National

A worker with The Empowerment Plan creates a coat that will later be donated to a homeless person. The organization works inside Ponyride, a 30,000-square-foot warehouse near downtown Detroit. The warehouse hosts other local businesses, too.

National

An 'Entrepreneurial Seedling' Sprouts In Detroit

5:42pm May 14, 2013

by Lizzie O' Leary

Young entrepreneurs are revitalizing parts of the city, starting up businesses in what were once empty warehouses. They're creating buzz and enthusiasm. But in a city where the population is declining and the tax base is crumbling, there are doubts about how much impact their efforts will have.

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In 1996, Josh Cutler took his tape recorder to high school, documenting his effort to live a normal life. Today, he also documents his efforts to live a normal life with a brain that often betrays him.

National

Teenage Diaries Revisited: Growing Up With Tourette's

5:41pm May 14, 2013

In 1996, Josh Cutler, who has Tourette's syndrome, documented his efforts to live a normal life. Josh overcame Tourette's enough to become a schoolteacher. But it hasn't been easy. His new diary examines his life with a brain that often betrays him.

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National

Vermont Legislature Approves Assisted-Suicide Bill

1:19pm May 14, 2013

The bill would allow physicians to provide lethal medication to terminally ill patients who request it. If the governor approves the measure, Vermont would become the fourth state in the nation with an aid-in-dying law.

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Vice President Spiro Agnew (right) and former President Lyndon Johnson view the liftoff of Apollo 11 from the stands at the Kennedy Space Center on July 16, 1969.

In 'Passage,' Caro Mines LBJ's Changing Political Roles

3:39pm May 13, 2013

The fourth volume in Robert Caro's monumental biography of Lyndon Johnson is The Passage of Power; it explores the period between 1958 and 1964 during which Johnson went from powerful Senate majority leader to powerless vice president to — suddenly — president of the United States.

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Drawing Security Lessons From Benghazi Mission Attack

2:33pm May 13, 2013

The debate continues over the handling of the September attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi, Libya. But retired Marine Col. Gary Anderson says some important lessons have already been learned about strengthening diplomatic security and inter-agency communication.

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National

Why We Can't Look Away From True-Life Courtroom Dramas

2:25pm May 13, 2013

The trial of Jodi Arias, convicted of murdering her boyfriend, has become a national media sensation. Former Law and Order producer Robert Nathan and authors Laura Lippman and Walter Mosley explore why Americans are so drawn to real-life courtroom dramas.

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Amanda as a teenager (left). She now lives in Manhattan and works as a massage therapist.

National

Teenage Diaries Revisited: A Gay Teen's Family, 'Evolved'

10:19am May 13, 2013

Amanda Brand is gay. Her family is Catholic, and when she was a teenager, her parents were convinced she was only going through a phase. Recently, Amanda sat down with her mother and father in Queens, N.Y., in the same house she grew up in, to revisit her tumultuous teen years.

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Juan recorded his first diary at 18. He now lives in Colorado and is married with three children.

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Teenage Diaries Revisited: Living Life Under The Radar

10:19am May 13, 2013

Juan came to the U.S. with his family, who crossed the Rio Grande illegally in 1992. He has made a life for himself in Colorado that might seem like the American dream: a house, a job, two cars, three kids. But he remains undocumented.

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After Leaving Senate, Snowe Is Still 'Fighting For Common Ground'

9:18am May 13, 2013

by NPR Staff

In a new book, former U.S. Sen. Olympia Snowe explores how to fix the gridlock in Congress. Earlier this year, the Republican from Maine left the Senate out of frustration with the partisan stalemate. "It has to change, for the country," she says. "People deserve ... better representation."

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Thien-Kim Lam (left) and Larry Bright (right) with their 3-year-old son and 7-year-old daughter, are a multiracial family. They represent a growing segment of American families that are inter-racial and whose children identify as both races.

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Checking More Than One Box: A Growing Multiracial Nation

8:35pm May 12, 2013

The last Census showed 9 million people, about 3 percent of the population, reporting more than one race. That's an increase of one-third from the decade before — and that number is only going up.

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