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NPR tracked down former top spellers to see how they're faring, decades after their early successes.

The folk music icon's relationship with his home state has always been complicated. To many in Oklahoma, Guthrie's progressive political views didn't fit with a strong conservative streak during the Cold War period. His reputation there is now closer to full restoration as Tulsa opens his archives.

A British driver who struck a cyclist with her car — and who then bragged about the incident on Twitter — has issued an apology. The incident caused an uproar after the collision Sunday.

Capt. Francesco Schettino is accused of negligence that led to the grounding of the ship and of abandoning the stricken vessel while a rescue of its more than 4,200 passengers and crew was still underway.

Despite much international criticism, Israel has continued building its West Bank barrier. It's now nearing completion, while the Israelis and Palestinians continue to argue over whether it will help or hurt prospects for a Middle East peace agreement.

Millions of students rely on loans and grants for their studies. But with universities strapped for cash, fewer schools are able to admit students regardless of their financial need. Host Michel Martin asks the President of Iowa's Grinnell College, Dr. Raynard Kington, why his school considered putting a halt to need-blind admissions.

The president is set to deliver Thursday what's being billed as a major address on national security. Officials are telling news outlets that he'll be addressing two controversial topics: The use of drones to kill suspected terrorists; and the closing of the Guantanamo Bay detention center.

Monday's tornado ground parts of the Heatherwood subdivision to bits as it tore through Moore, Okla. At one house, a crushed pickup truck is all that's keeping a garage from collapsing. Neighbors pulled on their work gloves to help one another dig out.

When researchers challenged people with heart disease to perform some stressful tasks, those who took a popular antidepressant had fewer symptoms related to low blood flow to the heart. The findings, though preliminary, suggest another avenue for treatment.

Host Scott Simon speaks with New York Times classical music critic Anthony Tommasini about conductor James Levine's return to the Metropolitan Opera after a series of health problems kept him away for two years.