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Some GOP House members argue that if the debt limit isn't raised, the president would have to make choices about what bills get paid. But economists say prioritizing payments — even assuming it would be possible — isn't a great idea.

The outspoken Whole Foods founder tells us why he hates "Obamacare" and why we have trouble cutting the sugar, fat and salt out of our diets. But now he's told CBS he used a poor choice of words when referring to the health law as fascism.

In an article for The New Republic, Judith Shulevitz writes that as people have increasingly waited until their 30s to become parents, there has been a rise in developmental and neurocognitive disorders. Moreover, she says that the age of both parents affects the health of the child.

The president's push to address gun violence and mental health centers largely on training teachers and others who work with children, teens and young adults to recognize illness as it's developing.

A New York law that requires mental health professionals to report potentially violent patients probably won't accomplish much, specialists say. Studies show that even highly trained professionals are often wrong about which patients become violent.

Every couple has differences and disagreements to navigate. But what happens when the couple disagrees on the fundamental question of faith? Maria Peyer is a church-attending Lutheran; her husband, Mike Bixby, is an atheist. But they've found ways to accept and support each other's beliefs.

NPR's David Greene talks with a group of young adults who've struggled with the role of faith and religion in their lives. They do not speak of emptiness without religion, but recognize that it fills needs. They talk of having respect for religion, but say that it's not something they identify with now.

Influenza is especially intense this year, and people are flooding into hospitals and doctors' offices. But the flu is just one of a triple whammy of respiratory viruses — plus the nasty norovirus — that are making lots of people sick.

The situation is dire for hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees seeking shelter outside the nation's borders, but inside, the numbers are even higher. NPR's Kelly McEvers spent the night in one school, one of thousands, where families are taking cover from the shelling and fighting.

It's still too soon to say whether this is a historically bad flu season. But it's already clear that emergency rooms around the country are filled with feverish throngs that are much larger than during the last flu season.