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There have been five major mass extinctions over the last half-billion years, when the diversity of life on Earth suddenly and dramatically contracted. Scientists are currently monitoring an era of mass extinction predicted to be the most devastating since the asteroid impact that wiped out the dinosaurs. But this time around, says Elizabeth Kolbert, author of The Sixth Extinction, it's humans that are causing it.

Yale's William Nordhaus has been running the numbers on Earth's climate troubles. He says charging a fair price for any dumping of carbon dioxide into the air is a cost-effective solution. But at least half the planet must cooperate, his math suggests, or it will be all pain, no gain.

In a major address, Hassan Rouhani mocked U.S. military threats. But he also used the 35th anniversary of the Islamic revolution to say that negotiations with the U.S. and others offers the best path for Iran.

Janet Yellen made her first appearance before Congress as chair of the Federal Reserve on Tuesday. Her remarks, released prior to her testimony, stressed that there would be a lot of continuity with past policies, because she had helped develop and implement them.

No state has seen as steep a drop in teacher salaries over the past few years. Legislators also halted a salary bump for teachers with master's degrees and cut a cap on class size. "Teachers are really questioning why they want to teach," says the head of a state advocacy group.

A coalition of nonprofits hopes to attack the problem using a well-known tool in the private sector — a real estate investment trust that allows investors to pool their funds to buy property.

Last month, Vermont's governor said addiction has reached epidemic levels in his state. Officials say that high demand, combined with the state's loose gun laws, create a lucrative market for out-of-state dealers.

Congressional reporters quickly note that Rep. Paul Ryan was one of many Republicans who voted "no." The vote came after the Republican majority abandoned its hopes to tie other legislation to the debt measure.

Generations of children have been charmed by Shirley Temple onscreen, and in a glass. The drink that bears her name, it seems, has a shelf life as long as her movies.

Tom Brokaw, the NBC News correspondent who for years was one of America's favorite news anchors, has been diagnosed with Tmultiple myeloma, a cancer that affects blood cells in bone marrow, the network says.