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Credit card companies Visa and MasterCard along with major banks have agreed to pay several billion dollars to settle a lawsuit brought by retailers. The deal is one of the largest anti-trust settlements in history. The retailers claimed that Visa, MasterCard and the banks conspired to fix the fees that stores pay to accept credit and debit cards. NPR's Wendy Kaufman reports.

Tucson, Ariz., is probably the best urban area in the country for viewing the stars. Tucson's clear, cloudless skies attract all sorts of astronomy buffs, professional and amateur. NPR's Peter Breslow takes a look at the astronomy culture of the region.

Brian Castner commanded two Explosive Ordnance Disposal units in Iraq, where his team disabled roadside IEDs. Also, filmmaker Kenneth Lonergan on his film Margaret and Fresh Air celebrates Woody Guthrie's birthday.

Actress Mira Sorvino could watch Elia Kazan's On the Waterfront a million times. "That was my first introduction to Brando," she says, "so that was kind of a revelation for me."

Pennsylvania used to have broad coverage of dental care for Medicare beneficiaries. But cuts to the state budget have led the Medicaid program to cover only basic dental services.

For decades, coal represented half of the nation's electricity generation, but it dropped to only 34 percent in March. Technological breakthroughs in fracking have led to a gas boom that's caused prices to plummet, and now hundreds of coal miners are being laid off as the nation shifts away from the oldest and most plentiful source of electricity in the U.S.

Yuma, Ariz., along the Mexican border, has the country's highest jobless rate, at 28.9 percent — more than three times the national rate. Bismarck, N.D., has the lowest rate, at just 2.5 percent. Both communities are struggling with the realities of those economic extremes.

No country has enjoyed more spectacular growth in recent decades than China. But the economy that will one day replace America's as the world's largest also faces a lot of challenges. Guest host David Greene talks to NPR's Frank Langfitt, who was a reporter in China in the '90s and returned to Shanghai for NPR last year.

The singing Babushkas of Buranova have made a name for themselves, first as an Internet sensation and then at the Eurovision competition this year. They saved money from their performances to help their ramshackle village. Guest host David Greene has an update on these hard-working grandmothers.

Tour guides in Greece's capital face are trying to convince visitors that Athens is more than the clouds of tear gas that ring Parliament these days. How do you do that when graffiti coats the statues and homeless people sleep outside the museums?