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Jimmy Fallon's farewell to 12:30 a.m. was, in the end, just right for him.

Secret Message In An Econ Textbook, Finally Decoded

A curious series of hieroglyphics appears in the first pages of the classic 1984 textbook, Lectures on Macroeconomics. Recently experts decoded the symbols and were surprised to find a poem. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with the book's co-author, Olivier Blanchard, and his daughter, Serena. Ms. Blanchard was just 8 years old when she wrote the verse that has puzzled economics students for generations.

Princess Scandal Shakes Spain's Support For Its Monarchy

A Spanish princess will appear in court Saturday to face charges of tax fraud and money laundering. It's the first time a Spanish royal has ever been tried in a criminal case. From Madrid, reporter Lauren Frayer talks to NPR's Scott Simon about the latest in a series of scandals that have sent the royal family's approval rating to an all-time low.

U.N.: Civilian Casualities Rise In Afghanistan

The United Nations has just released a grim report on civilian casualties in Afghanistan over the last year. Casualties rose 14 percent in 2013, with nearly 3,000 people killed and more than 5,500 injured.

Wacky Moments In Winter Olympic History

The problems with decrepit hotel rooms and stray dogs in Sochi, Russia, are stealing the headlines, but they are hardly the first Olympics to stumble. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Esquire Magazine's AJ Jacobs about some of the more inglorious moments in Winter Olympics history.

A technical glitch kept one of the massive Olympic rings looming over the stadium dark during the opening ceremony of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, on Friday.

Is Early Sochi Criticism Par For The Course?

The Sochi Olympics have been criticized for poor preparation, security concerns, and Russia's policies on human and animal rights. The Russians aren't pleased. But host-bashing is a popular pastime.

John Lewis (left) and Stuart Gaffney embrace outside San Francisco's City Hall shortly before the U.S. Supreme Court ruling cleared the way for same-sex marriage in California in June.

Holder Orders Equal Treatment For Married Same-Sex Couples

The attorney general has ordered "full and equal protection" for such couples, a move that has far-reaching repercussions for how they're treated in federal proceedings.

Independent Olympic participant Shiva Keshavan makes a run during the men's luge training session ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics at the Sanki Sliding Center on Wednesday in Sochi, Russia.

Sochi Games Expose Indian Corruption And Redemption

Luger Shiva Keshavan faces an uphill battle not only to train for the Olympics, but even to carry his country's flag. He and fellow Indian athletes are officially "stateless" at the games.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam delivers his State of the State address to a joint session of the General Assembly on Monday in Nashville, Tenn. In the speech, he proposed spending the state's lottery money on free community college education for those in need.

Tennessee Weighs The Cost Of A Free College Education

Tennessee's governor has proposed to pay community college tuition for anyone who needs it. The plan is intended to help boost higher education completion rates for the state, which ranks near the bottom nationwide.

Locals working for a UNDP cash-for-work program clear debris in one of the neighborhoods worst affected by the typhoon that hit Tacloban, Philippines, last November. Tim Walsh runs the program, which he hopes will help keep the local economy going.

Turning A Million Cubic Yards Of Post-Typhoon Trash Into Jobs

Some call Tim Walsh the disaster garbage man, but he prefers waste management specialist. After major natural disasters, the Briton comes to clean up and put people to work. Amid destruction he's seen from Indonesia to the Philippines, he's learned that there's opportunity, and hope, even in a dump.

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