Search results for

Three citizenship ceremonies NPR attended in the Washington, D.C. area in January were largely celebratory experiences, despite a year of hurdles and changes to the naturalization process.

Weather-related traffic accidents have accounted for some of the deaths. Others have collapsed while shoveling snow. Several victims are said to have been homeless people who either didn't want to go to shelters or didn't get to one in time. Thankfully, more moderate weather is about to arrive.

The International Maritime Bureau says there has been a 40 percent drop in piracy worldwide since 2011, and that much of the drop was due to fewer attacks off the Somali coast.

Also: Singer Phil Everly dies; passengers rescued in the Antarctic resume their trip home; and a man who won $174 million didn't realize his good fortune for weeks.

Home foreclosure filings in the U.S. have fallen to their lowest levels in more than six years. They're down more than 20 percent from last year, according to the company RealtyTrac. Inexpensive mortgages and a rising demand for homes seem to be at play here.

In softcover fiction, Hilary Mantel imagines Anne Boleyn's downfall, Martin Amis satirizes England, Paul Theroux sends a narrator back to the village he volunteered in, and Peter Heller depicts a post-apocalyptic life. In nonfiction, Robert Caro continues his LBJ biography.

Also: The Curiosity rover zaps Mars rock with a laser; Pakistan's president orders investigation into blasphemy case against girl with Down's Syndrome; Myanmar's government eases some press restrictions.

The federal government says it will pay down $35 billion of the national debt this quarter. It's a reversal of an earlier prediction that the government would add more than $100 billion in debt during the second quarter of 2013. Economists say the payment was made possible by spending cuts and higher tax revenues.

The spire, which acts as a platform for various broadcast antennas, was readied for installation Thursday. The actual spire-raising will take place at a later date.

The Dow Jones benchmark started Monday's session above 16,459 and fell more than 1,000 points before closing at 15,871. The index lost about 3.6 percent of its value.