NPR News

For more stories on New York State, check out The Innovation Trail.
New Jersey Governor Chris Christie was hosting a group of school children in his office when the spider appeared. Christie did not grant it a pardon. He joked it was one of the perks of being governor — you can kill critters on your desk without getting into trouble.
Authorities in Cleveland are providing new details on the conclusion of a decadelong kidnapping case. Three women who went missing between 2000 and 2003 were discovered alive in a home last night, and three brothers have been arrested. Steve Inskeep talks with Brian Bull from member station WCPN in Cleveland.
Margaret Groening died last month at the age of 94. Her son Matt Groening created The Simpsons, which is now the longest-running scripted TV show ever.
German Labour Minister Ursula von der Leyen (at left, shown here with German...
Germany is considered quite generous when it comes to helping women raise families. But some analysts say the way many of the benefits are set up hurts those with a career and a family.
The Pallas's long-tongued bat....
The Pallas's long-tongued bat has a neat trick at the tip of its tongue — tiny hairlike structures that fill with blood and stand straight out. This turns the tongue into a nectar-slurping mop at just the right time.
Our understanding of who did what — if anything — with chemical weapons in Syria is no clearer today than it was a week ago. That's when President Obama said while there is evidence of chemical weapons use in Syria, there is none pointing to who is responsible. For more information, David Greene talks to Gary Samore, former coordinator for weapons of mass destruction at the White House. He is now the executive director of Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs.