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Another new consequence of Greece's economic crisis is that the skies of Athens and other cities are filled with smoke due to the increase in the use of wood burning stoves. The cost of heating oil has gone up 40 percent — a tax increase imposed by the troika. The Greek Environment ministry has issued a warning that the increase in pollutants in the air is posing public health risk.

One of the most powerful lobbies on Capitol Hill is AIPAC, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, which commands bi-partisan respect on Middle East issues. But on the matter of possible military strikes on Syria, AIPAC is having a rare tough go of it.

Stephen King's novel Carrie gets a big-screen update, complete with prom pranks, buckets of blood and a mother you might not want to take anybody home to meet. NPR's Elizabeth Blair takes a look at a character she remembers being terrified by when Piper Laurie played her in the 1976 film.

JPMorgan has reached a tentative $13 billion settlement with the Department of Justice over its questionable mortgage practices leading up to the U.S. financial crisis. Renee Montagne talks to NPR business correspondent Chris Arnold about what's known so far about the terms of the deal.

Senate leaders are expected to announce that they have reached an agreement to reopen the government and raise the debt ceiling.

"Lives don't divide up into chapters," says novelist Will Self, whose latest, Umbrella, is a challenging read that layers narratives, places and characters for an intensely nonlinear experience. The book centers on a psychiatrist and one of his patients, a woman who's been comatose for 50 years.

Vice President Joe Biden says his task force on reducing gun violence is facing an unexpected obstacle: slim or outdated research on weapons. Public health research dried up more than a decade ago after Congress restricted the use of some federal money to pay for those studies.

In a life of wild ups and downs, Ernie K-Doe pierced the national consciousness in 1961 with the song "Mother-in-Law."

On a recent day in the Rockaways, a neighborhood in Queens, N.Y., hazmat-suited volunteers far outnumber anyone else on the streets. They are "mucking and gutting" — stripping homes to the studs to remove mold. Many residents are concerned about the health effects of mold exposure, according to community organizer Peter Corless. Mycologist Joan Bennett has been sampling fungi in homes damaged by Sandy to determine which species are present.

The Pentagon is expanding a program to training Mexican security forces fighting drug cartels. The training incorporates some of the same strategies the U.S. military has used against al-Qaida. Rachel Martin talks with Associated Press reporter Kimberly Dozier, who first reported the story.

President Obama told a friendly audience in Las Vegas Tuesday that the prospects are bright for an overhaul of immigration laws, now that bipartisan congressional leaders are on board. The new sense of urgency comes after Latinos turned out in large numbers last fall to help re-elect the president.

Islamist protesters clashed with security forces in several parts of Cairo as well as other cities on Friday. Dozens were killed or wounded. The Muslim Brotherhood ordered the protest marches on what it's calling a Day of Rage. The government warned that security forces would use live ammunition to protect state institutions.

Inbee Park could become the first golfer, man or woman, to win four consecutive majors in a calendar year if she snags the Women's British Open title this weekend.

In Boston, a billionaire entrepreneur is buying the Boston Globe. John Henry is currently the owner of the Red Sox baseball team. He says he isn't interest in trying to influence the news — including the baseball coverage.

Sioux Falls, S.D., gains thousands of new residents each year. Leaders point to business opportunities, diversity and quality of life as reasons for its growth. This kind of boom comes with conflict, and Sioux Falls faces challenges to continuing development.

The best soccer leagues in the world are in Europe and even Americans want to be good enough to play in them. Clint Dempsey accomplished that, playing in England's Premier League, but now he's coming home. In a move that surprised a lot of people, Dempsey has joined the Seattle Sounders. Audie Cornish talks to sportswriter Stefan Fatsis for more.

At a "quinoa summit" this week, farmers from around the world are trading tips on how to turn this ancient Andean grain into a large-scale crop. Some Andean farmers who currently grow quinoa are asking, "What happens to us?"

Miguel Diaz-Canel, Cuba's new vice president, has been tapped to take over from Raul Castro when he steps down as president in 2018. The 52-year-old former education minister is relatively unknown outside his home province, but is now on a campaign to increase his national exposure.

The war became much more personal for the U.S. Embassy and most of the journalists in Afghanistan when word came out that one of the five Americans killed by a suicide bomber in Zabul province on Saturday was 25-year-old Anne Smedinghoff. NPR's Sean Carberry says her death reminds the American community in Afghanistan of their bonds with one another.

Cash spent half a century in the limelight as a country singer turned American icon. Between 1958, when he first recorded for Columbia, until 1986, when it didn't renew his contract, he recorded more than 50 singles and 60 albums for the label.