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The unemployment rate has dropped to 7.8 percent — that's the lowest rate in President Obama's presidency. Numbers like these are calculated and released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics and highly anticipated by not only politicians but money managers and traders around the world. In the run up to the release, the government office does everything possible to keep these numbers locked up. (This piece initially aired Aug. 3, 2012 on Morning Edition.)

Graphic novelist Chris Ware's latest, Building Stories, is a collection in many formats, following the (mostly) sad and lonely lives of the inhabitants of a Chicago brownstone. But reviewer Glen Weldon says the work is colorful, intricate and ultimately beautiful.

Fears about safety at Harding High continued to roil Thursday, after the Charlotte-Mecklenburg school board delayed a report that had been prepared for…

Paralyzed by a bullet in Iraq, Tomas Young has only seen his health deteriorate since he returned home. In February, Young announced he was going to remove his feeding tube and stop taking the nearly 100 pills a day. "I decided that I was no longer going to watch myself deteriorate," he says.

President Obama formally releases his budget for fiscal 2014 Wednesday. But it's not clear if anyone in the Republican leadership is even willing to negotiate the details.

In her new book, Andrea Stuart explores the intersection of sugar, slavery, settlement, migration and survival in the Americas. Stuart's personal history was shaped by these forces — she is descended from a slave owner who had relations with an unknown slave.

Opponents of gay marriage have long argued that children's best interests require both a mom and a dad. Recently, however, the children of same-sex couples have started speaking for themselves, advocating for gay marriage.

Bassem Youssef, the wildly popular host of an Egyptian political satire TV show, pokes fun at Egypt's president, Islamists and others. But he's now facing a slew of legal suits accusing him of everything from insulting the president to apostasy. His legal troubles are in many ways a test case for freedom of speech in the new Egypt.

Coffee is social stimulant, solitary pleasure, intellectual catalyst. It also connects us to far corners of the globe. From small specialty farms in Guatemala to large, industrial operations in Brazil and unexpected corners of the world, like Vietnam, the world's morning cup of joe makes quite a journey.

Commentator Harold Goldberg says Borderlands 2 may not have the story to live up to its terrific dialogue, but it could still be one of the games of the year.

To try to get a sense of what it really means to be the president, writer Michael Lewis spent six months in President Obama's shadow. Lewis wanted to show just what it's like to be in the president's shoes — down to something as simple as what he eats and wears every day.

The trial of the former police chief who ignited one of the worst political scandals in China in decades wrapped up Tuesday. Wang Lijun is accused of trying to defect to the United States, and covering up a murder involving the wife of a powerful Communist Party official.

The publicly funded, privately run schools are at a crossroads. The initial goal was to experiment with alternative ways of educating children, but as charter schools spread rapidly, not all are making the intended impact.

With dense forests and rugged beauty, Grindstone Island is a favorite summer getaway for visitors — and some of them never want to leave. The island near the Canadian border has one official cemetery, but locals say that hundreds of people are buried there, in unofficial gravesites.

One drone-maker in Silicon Valley has a vision: iPhones with wings populating the sky, collecting data about everything. And to get there, he's enlisting tens of thousands of his fellow drone enthusiasts. His civilian drone company is open source — a business model that's completely contrary to the military's model of proprietary secrets.

Susan Choi's new novel, My Education, is a study of relationships and how they end. Reviewer Meg Wolitzer says the book is a triumph for academic novels, portraying youth, love and naivete with exceptional style.

George Mallory, famed mountaineer, perished in his attempt to be the first man to summit Mount Everest. Tanis Rideout's debut novel combines the tale of that famous climb with the lesser-known story of George's wife, Ruth.

Journalist Jess Bravin's new book details the secretive system of military tribunals used to try terrorism suspects at Guantanamo Bay. Reviewer Jason Farago says the book reads like a thriller — but the violation of American values inherent in the tribunals is a true tragedy.

Host Rachel Martin talks to writer Kevin Fedarko about his new book, The Emerald Mile, which tells the harrowing story of three men who ride the flooded Colorado River through the Grand Canyon.

Syrian refugees, newly arrived in neighboring Lebanon, are painting a grim picture of the battle for Qusayr. It is under attack by Syrian government troops and Hezbollah militants from Lebanon. There is no water or electricity and little food in the town that still hosts some 15,000 civilians.