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Other democracies, from Europe to South America to the Middle East, have prosecuted their current or former leaders. Why did the U.S. wait so long to take that step? A political scientist weighs in.

Rescue efforts have turned to recovery after the collapse of the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore. A federal investigation is underway as the region braces for a long and costly reconstruction.

Guatemala's former dictator — 85-year-old Efrain Rios Montt — is under house arrest, awaiting trial for genocide and crimes against humanity. During his 17-month rule from 1982 to 1983, the Guatemalan military carried out a scorched earth campaign in the Mayan highlands, in an effort to snuff out an insurrection by left-leaning guerrilla fighters. Prosecutors are now looking to hold him accountable for the deaths of at least 1,771 men, women and children. For years, Rios Montt was sheltered from prosecution because of legislative immunity, which expired earlier this month. Guatemala scholar Jennifer Schirmer talks with Melissa Block about the trial and its significance.

A rare "court of inquiry" is underway for a sitting judge in Texas. Judge Ken Anderson faces allegations that as a prosecutor he hid evidence vital to a murder defendant's case. That defendant was convicted of killing his wife, and spent 25 years in prison before being exonerated.

The actor portrays Abraham Lincoln in the new movie Lincoln; he tells NPR's Melissa Block about one challenge the role posed — figuring out what the 16th president might have sounded like.

Faced with customers who can't use banks, or want to avoid them altogether, big-box stores like Costco and Wal-Mart are offering access to everything from insurance policies to home mortgages.

The U.S. Treasury Department last week released proposed rules to protect patients from abusive debt collection practices at nonprofit hospitals. The rules are required by the Affordable Care Act of 2010. If the Supreme Court votes to strike down the health care law, the new debt collection rules would go away.

Pakistan's Supreme Court has convicted Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani of contempt over a corruption case involving President Asif Ali Zardari. Gilani has resisted court demands to pursue graft charges against Zardari.

When you glimpse at your 401(k) statement come Thanksgiving, you may be in for a shock. Plan providers will have to reveal the hidden fees they've charged participants, and the difference in your retirement savings can be dramatic.

The soccer game between Greece and Germany in Poland Friday was always about more than just sport. There's a lot of friction between these two nations, thanks to the eurozone crisis. Plus, NPR's Philip Reeves reports, this was a crucial game: The winner goes through to the semifinals of the European Championship.