Search results for

The House adjourned for the holidays Thursday night after passing a two-year budget agreement. But despite pressure from President Obama and congressional Democrats, the deal did not include an extension of the long-term unemployment benefit program that aids 1.3 million Americans.

In Syria, the moderate rebel groups supported by the United States have largely been marginalized, as more radical Islamists have moved to the fore. The new developments are forcing the U.S. to reassess its options and to consider reaching out to Islamist groups from whom it had previously kept its distance. The new criterion for U.S. support may simply be a willingness to oppose al-Qaida in Syria.

Nelson Mandela will be laid to rest Sunday in his rural homestead of Qunu, which leaves this modest region to cope with the influx of thousands wishing to pay their last respects.

In two apparently unrelated cases this week, federal prosecutors arrested citizens of China and charged them with stealing seeds that American companies consider valuable intellectual property. Court documents offer an entertaining mixture of Midwestern farming, alleged corporate espionage and a whiff of international intrigue.

Twitter on Thursday changed its blocking policy, then changed it back. Users were outraged that the initial switch allowed stalkers and abusers open access to their posts. Some say the incident shows that Twitter isn't listening to women and cyberbullying victims on the site.

Ann Cavoukian, privacy commissioner for Ontario, Canada, says the tech industry has the power to make products that protect users' personal information. The trick, she says, is to think about privacy while creating a new app or service, not after.

Oxford American magazine has a few answers, not to mention one killer Tennessee mixtape. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with editor Roger Hodge and music editor Rick Clark about assembling the magazine's new issue on the music of Tennessee and its companion two-CD sampler.

As a therapist, Nelba Márquez-Greene has spent a career counseling mentally ill and troubled young people. But she'll never understand what drove a young man to take the life of her 6-year-old daughter and 25 others. A year later, she is trying to prevent violence and promote healing.

Ka'nard Allen, 11, has been caught in New Orleans crossfire — twice. He survived, but his extraordinary story made him a symbol of the toll violence takes on children in American cities. What happens after the bullets stop flying? How does a child get up after being gunned down?

Edward Snowden, the paper reported, exploited lower security standards at the NSA's Hawaii facility. Administration officials are also split on the idea of granting the former contractor immunity in exchange for securing any unreleased classified material.