National News

Last summer's drought that continued through the winter wasn't just bad news for ranchers and farmers. There were big worries about what it would mean to the Mississippi River, too.

Low water and heavy boats meant bad news for barge operators who relied on high water levels to ferry goods from North to South.

"After the past couple of years we've had, I think we're enjoying the average water levels now," said Austin Golding, who has been running river barges his whole life out of Vicksburg, Miss. "I think you're going to see this have a very positive effect on the cost of goods that move across the country."

Golding said he and other barge pilots have weathered through drought and floods for the past few years. No matter what the weather, "we have to maintain business as usual."

The New York Post, with its brazen and sometimes hilarious, sometimes cruel and punishing headlines, is now promoting itself with a bus tour of Manhattan. It drives by spots where reporters covered the scandals, murders and sensations that make New York City such a competitive tabloid town.

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Rebates on healthy foods purchases can influence what put in their grocery carts, a study found. People spent 9 percent more on fruits, vegetables, non-fat dairy and other healthful foods when they got a 25 percent rebate on them.

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Amid the budget debate, there's one comparison you hear a lot. As House Speaker John Boehner has put it: "Every family in America has to balance their budget. Washington should, too." But just how accurate is that analogy?

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Like Americans, the Swiss have an entrenched gun culture — it's not uncommon to see regular citizens out in the public with a gun slung across their back — and most are vehemently opposed to gun control. Yet Switzerland has a far lower rate of gun violence than in the U.S.

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The statue was closed to the public after Hurricane Sandy caused extensive damage to the buildings and systems that support it.

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The prospects of an assault weapons ban emerging as part of any post-Newtown gun control law looks unlikely after Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid reportedly opted not to include it in a Democratic proposal to be offered on the Senate floor in the coming weeks.

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The brawl began after one party taunted one MP for speaking in German.

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Ali Hamdani worked for NPR in Iraq and narrowly survived a 2008 car bomb attack. He's among a relatively small number of Iraqis who have been allowed to resettle in the U.S., and he considers himself lucky.

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Wyoming has the highest suicide rate in the U.S., and two-thirds of the state's suicides are by firearm. Like much of the West, Wyoming's gun ownership rates are high, and gun culture is strong. The state's relationship with guns has made suicide prevention efforts tough, but that may be changing.

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The Supreme Court ruled on Tuesday that U.S. companies that make and sell products abroad cannot prevent those items from being resold in the U.S., even at steep discounts. The decision could have repercussions that extend from U.S. trade policy to local yard sales.

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Palestinians object to all Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But one in particular, the E-1, is a major source of friction. Israelis say it's merely the expansion of an existing settlement. But critics say the Israelis are building a ring around Palestinian neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, cutting them off from the West Bank.

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Palestinians object to all Israeli settlements in the West Bank. But one in particular, the E-1, is a major source of friction. Israelis say it's merely the expansion of an existing settlement. But critics say the Israelis are building a ring around Palestinian neighborhoods of east Jerusalem, cutting them off from the West Bank.

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When you take a stroll among the steel and glass towers of downtown Shanghai, you could be anywhere. Sometimes in this city, it's easy to forget you're in China. And then suddenly, China finds you. 

A beggar sits on a curb of the Street of Eternal Happiness playing the bamboo flute. The skyscraper behind him releases a stream of office workers in black suits; they pass by on their way to the subway. Today's rush hour soundtrack is brought to you by the Ming Dynasty, a tune from five hundred years ago. It's a reminder that China has thousands of years of history. And more and more of these office workers want to reconnect with it.   

In a converted apartment in a quiet lane just off the Street of Eternal Happiness, young urban professionals are packed in, drinking tea and taking notes from a professor who's teaching them how to write classical poetry. 

Each week they come here to discuss the teachings from the era of Confucius, 2500 years ago. Liu Xun helps run this club.  

"Now, society is going at a very fast pace," Liu says. "Some people like it. Some people cope with it, but they really don't like it."  

