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President Obama last year appointed a commission to recommend ways that local election officials can shorten lines at the polls. On Wednesday, that commission is releasing its final report, offering suggestions on how to make improvements in the voting experience.

The Pentagon is saying that it needs to keep 10,000 troops in Afghanistan after 2014 to train Afghans and maintain a counterterror mission. But military officials are once again running into interference from Vice President Joe Biden. That's nothing new: Biden in particular has for years pushed for a counterterror option of only several thousand troops, though the military says that number is far too small. The Pentagon argues that Biden's proposal would mean the U.S. forces would be largely consigned to their bases.

Writers at the online magazine Jezebel criticized the fashion glossy for retouching images of the Girlswriter and star. Adweek's media reporter tells Here & Nowthat Vogueshould get kudos for putting "such a real girl" on its cover.

Steven Zeitchik of the Los Angeles Times has been binge watching films at the 10-day festival. So far he's been impressed by Richard Linklater's Boyhood, Zach Braff's Wish I Was Here and Amir Bar-Lev's documentaryHappy Valley.

After word spread that Jamaica's two-man bobsled team had qualified for the Olympics but didn't have money to go to Russia, Internet donors stepped in — even contributing in Dogecoin, the peculiar digital currency.

A large section of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline was officially put to work Wednesday, in a move that supporters say will help ease the flow of oil to refineries. The Obama administration has yet to rule on the project's northern portion.

In an interview with NPR, Mark Herring says he wants the state to be on the "right side of history." The Democrat said his solicitor general will tell a federal judge that Virginia is switching sides in a case that has potential to reach the U.S. Supreme Court.

Spain's banking system is officially marking the end of its reliance on bailout loans from Europe — only the second eurozone country to do so. Although the banking system may be on surer footing, the overall economy — with youth unemployment pushing 60 percent — still has a long way to go.

The new regulations would grant exceptions on a case-by-case basis for the wearing of turbans or yarmulkes, as well as beards or tattoos with religious significance.

Ann Patchett got married and divorced young. When she met the man who would eventually become her second husband she said: "I'll be true, I'll be faithful, I'll see you every day ... but I don't want to get married and I don't want to live together." Her new book is This Is The Story of a Happy Marriage.