NPR News

A controversial technique for producing oil and natural gas called hydraulic fracturing — or fracking — has led to drilling booms from Texas to Pennsylvania in recent years. But there are concerns that it may be polluting drinking water.

As policymakers in Washington discuss how to make fracking safer, there is concern that fracking itself has become a distraction.

In the U.S., pretty much all of the oil and gas that was easy to get to is gone. Fracking makes it possible to extract petroleum from hard-to-reach places — say, a mile underground in dense layers of shale.

In Egypt, the once-banned Muslim Brotherhood is now the most organized political force in the country. It is poised to capture a significant amount of power in nationwide elections being planned for the fall.

But dissension in the brotherhood's ranks has been growing since the ouster of Hosni Mubarak. Key figures in the group are bolting, and at least one has been expelled, causing some in Egypt to question whether the decades-old movement can survive.

Members Split Off For New Parties

This story is first in an ongoing series called Honey, Stop The Car: Monuments That Move You, which checks out memorials across the country that inspire drivers to pull over.

Growing up in Union County, a farming region in southern Illinois, I heard stories about this enormous 700-pound pig named King Neptune. Old farmers made passing reference, but I never knew much about him until recently.

In a sluggish economy with slow growth and high unemployment, innovation may be part of the solution.

Tom Clement is just the sort of entrepreneur the U.S. needs to propel the economy. He loves brainstorming and developing new ideas and turning them into products and companies.

Back in the mid-1980s, he climbed Mount Everest. When his friends asked if he was frightened, he told them no, just excited. Clement says starting a new business is a lot like scaling mountains .

As huge numbers of foreclosed homes continue to work their way through the real estate pipeline, another problem is blossoming — mold.

In most homes, as residents go in and out and the seasons change, natural ventilation sucks moisture up to the attic and out through the roof. It's called the "stack effect." And in many parts of the country, it's driven by air conditioning in the summer and heat in the winter.

But no one is going in or out of most foreclosed homes — regardless of climate, and the effects can be devastating.