Around the Nation

Cobblestone ice has made travel downright dangerous. Over the weekend, Ross Hailey of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram captured this truck driving over cobblestone ice in Haltom City.

National

Texas Ice Storm Plus Sand, Traffic Equals 'Cobblestone Ice'

12:30pm December 11, 2013

by Stella Chavez

The cold snap that hammered Dallas five days ago is still creating problems. Thousands of people remain without power. Some truckers remain trapped at rest stops. And an unusual phenomenon called "cobblestone ice" is hampering crews from de-icing interstate bridges, overpasses and off-ramps.

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Volcker Rule Aims To Rein In Banks' Risky Trades

12:11pm December 10, 2013

American bank regulators unveiled the final version of the so-called Volcker Rule, which prohibits banks from trading stocks, bonds and derivatives for their own accounts. For more, Steve Inskeep speaks to NPR's Jim Zarroli.

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Congress Tries To Craft Budget Deal Before Holiday Break

10:45am December 10, 2013

by Tamara Keith

The Senate is back from vacation and trying to get a budget deal completed. The House plans to leave town for the year at the end of the week, which means the heat is on to settle on spending levels for 2014 and 2015. Democrats would also like to insert money for extended unemployment benefits, which expire at the end of December. If nothing else, negotiators want to agree on a "topline" spending amount to avoid another government shutdown when the current stopgap spending measure expires Jan. 15.

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National

L.A. Sheriff's Deputies Indicted On Corruption, Civil Rights Abuses

10:45am December 10, 2013

by Kirk Siegler

On Monday, federal prosecutors announced indictments against 18 current and former deputies of the L.A. Sheriff's department for corruption and civil rights abuses inside the nation's largest municipal jail system.

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National

N.Y. Train Crash Spotlights Push For Automatic Safety System

11:36am December 09, 2013

by David Schaper

The high-tech system can essentially override human error and slow a train that is going too fast. Congress mandated that all trains have it by 2015, but only a few passenger and freight railroads will be ready by then. And after a deadly train crash in New York, few in Congress may be willing to vote for a delay.

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Joey Cappuccitti, who works at a Maximus call center, talks with a person looking for help with New York's insurance exchange.

New York's Insurance Exchange Readies For Holiday Rush

10:55am December 09, 2013

by Fred Mogul

As a Dec. 23 enrollment deadline for health insurance that starts Jan. 1 looms, New York state is staffing up its call center and smoothing out the rough spots on its application to meet growing demand. As time runs down, the state is trying to fix technical and design issues that came up when the site debuted in October.

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Will Seniors Leave Republicans Out To Dry In 2014?

8:18am December 09, 2013

by Ina Jaffe

One group of voters that the GOP has traditionally been able to count on are those over 65. But a new survey of battleground congressional districts show some cracks in that foundation, possibly enough to swing some closely contested seats.

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National

Temperatures Dip From Sea To Icy Sea

6:12pm December 08, 2013

by Nate Rott

Frigid weather and freezing rain have beset large swaths of the country. Those below-average temperatures are expected to stay well into the week.

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Holiday decorations are displayed in the State Dining Room of the White House during an event to preview the 2013 holiday decorations on Wednesday in Washington, D.C.

National

White House Invites All To 'Gather Around' A Holiday Tradition

11:35pm December 07, 2013

by Ari Shapiro

Every year, on the day after Thanksgiving, almost 100 volunteer decorators show up at the White House. They spend the next five days stringing garlands and hanging ornaments, making the White House sparkle for the holidays. NPR has a related tradition, and it's about to end.

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Chefs Andrew Taylor, left, and Mike Wiley, co-owners of two Portland, Maine, restaurants, say the moratorium is worth it if it helps sustain the shrimp population.

Fishery Closure Puts New England's Shrimp Season On Ice

9:56pm December 07, 2013

by Tom Porter

After several years of declining shrimp stocks, regulators have imposed a moratorium on shrimping in New England waters. The closure could hurt commercial fisherman and future demand for the Gulf of Maine shrimp, but scientists say the move may be the only way to prevent the population from collapsing.

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