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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.

The death of Trayvon Martin spurred new conversations about race in America. It was also a turning point for The Race Project, where NPR's Michele Norris collects six-word reflections on race, culture and identity. Norris discusses the poignant conversations she's had since Martin's death.

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.

President Obama has begun his second term with great momentum, but history warns that he will be challenged to sustain himself by forces all around — and within — him.

Is the operating room staff Facebooking when they should be monitoring vital signs? The nurse anestheticists say that's a potential patient safety problem.

Between them, Google Android and Apple's iOS account for more than 90 percent of U.S. smartphone sales, with Windows Phone, BlackBerry and a few smaller players rounding out the mobile market. But the tech world never stands still and other players are making a run for a piece of the growing mobile pie.

A new round of talks on Iran's nuclear program is under way. But international sanctions haven't led to the type of concessions the West hoped for, and prospects for a breakthrough are limited.

Conventional wisdom holds that summertime — when medical students graduate and become first-time doctors — is the most dangerous time to check into a hospital. But a recent study of surgeries at 1,700 hospitals suggests the fear of newbie docs is overblown.

Those who serve low- and middle-income people warn that cuts required by the looming sequester will hurt programs that many Americans rely on, like meals for seniors, heating assistance and nutritional aid for expectant mothers. But supporters of the sequester say those fears are overblown.

The provision at issue in Wednesday's case before the court applies to parts of the U.S. where discriminatory voting practices were once rampant. The formula that covers those areas hasn't changed since 1975. The crux of the case: whether times have changed so much that Congress violated the Constitution when it reauthorized the law in 2006.