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The mascot for Arizona State is Sparky the Sun Devil, who wore a red costume with horns and a pitchfork. After Disney helped update Sparky, some students found his new look — with big eyes and bulging muscles — creepy.

Steve Inskeep speaks with Akbar Ahmed about his book The Thistle and the Drone: How America's War on Terror Became a Global War on Tribal Islam. In the late 1970s, Ahmed was in charge of the tribal area of Pakistan known as South Waziristan — a region he says is the most dangerous place in the world.

Host Scott Simon talks with reporter and author John Thavis about the divisions among cardinals voting at the conclave to select a new pope for the Catholic Church. Thavis is the author of The Vatican Diaries.

Basketball's Miami Heat extend their win streak by defeating the Philadelphia 76ers Friday night, but the Chicago Blackhawk's win streak was upended Friday by the Colorado Avalanche, who scored four goals in the second quarter. Host Scott Simon talks sports with NPR's Tom Goldman.

Leaders of several cruise lines are meeting in Miami on Tuesday to discuss the state of the industry. The conference comes after a series of setbacks, including a cruise ship losing power for days in the Gulf of Mexico.

The February jobs reports came in stronger than expected. Employers added 236,000 new jobs and the unemployment rate fell to 7.7 percent. But is the uptick in hiring likely to be sustained?

The 70-acre patch of agricultural land is prime real estate next to Cairo, and it has been the subject of a long fight over ownership.

A new study finds that the music you listen to can affect how safely you drive. Researchers at London Metropolitan University studied how drivers reacted to different playlists over 500 miles. Some of the "safest" music included tunes by Norah Jones and Elton John.

Perry Bamonte, a keyboard and guitar player in the English band The Cure, has died. He was 65 years old. In a statement, the band called him "quiet, intense, intuitive, constant and hugely creative."

2025 was a tumultuous year for federal student loan borrowers. NPR breaks down the most important changes borrowers should understand as they head into 2026.

Israel has told dozens of aid groups they can no longer operate in Gaza.

Volunteers in Minnesota are collecting pine needles to help researchers determine how PFAS -- the substances commonly called forever chemicals -- find their way into water, soil and air.

Israel became the first country in the world to recognize Somaliland, part of a wider Red Sea rivalry also playing out in Yemen

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau's new rules that are scheduled to be released Thursday come at a time when regulators and banks are trying to find a middle ground between overly lax and overly tight lending standards. The rules will go into effect next January.

At most cafes, a customer buys a drink or food and stays as long as it takes to consume it. But a Russian entrepreneur is experimenting with ways to change that: At his Clockface Cafes, money buys time, and everything else — from drinks to snacks to art supplies and event space — is free.

Quiara Alegria Hudes' Pulitzer Prize-winning drama opens off-Broadway on Tuesday. The play is the second in a trilogy focused on an injured Iraq veteran named Elliot — a character based on Hudes' cousin. "I just remember the instant I saw him, there was just something changed in his eye," she says.

A dispute over an editorial in a Chinese newspaper has widened into calls for more freedom of expression. Hundreds of people protested Monday calling for an open news media.

Samsung Electronics announced profits of more than $8 billion for the final quarter of 2012. Samsung's Japanese competitor Sony unveiled a water resistant smartphone at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas.

A Shell Oil drilling rig has been pulled of the rocks, where it washed up a week ago during a storm. It has been towed to a bay where divers will inspect it for damage. The incident raises questions about the oil company's controversial plans to continue exploring for oil in the Arctic Ocean this summer.

Nominations for the 85th Academy Awards were announced in Los Angeles on Thursday. The movie Lincoln scored big with 12 nominations, including best picture.

Afghan President Hamid Karzai will meet with President Obama at the White House Friday. Renee Montagne talks to Ehsan Ullah, director of the Kandahar Institute of Modern Studies, about what Afghans are saying about the proposed withdrawal of NATO and U.S. military forces from vulnerable areas of Afghanistan.

The strange troubles of a small town where an oil boom has driven unemployment below 1 percent.

Oscar nominations are announced Thursday, and 2012 is considered a very good year for movies, ranging from Lincoln to Zero Dark Thirty and Beasts of the Southern Wild. Renee Montagne talks to reporter Kim Masters about the nominations. Masters is with The Hollywood Reporter and hosts The Business on member station KCRW.

President Obama's pick to head the Securities and Exchange Commission faces the Senate Banking Committee on Tuesday. Mary Jo White released prepared testimony Monday, in which she pledges to beef up enforcement efforts, citing her experience as a New York prosecutor. But some critics point to her more recent work, in which she defended some high-profile Wall Street names.

Technology is making it easier than ever to track everything from your sleep cycles to the food you eat — and even your amino acid levels.