China's breakneck economic growth is bewildering to outsiders. Even if you're an insider, it can make your head spin.   Liu says many young professionals are desperately seeking ways to cope with the pressures of 21st Century China.   

“It's always a good thing to go back and check what your ancestors have done,” Liu says. “Maybe they have thought all of these things over and over again, and they already have very good answers for you.”  

On this day, ten members have dressed up in traditional bright colored silk robes that were hip more than two thousand years ago during the Qin dynasty. They walk as a group along the Street of Eternal Happiness…people just stare. Shen Zefeng and Zhu Jiaqing say they do this from time to time to remind other Chinese about their traditional culture.

Shen says, “The problem is many Chinese think we're wearing Japanese or Korean clothes!” 

“They have no idea,” Zhu agrees. “Each time we go out, we always have to remind people that this is OUR traditional clothing.” 

The club's co-founder, Xu Yuan, says many Chinese suffer from this type of cultural amnesia because of decades of revolution and economic transformation.

“Many Chinese have forgotten about what it means to be Chinese,” Xu says. “Yet their habits and behavior reflect an ancient tradition. Rediscovering who they are is really important.”  

In just two years, this small club has attracted more than fifty thousand people to its events. It's part of a larger movement in China to revive Confucian thought-from thousands of cultural centers like this one to hundreds of Chinese government-funded Confucius Institutes all over the world. Cultural critic Zhu Dake is skeptical about the Confucian revival.  

“The government is rich, but the people are not,” says Zhu, a professor at Shanghai's Tongji University. “They're in a constant state of anxiety, so they seek out traditional philosophies from the time of Confucius that encourage you to not worry so much about material gains and instead focus on the bright side of life. I think it's a way to hypnotize yourself rather than to proactively change the circumstances that cause your anxiety in the first place.”

Zhu says China's Communist Party is promoting a Confucian revival because the party's original ideology is wearing thin. Zhu would rather see Chinese people embrace non-Confucian aspects of Chinese history such as Taoism, which place a greater emphasis on a harmonious relationship with nature. Zhu points out that with China’s terrible environmental record, it’s a tenant his country should follow.

Back on the Street of Eternal Happiness, Zheng Jianfei, dressed in a black silk robe from the Qin dynasty, says there's a big debate in China about which parts of its cultural tradition the country should embrace going forward.  

“Some say we should develop Chinese society with unique Chinese characteristics, others say we should continue to embrace Western culture,” Zheng says. “Some even say we should step back to feudal society with an emperor. Who knows?”

But tonight, there's a more pressing matter to figure out. On their walk in their traditional Chinese costumes, the group gets lost on a winding road, unsure of where they are. No need to worry, Zheng tells the others. If we just keep walking, he says, we'll find our destination.

Kai Ryssdal: This past week, China's government wrapped up its first leadership transition in ten years. President Xi Jinping now officially hold the reins of the world's second biggest economy. On his to-do list: maintaining social harmony. -not easy in a country where the wealth gap is wider than its ever been. For the past year, our China Correspondent Rob Schmitz has profiled the people who make their livings along a single street in Shanghai, The Street of Eternal Happiness. Today, Rob brings us the story of young urban professionals who are asking big questions about what all this economic growth has done to their cultural identity…and they're searching through ancient Chinese literature for the answers.

Rob Schmitz: When you take a stroll among the steel and glass towers of downtown Shanghai, you could be anywhere…sometimes in this city, it's easy to forget you're in China. And then suddenly, there it is…China. A beggar sits on a curb of the Street of Eternal Happiness playing the flute. The skyscraper behind him releases a stream of office workers in black suits; they pass by on their way to the subway.

Today's rush hour soundtrack brought to you by the Ming Dynasty, a tune from five hundred years ago. A reminder that China has thousands of years of history. And more and more of these office workers want to reconnect with it.

A converted apartment in a quiet lane just off the Street of Eternal Happiness is packed with young urban professionals; they're drinking tea and taking notes from a professor who's teaching them how to write classical poetry. Each week they come here to discuss the teachings from the era of Confucius, 2,500 years ago. Liu Xun helps run this club.

