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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.

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.

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?

These human rights defenders are accused of using foreign funding to destabilize the country – while they say they were simply carrying out normal human rights work. It's part of an ongoing crackdown.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that the country's most widely used weedkiller, glyphosate, probably does not cause cancer. The chemical has been under intense international scrutiny.

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?

Tikva Records was founded as an independent Jewish record label in 1947. For three decades, it would record everything from folk songs to klezmer pop. A new compilation honors the now-defunct label.

There is still only sketchy information available about Staff Sgt. Robert Bales' recent experience in Afghanistan, but five years ago in Iraq, he was considered an excellent and upbeat soldier. Bales is suspected of killing 16 unarmed Afghan civilians.

Bassist Ben Williams is a rising jazz star. He won the 2009 Thelonious Monk Competition and received a recording contract for his debut album, State of Art, which was released this summer. Williams brought his band Sound Effect to perform two songs from that album at the NPR Music offices.

Host Scott Simon talks with the Republican governor of Michigan, Rick Snyder, who on Friday announced he will appoint an emergency financial manager for Detroit. The city faces a $327 million budget deficit and more than $14 billion in long-term debt.

The nation's first lighthouse turns 300 years old Wednesday. NPR takes a tour of Boston Light.

Robin D.G. Kelley's new book, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, focuses on the career of the eccentric jazz pianist and composer. It reveals new details about Monk's life, music and mental health problems, and provides a glimpse into the New York jazz scene of the mid-twentieth century.