National

The Widening Wealth Gap: Bringing Income Inequality Into Focus

The widening gap between the rich and poor in the U.S. has become a central touch point for economists, pundits and politicians across the U.S. New York City's newly sworn-in mayor, Bill deBlasio, was elected after campaigning against a city divided between the haves and have-nots. President Obama has called tackling inequality the defining challenge of our time, saying that growing inequality and a lack of upward mobility jeopardizes the American dream. But what, exactly, is income inequality? Audie Cornish puts that question to Drew DeSilver, a senior writer for the Pew Research Center's Fact Tank blog.

Is U.S. Ready Rethink Sept. 11 Security Policies?

President Obama will announce this year how he wants to overhaul operations at the National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies. The NSA surveillance activities disclosed by Edward Snowden have been criticized by Congress and others. In the past, reports of intelligence abuses or failures have prompted significant changes.

Investigation Begins Into Fiery North Dakota Oil Train Crash

Federal safety investigators are in eastern North Dakota at the site of a train wreck. The train was carrying crude oil and apparently crashed into a soybean shipment that had derailed, triggering a series of blasts that engulfed nearly two dozen cars in flames. Residents of nearby Casselton, N.D., evacuated overnight, and the town's mayor is now calling for changes to how crude oil is transported across the country.