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The country's economy has not only been slowing down recently — it's been slowing faster than expected. That's due largely to overly effective efforts by Beijing to rein in earlier blistering, and unsustainable, growth. Many say the downshift will continue unless the economy undergoes serious reform.

A combination of greater job security, fewer bills and rising wealth sent shoppers heading off to car dealerships, malls and restaurants. "Job growth was not great, but it was good enough to make people feel like things are getting better," said Nariman Behravesh of IHS Global Insight. NPR's Marilyn Geewax covers 2012's economic good news.

Some of the worst mass shootings in American history have occurred since President Obama took office in 2009. The shootings Monday at the D.C. Navy Yard now joins the grim list.

The Pennsylvania capital Harrisburg is more than $300 million in debt. The budget is controlled by a state-appointed custodian. City and law enforcement services are under strain and residents worry violent crime may be growing.

Apollo Sunshine blends '60s psychedelic folk with the arena rock hugeness of the '70s and the lo-fi noise pop aesthetics of '90s groups like My Bloody Valentine or the Olivia Tremor Control. The cover art for the Boston, Mass.-based trio's third record, Shall Noise Upon, depicts a Jackson Pollock-like, color-splattered globe surrounded by constellations of religious and spiritual icons from every corner of the earth. The image suggests the record somehow takes the disparate cultures of a large world and unifies them into a single, genre-breaking, stargazing album. It may seem like an impossibly lofty goal, but the songs deliver.

One of the fathers of rock 'n' roll, Bo Diddley was born Ellas Bates in Mississippi and grew up in Chicago, where he played guitar on street corners before being discovered by Chess Records. Diddley leaves behind a sound that helped build a musical movement.

Raised as Christians, they say their ancestors were Sephardic Jews expelled from Spain more than 500 years ago; they now practice Orthodox Judaism. Similar cases have turned up in other countries in recent years.

Robert Siegel talks with Aaron David Miller, a Middle East Policy expert and a distinguished scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars. They discuss President Obama and possible problems with Israeli relations.

Democrats were quick to attack House Republicans' budget plan, which calls for an overhaul of the program. Leading the charge is Vice President Joe Biden, who told senior citizens in Florida not to be fooled. Republicans, though, see the proposal as necessary for the next generation.

Seven-year-old Tiana Parker was told her dreadlocks defied her school's dress code. Her story went viral, and an outpouring of support came from all over the world. Host Michel Martin speaks with her father, Terrance Parker, about his daughter's hairstyle, and the unexpected fallout.

Polio is deadly, but so is what's required to stamp it out once and for all in Pakistan: facing down Islamist extremists. The virus thrives in Pakistan's lawless — and largely inaccessible — tribal regions. To stop polio's spread, health workers must be courageous, clever and relentless.

Six years ago, the mystery writer sent Easy Rawlins off a cliff, seemingly killing him. Now, Easy's back on the streets his creator once called home. Mosley says other than Los Angeles, he and his detective hero don't have much in common, but NPR's Karen Grigsby Bates begs to differ.