NPR News

Older Americans and younger boomers may find themselves bombarded with ads for annuities. Annuities are a $200-billion-a-year business for life insurance companies and financial institutions. Kiplinger's Kimberly Lankford explains some of the choices and red flags facing potential investors.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Former South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford advanced Tuesday to a runoff in the Republican contest for an open congressional seat. It's a step toward reviving a political career that was derailed by an extramarital affair while he was governor.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Sports commentator Frank Deford wants to know: When did we stop arguing about sports in the time-honored bar-stool fashion?

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

The owners have not voted, however, on prohibiting crown hits by ball carriers outside the tackle box.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

On the political far left and right, some believe that large banks still pose a threat to taxpayers. These banks are so big, they argue, that the government will step in with support if needed. Still, the more mainstream view in Washington is that the Dodd-Frank reforms are sufficient to handle the problem.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

Bosco Ntaganda showed up unexpectedly at the U.S. Embassy in Kigali. While officials puzzle out the details of transporting him to his new detention cell in The Hague, others are wondering if his former cohorts — still pillaging Eastern Congo — might use the arrest to broker their own impunity.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

As the Republican National Committee offers criticism and advice for the party after its performance in 2012, a political science professor has come up with a list of sometimes similar GOP outreach efforts of old.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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?

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

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.

» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us