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The head of the General Services Administration has resigned after spending more than $800,000 at a conference outside of Las Vegas. Martha Johnson was President Obama's political appointee.

Anthony Marra's debut novel, A Constellation of Vital Phenomena, takes place in war-torn Chechnya — a world of perpetual violence, fear and exploding land mines. But reviewer Meg Wolitzer says the characters are so vivid and the language so brilliant you want to stay there.

Native American tribes in Eastern Oregon recently marked kimtee inmewit, a ceremony that welcomes the sacred new foods of the new year. The tribes see these foods not just as nourishment, but as a connection to ancestors.

Scientists agree we evolved to eat meat, but some of us may be pushing the limits of consumption. Paleo diet enthusiasts believe meals should be more like early man's, but modern doctors disagree.

The longtime activist hasn't quite overcome the reputation of his early career, but the Rev. Al Sharpton now commands a uniquely powerful platform.

A lot of residents in the Rockaway section of Queens walk around wearing surgical masks. The streets are jammed with sanitation trucks, supply trucks and tractors. It looks and sounds like a construction area, but it's not. It's a demolition zone as residents gut their homes to fight mold.

The shooting death of a 2-year-old girl by her 5-year-old brother has opened up another debate about gun control. It pits public health advocates — who see little benefit in mixing children and guns — against those who say early training can instill a sense of heritage and a respect for gun safety.

Most animals leave their home turf when they reach adulthood to avoid competing with relatives. But here's an exception: More than three decades of dogged research shows that prairie dogs are more likely to disperse when all of their family members are gone.

When Teddy Roosevelt became a New York police commissioner in 1895, he vowed to clean up the city's endemic vice and corruption. It didn't exactly work out. New Yorkers liked the idea of standing up to corrupt cops, but they rebelled when Roosevelt tried to enforce a ban on Sunday drinking.

On Monday, Morning Edition explored crime rates in Chicago and how the murder rate went up in 2012. That was against national trends and even against Chicago's long-range decline in crime. We discussed police focus on "hot spots," and the dissolution of gangs. But listeners asked: What about gun bans?

Salem, Mass., is a major tourist attraction thanks to its infamous 17th-century witch trials. Tourists really pour in around Halloween for a good scream, and this year, a high-tech haunted house is bringing a new edge to a local tradition.

President Obama handily won re-election, but Congress remains fairly unchanged. Will the status quo prevail during his second term? Or will he follow through on promises that got progressives excited about him in 2008?