Krishnadev Calamur

Virginia Senator Tim Kaine, a Democrat, serves on the Armed Services Committee, which will consider the president’s nomination of Ashton Carter for defense secretary. Kaine tells Here & Now’s Peter O’Dowd that he’s a “big fan” of the former deputy defense secretary.

The senator also says he doesn’t ...

Updated at 11:19 a.m.

President Obama named Ashton Carter, a former No. 2 Pentagon official, as his pick to succeed Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel.

Obama described Carter today as one of the "nation's foremost national security leaders."

"He was at the table in the situation room. He was by my ...

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court has dropped all charges of crimes against humanity against Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta, but he added that the move was "without prejudice to the possibility of bringing new charges" later against the Kenyan leader.

Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda's move came after the ...

We told you last month about an appellate court taking up a case that explored whether chimps had the same rights as people. Today we have an answer: No.

As NPR's Eyder Peralta explained in December 2013, the Nonhuman Rights Project asked a court to send Tommy, ...

The New Republic, the influential, century-old publication that during the Clinton presidency was called the in-flight magazine of Air Force One, announced today a slew of changes and cuts. Its editor, Franklin Foer, and longtime literary editor Leon Wieseltier both announced they were leaving the magazine.

NPR's David Folkenflik is ...

Fans of Ayn Rand rejoice. The New American Library announced today that Rand's novel Ideal is finally being published in the form in which she intended it.

Rand, who died in 1982, wrote Ideal as a novel in 1934. But she didn't like it and set it aside. Later that ...

This past summer, Montana resident Markus Kaarma pleaded not guilty to killing a 17-year-old German exchange student who had entered his garage. At the time, his lawyer said he would defend Kaarma using the state's version of the "castle doctrine," which says that a man's home is his castle ...

SPECTRE, as James Bond fans will know, stands for Special Executive for Counterintelligence, Terrorism, Revenge and Extortion. It's the organization 007 has battled since his first screen outing in Dr. No in 1962.

It's also the name of the new Bond movie, the 24th installation in the franchise, director Sam ...

Russian President Vladimir Putin said today that the "difficulties" his country faces "also create new possibilities," and insisted that while he isn't interested in a "long-term arms race" with the West, Russia would do what it takes to defend itself.

Putin's state of the union address to Russia's Parliament comes ...

Protesters are staging "die-ins" Wednesday following a grand jury's decision not to indict a New York police officer in the death of Eric Garner on a Staten Island sidewalk over the summer.

As NPR's Bill Chappell is reporting, "The encounter between Garner and officer Daniel Pantaleo caused an uproar ...

Ian McLagan, who played keyboard for the English rock bands Small Faces and Faces and was a sideman for the Rolling Stones, died Wednesday in Austin, Texas. He was 69.

His official website listed the cause as "complications from a stroke suffered the previous day."

"I am completely ...

Updated at 5:58 p.m.

Seventeen states, led by Texas, are suing the Obama administration over its recent executive actions on immigration.

"The Constitution prescribes immigration policy be fixed by Congress — not by presidential fiat," Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, the state's governor-elect, said at a news conference in ...

North Koreans cannot name their children Jong Un, and those who already share the name of the country's leader must change it. That's according to a directive from 2011 obtained recently by KBS, South Korea's state-run broadcast network.

It's unclear how many people the ban affects, but Kim is a ...

Updated at 12:05 p.m. ET.

Federal regulators had given Takata Corp. until Tuesday to widen its recall of air bags to the entire U.S., but the Japanese company appeared to ignore that demand, causing one House lawmaker to say today that her constituents were "literally afraid to drive their cars."

...

Four Scandinavian nations and New Zealand are the world's least corrupt countries while North Korea and Somalia are the most corrupt, according to the Corruption Perception Index released today by Transparency International.

Denmark (92 points), which topped the list, has occupied the No. 1 position since 2012. New ...

After World War II ended, many Nazis found their way to the U.S. This much we know.

Some of them were later forced out of the country once their activities during the war came under scrutiny. But they continued to receive Social Security benefits even after they left.

As ...

FIFA President Sepp Blatter said today that soccer's governing body is not responsible for the working conditions of laborers who are building the stadiums for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

"In Qatar they are working in big companies from Germany, from France, from England and ...

Updated at 3:44 p.m.

Bobby Keys, the legendary saxophonist most associated with The Rolling Stones, has died. He was 70 years old.

The Associated Press quoted Michael Webb, who played keyboard with Keys, as saying the musician died Tuesday at his home in Franklin, Tenn., after a long illness. He ...

With his coalition government splintering, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has sacked two senior Cabinet ministers, said Parliament should be dissolved and called for early elections.

The Israeli media reported that new elections could be held as early as March.

Netanyahu has been prime minister for the past five years ...

Raju the elephant appeared to shed tears last July when he was freed from his shackles. He will now be allowed to remain with his rescuers. His previous owner had wanted him back.