NPR News

The United Nations climate talks were seen as a stepping stone toward a new climate treaty. Instead, the countries attending have agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol through 2020.

Former International Monetary Fund leader Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who was accused by a hotel maid of sexually assaulting her in a New York hotel room, has all but vanished from the public sphere in France, but he remains a subject of fascination. A play imagining what could have transpired in that hotel suite in May 2011 has just opened in Paris.

Details are starting to come out about President Obama's inauguration next month. The co-chairs include actress Eva Longoria and some leaders of the Democratic Party and the business world. President Obama's first inauguration set all kinds of records but like most second inaugurals, this one may be less flashy than 2009.

Big-hearted Americans always rush to give money after a disaster. Just how much and how fast is often determined by technology. After the earthquake in Haiti, texting small donations, for example, became a new standard practice.

This time around, Hurricane Sandy has shown crowdfunding websites are a simple tool for quick-response giving. Anyone can go on these sites and ask for money to rebuild or to help their neighbors rebuild. Friends, family and strangers chip in.