NPR News

Ann Powers will be in Austin, Texas, all this week for the South by Southwest music conference. Beginning Wednesday morning at 9:00 a.m. ET, click above to hear Ann's conversation with Morning Edition host Linda Wertheimer about the artists she's most excited to see. And head to NPR Music's SXSW page for our live webcast schedule, photos and Twitter updates.

America has apparently gone crazy for cooking. Reality shows from Cake Boss to the new America's Next Great Restaurant have helped convince many Americans that they, too, can open up their own bakery or restaurant.

They are streaming into culinary schools in growing numbers, many paying for their education with federal loans. Now those schools are under pressure to prove that students graduate with more than just a ton of debt.

Starting At The Bottom — And Staying There For A While

Libya's government has been insisting it's not at war with its own people. The enemy, they say, is al-Qaida. And Tuesday, they set out to prove it.

In the capital, Tripoli, journalists were taken to meet a man the government said was captured on the battlefield.

For reporters based in the capital, the trip to the prison was the latest in a series of government-arranged field trips.

After another explosion and fire was reported at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, Japan's prime minister announced in a televised address that those living within about a 20-mile radius of the nuclear complex should stay inside their homes.

But many people did the exact opposite. Some packed their cars, others got into buses — and residents simply headed west.

At Curry House, just off a main road in Koriyama, most of the items on the menu had been crossed off with a blue marker — showing what you couldn't get. Only two dishes were available because of food shortages.

With Republicans on Capitol Hill still trying every legislative manuever they can think of to undo last year's health law, it was probably only a matter of time before Democrats tried a gambit of their own.

Now a House bill being pushed by Democrats would require Republicans to publicly state whether or not they are accepting taxpayer-subsidized health benefits under the Federal Employee Health Benefits Program.