Congresswoman Diana DeGette was among many stem-cell research advocates cheering a court ruling on Friday.

The site of last year's deadly coal mine explosion in West Virginia may be abandoned and sealed-off, according to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).

29 coal miners died at Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine a year ago in the nation's worst mine disaster in four decades.

"Massey Energy has indicated it wants to seal the UBB mine," says MSHA spokeswoman Amy Louviere. "A meeting is set for May 5 to discuss the plan for sealing the mine."

Massey has yet to respond to NPR's request for comment.

Colorado lawmakers have a little over a week left in the 120 day legislative session and a lot of work still needs to be finished.

The Federal Transit Administration has determined that New Jersey must repay the federal government the entire $271 million it spent on early design and engineering work for a New Jersey-New York train tunnel that Gov. Chris Christie scrapped.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the final decision Friday in a letter to New Jersey's congressional delegation and in a 52-page report sent to the Christie administration from the FTA's Budget and Policy office. The Associated Press obtained copies of both documents.

Ireland has a strong tradition of folk music and poetry that's familiar to many Americans. But in the hands of Dublin-born composer Donnacha Dennehy, it's transformed into something completely different.

If you're a parent of a young child, you've probably never met 11-year-old Charlie Ibsen, but you might recognize his voice as that of the popular talking toy My Pal Scout, by LeapFrog.

In 2006 and 2007, several banks and hedge funds realized what was happening to the U.S. economy while it was happening — and then made vast fortunes by betting against the markets.

"Lots of bankers knew that things were in trouble, and they went on — they did it anyway," says ProPublica reporter Jesse Eisenger. "Some of them did it because they could bet against it. Some of them did it because they could make fees by helping clients who were betting against it. And some of them did it just to keep the machine do it and make huge bonuses."

Emmylou Harris jokes that she's a "really good ex-wife" to her three former husbands. She just turned 64 and wrote most of the songs on her latest album, Hard Bargain. As she tells All Things Considered host Melissa Block, many of those new tracks are about taking stock of this phase of her life.

Thornton-based Ascent Solar Technologies has cut its workforce from 167 employees as of last September to 85. That’s according to recent quarterly filings made with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Many of the layoffs were in the production division. That’s because the company is changing course, hoping that its lightweight solar panels will be more interesting to niche markets. CEO Ron Eller says that translates into innovating new products, like one prototype that incorporates panels into tent flaps for the military.

Iran's government celebrated the popular uprisings first in Tunisia, then in Egypt, Bahrain and Yemen. But when protests began in Syria, Iran turned uneasy and uncertain.

Syria is one of Iran's few real allies in the Arab Middle East, and Tehran has carefully cultivated a relationship with the ruling Assad family for more than 30 years.

If Syria's President Bashar Assad falls, Iran can no longer count on Syria. And among other benefits, the Syrian connection is crucial for Iran's relationship with Hezbollah in Lebanon.