scrutinized this week for secretly obtaining phone records of Associated Press reporters and editors while investigating the disclosure of a CIA operation to thwart a terrorist attack. Steve Inskeep talks to Floyd Abrams, a leading First Amendment lawyer, about how the Constitution and the law treat press freedom.

His administration has prosecuted six people for giving reporters information about secret national security operations — twice as many cases as all previous presidents combined. Amid criticism from First Amendment advocates, the White House insists it values both press freedoms and national security.

The 1,200-year-old European pilgrimage route known as the Way of St. James is undergoing a revival. Tens of thousands of people are walking across France to the Spanish coastal city of Santiago de Compostela, and the relics of St. James. Once a religious affair, it's now a cultural and social phenomenon as well.

Shunning the formalities of his office and focusing on poverty, Pope Francis is drawing a sharp contrast between his 2-month-old papacy and those of his predecessors.

When tightly controlled societies open up, long-suppressed sectarian tensions can flare. That's been happening in Myanmar. And the twist is that Buddhist monks, widely viewed as pacifists, are part of this rising Buddhist nationalism.

In his first major statement on the global financial crisis, the pontiff calls on world leaders not to forget the poor.

Sheikh Abdul Latif Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh said anyone using social media sites — and especially Twitter — "has lost this world and his afterlife." Many Saudis have turned to social media sites for news and to discuss issues they might otherwise not be able to bring up.

After a funeral director's two-week ordeal to find a place that would accept his body, Tamerlan Tsarnaev is buried at a Muslim cemetery in central Virginia.

Reading the Bible from cover to cover might seem like a heavy task. But what about writing it? Host Michel Martin speaks with Phillip Patterson, who is just two verses away from writing out the whole King James Bible. He talks about how he kept the faith in spite of loss and illness.

There's relief this week after three abducted women were found in Ohio. It's an ordeal that kidnap victim Elizabeth Smart knows all too well. She said that abstinence lessons she learned as a child made her feel worthless after being raped by her captor. Host Michel Martin discusses those comments with a Mormon blogger.

As orthodox Christians across the world celebrated a late Easter this year, Christian communities in Syria and neighboring Lebanon postponed all celebrations. Instead they gathered in churches only to pray for the safe return of two bishops kidnapped outside of Aleppo last month. While their whereabouts are still unknown, the Syrian opposition and the Assad […]

When he first moved to Washington, D.C., White House faith adviser Jonathan DuBois had heard people in the nation's capital weren't serious about their religious beliefs. Instead, he found how those in the public eye keep a private faith.

Pujols has been a bust since taking the money and running to Los Angeles in 2012 and is nowhere near the draw he was while winning MVP honors in St. Louis. He’s no longer a must-see at-bat each game and has also fallen in value when it comes to the M...

Chicago isn’t the only club with decisively different over/under counts at home and away. Here are three other MLB teams presenting value to total bettors depending on the scenery:

We’re over 40 games into the MLB regular season and many teams have dramatically improved their futures odds since the beginning of the 2013 campaign.

The Baltimore Orioles face their first real adversity this season, losing the last five games at home including two in the ninth inning. The Orioles look to change their fortunes when they host the first-place New York Yankees on Monday to start a th...

The Cleveland Indians have been an awesome bet against Cy Young Award winning pitchers.

Every week we take a look at the hottest and coldest teams as well as the best over and under bets in Major League Baseball.

The Detroit Tigers and Texas Rangers take the spotlight this week on Sunday Night Baseball.

We take a look at the 2013 NFL futures odds for the New Orleans Saints.

The LVH Superbook in Las Vegas posted their NFL Games of the Year spread for select matchups this upcoming football season. Here’s the list of the NFL games available for betting this spring:

The LVH Superbook is the latest sportsbook to unveil its 2013 NFL season win totals.

Seattle Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin has been suspended for four games for violating the NFL’s policy on performance-enhancing substances.

We take a look at the 2013 NFL futures odds for the Pittsburgh Steelers.

We take a look at the 2013 NFL futures odds for the Atlanta Falcons.

CBS Sports’ senior NFL columnist Pete Prisco recently ranked the Top 100 NFL players heading into the 2013 season, and football bettors can’t help but find a correlation between elite talent and winning tickets on Sundays.