Liu Xun: Now, society is going at a very fast pace. Some people like it. Some people cope with it, but they really don't like it.

China's breakneck economic growth is bewildering to outsiders. Even if you're an insider it can make your head spin. Liu says many young professionals are desperately seeking ways to cope with the pressures of 21st century China.

Liu: It's always a good thing to go back and check what your ancestors have done. Maybe they have thought all of these things over and over again, and they already have very good answers for you.

On this day, 10 members have dressed up in traditional bright colored silk robes that were hip more than two thousand years ago during the Qin dynasty. They walk as a group along the Street of Eternal Happiness…people just stare. Shen Zefeng and Zhu Jiaqing say they do this from time to time to remind other Chinese about their traditional culture.

Shen Zefeng & Zhu Jiaqing (in Chinese, English voiceover): The problem is many Chinese think we're wearing Japanese or Korean clothes!/They have no idea. Each time we go out, we always have to remind people that this is OUR traditional clothing.

The club's co-founder, Xu Yuan, says many Chinese suffer from this type of cultural amnesia because of decades of revolution and economic transformation.

Xu Yuan (in Chinese, English voiceover): Many Chinese have forgotten about what it means to be Chinese, yet their habits and behavior reflect an ancient tradition. Rediscovering who they are is really important.

In just two years, this small club has attracted more than 50,000 people to its events. It's part of a larger movement in China to revive Confucian thought-from thousands of cultural centers like this one to hundreds of Chinese government-funded Confucius Institutes all over the world. Cultural critic Zhu Dake, a professor at Shanghai's Tongji University, is skeptical about the Confucian revival.

Zhu Dake: The government is rich, but the people are not. They're in a constant state of anxiety, so they seek out traditional philosophies from the time of Confucius that encourage you to not worry so much about material gains and instead focus on the bright side of life. I think it's a way to hypnotize yourself rather than to proactively change the circumstances that cause your anxiety in the first place.

Zhu says China's Communist Party is promoting a Confucian revival because the party's original ideology is wearing thin. Zhu would rather see Chinese people embrace non-Confucian aspects of Chinese history such as Taoism, which place a greater emphasis on a harmonious relationship with nature…something he says China, with its terrible environmental record, could use. Back on the Street of Eternal Happiness, Zheng Jianfei, dressed in a black silk robe from the Qin dynasty, says there's a big debate in China about which parts of its cultural tradition the country should embrace going forward.

Zheng Jianfei: Some say we should develop Chinese society with unique Chinese characteristics, others say we should continue to embrace Western culture. Some even say we should step back to feudal society with an emperor. Who knows? 

But tonight, there's a more pressing matter to figure out. On their walk in their traditional Chinese costumes, the group gets lost on a winding road, unsure of where they are. No need to worry, Zheng tells the others. If we just keep walking, he says, we'll find our destination. In Shanghai, I'm Rob Schmitz, for Marketplace.

Malala described her return to school as her "happiest moment." After her shooting, Malala became a global hero and was nominated for the the Nobel Peace prize.

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The exclusive society of French master chefs commands the war against fusion cooking. Their newest group of inductees will preserve French traditions in the kitchen and ensure the next generation continues to have the skills to keep them alive.

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The new plant is expected to generate 100 megawatts of power and supply 20,000 homes with electricity.

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Tuesday marks the 10th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War. It's been a little more than a year since the last U.S. troops left, yet the conflict seems nearly forgotten — a striking contrast with the decades it took the nation to get over Vietnam.

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Researchers suggest that guidelines for regular breast cancer screening should look beyond a woman's age. Dense breast tissue, a cancer risk factor, may be a reason to consider earlier screening with mammograms.

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The Republican Kentucky senator and possible 2016 presidential candidate tells a Hispanic business group that his message to the nation's illegal immigrants is: "If you wish to live and work in America, then we will find a place for you."

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