NPR News

A government agency in Quebec, Canada, has come under intense criticism after attempting to get pasta stricken from a restaurant's menu. The move had nothing to do with the food: Officials said Italian words such as pasta, calamari, and antipasto should be replaced with French words.

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The court blocked a suit contending the law is unconstitutional from going forward, saying the challengers had no legal standing because they had not shown with sufficient certainty that they had been monitored. That decision all but ensures there will be no further challenge to the law.

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On his first foreign trip as Secretary of State, Kerry defended America's tradition of civil liberties. He said our tolerance for the airing of controversial opinions is a virtue.

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The House speaker wants senators to act. The top Senate Republican says it's time to work on a compromise. And the Republican National Committee says the cuts would be "negligible compared to Obama's disastrous fiscal record."

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From food scientists who study the human palate to maximize consumer bliss, to marketing campaigns that target teens to hook them for life on a brand, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Michael Moss' new book goes inside the world of processed, packaged goods.

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A slow-motion train wreck of $1.2 trillion in spending cuts spread out over 10 years would definitely be at odds with the growing urgency of the president's warnings as the March 1 deadline draws near.

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Rates for female applicants could be up to 40 percent higher under the new pricing policy from Genworth Financial, the country's largest long-term care insurer. The company says women account for two out of every three dollars spent on claims.

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A two term Republican senator from Nebraska, Hagel will become the first Vietnam veteran to head the U.S. Department of Defense.

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In a business where effects-laden movies bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, many of the studios that create those effects are barely staying afloat.

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In a business where effects-laden movies bring in hundreds of millions of dollars, many of the studios that create those effects are barely staying afloat.

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The Daytona 500 posted its strongest TV ratings since 2008, thanks to a buildup of attention drawn by Danica Patrick's history-making pole position and a horrendous crash during a race at the track Saturday. The biggest gains in viewership seem to have come in big cities.

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U.S. banks made $141.3 billion in net income last year. That's second only to the profit they made in 2006, before the financial crisis. Many of the banks that profited the most, have benefitted from a government bailout.

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Educators are bracing for deep budget cuts if the government sequestration occurs. Host Michel Martin speaks with Emily Richmond from the National Education Writers Association, and Kelly Field of The Chronicle of Higher Education, about the possible damage.

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A new study on bullying shows that people who were bullied have higher rates of psychiatric illness as adults. Host Michel Martin speaks with the study's lead author, William Coleman of Duke University, and bullying expert Rosalind Wiseman.

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The shooting of Florida teenager Trayvon Martin one year ago became an international story, and raised difficult questions about race and justice. Host Michel Martin continues her conversation with Robert Zimmerman Jr., the brother of accused killer George Zimmerman, about how his family views the case and the public reaction.

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Civilization cannot live on anchovies alone. The ancient Norte Chico people of Peru were long thought to have built a complex society in South America while dining on a diet based on the tiny fish. But archaeologists now say they ate the food that fueled empires throughout the hemisphere — corn.

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Outgoing Benedict XVI will be referred to as "His Holiness" and carry the title of "pope emeritus," the Vatican says.

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The head of the conservative Project on Fair Representation has spent years pursuing legal channels to roll back a key section of the 1965 Voting Rights Act. His efforts helped bring the issue before the U.S. Supreme Court, which hears arguments Wednesday.

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Billy Ray Harris held on to Sarah Darling's diamond ring after she accidentally put it in his change cup. When Darling retraced her steps, he returned it to her. His honesty has led to more than $150,000 — so far — in online pledges to help him.

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But the Federal Reserve chairman warns Congress that the "sharp, front-loaded spending cuts" that would come with the so-called sequester could hurt the economy. He recommends "policies that reduce the federal deficit more gradually in the near term but more substantially in the longer run."

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