Angela Merkel is still the chancellor of Germany and could stay in that job until 2021 — although you could be forgiven for thinking otherwise, given the speculation over who is to be her successor.
Formed in 1980, the Greens are now the second most popular party in the country. Much of their success, analysts say, has to do with the worsening image of the country's traditional leading parties.
Richard Overton enlisted in an all-black battalion, serving in Iwo Jima and Okinawa. He loved ice cream, whiskey and cigars. "Today we mourn not just a hero, but a legend," the U.S. Army said.
The U.S. stopped paying dues to the U.N. Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization after it recognized a Palestinian state in 2011. The U.S. will be out of the group by the end of the year.
Italy's populist government cracks down on migrants. Those who risked their lives to get into Italy are doing it all over again to get out of the country. In some cases, they traveling over the Alps.
The 12-year-old was alive and conscious when he was rescued on Wednesday, defying bleak statistics for avalanche victims trapped over 15 minutes. "We can call it a miracle," a rescue captain said.
A new photography book captures the unseeable — the storied Mistral wind in Provence. NPR's Mary Louise Kelly talks with the photographer, Rachel Cobb.
It was not a good year for Pope Francis. He got off to a bad start, defending a Chilean bishop accused of covering up sex abuse, and then struggled to prove the Church's commitment to reform.
The Avangard weapon system is built around a hypersonic glide vehicle that takes an elusive path toward its target — even as it reportedly travels at more than 20 times the speed of sound.