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Scientists are still trying to understand why more children are reaching puberty earlier than previous generations. Whatever the cause, many young people find they have questions about their changing bodies long before their teachers broach the topic.

Each Dec. 23, they descend upon Oaxaca's main plaza: giant root vegetables carved into human figures and other vivid forms. The Night of the Radishes is a major tourist draw these days, but it all started with Spanish missionaries in the 1500s. When a new religion and imported crops met indigenous woodcarvers, a novel art form was born.

Thousands of scallywags in costume turned up at The Mariners' Museum in Newport News, Va. They wanted to break the Guinness record for largest pirate gathering. They fell short and may try again next year.

Ford is taking a big step into the alternative fuel world with an F-150 pickup truck that can run on natural gas. If it succeeds, the move could have repercussions for the broader auto industry.

Two Republicans with compelling personal stories, Monica Wehby and Jason Conger, are vying for the chance to unseat Oregon's incumbent Democratic senator, Jeff Merkley.

The U.S. rating agency Moody's announced Thursday morning more downgrades are on the horizon — this time for nearly 20 global banks and dozens of additional European firms. Names like Morgan Stanley and UBS could see their long-term credit ratings affected. It's another indicator of the wide reach of Europe's debt crisis.

An unassuming brick building in Brooklyn houses a factory that makes animatronic puppets, elves and polar bears for the holiday season. NPR's Neda Ulaby drops by Mechanical Displays Inc. to talk with Lou Nasti, who's been at it for almost 44 years.

The agency said that the most problematic resistant bacteria are emerging in hospitals. But it also called bacteria that have become resistant to drugs used on the farm a "serious threat."

Amid China's run-ins with Japan and the Philippines over disputed islands this year, the U.S. Navy plans to send more ships to Asia, which China sees as an attempt to block its rise. America's allies in the region welcome more involvement, but they question whether America can afford to stay engaged in the region.

Conventional wisdom holds that complex life evolved in the sea, then crawled up onto land. But a provocative new study argues that the procession might be drawn in the wrong direction. The earliest large life forms may have appeared on land long before the oceans filled with creatures.

In short succession, Cameron Post loses both parents to a car accident, is outed as a lesbian and is sent to a a religious camp to be "cured." But the heroine of The Miseducation of Cameron Post, a triumphant new young adult novel, is made of strong and irresistible stuff.

With pizza delivery as a model, Mexican cartels revolutionized the heroin trade, making it easily available in smaller U.S. communities. Journalist Sam Quinones has the story in his new book.