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Thoughts on the life of boxer Max Schmeling, whose fights with Joe Louis became a symbol of a looming confrontation between the United States and Nazi Germany. Schmeling fought in Hitler's army, but quietly helped save two Jewish teens and later befriended a needy Louis. Schmeling has died at age 99.

In Egypt, reformers were gratified when the government approved a new, liberal political party last year, hoping there might be a loosening of President Hosni Mubarak's hold on office. But the Tomorrow party's push for a true multi-party vote was met with a government crackdown.

Want a bigger house, a svelte figure or a gender change? It's possible in the online game "Second Life," where residents trade real money for virtual land, designer clothes and other trappings of a fantasy life.

Alison Krauss and her band will start a tune again and again until it sounds as good as they imagine it. Krauss and members of Union Station perform at NPR.

Preparations are underway for Medicare, the program for the elderly, to launch a new prescription drug benefit in 2006. Meanwhile, Medicaid -- the federal and state program for the poor -- takes center stage in what's expected to be a major budget fight. Hear NPR's Julie Rovner.

Overweight "couch potatoes" burn fewer calories a day because they sit more than their naturally lean counterparts, who tend to be more fidgety and restless, a new study shows. The findings suggest small changes in daily activity could have a major impact on weight loss.

A new biography tells the story of Dare Wright, whose popular Lonely Doll children's books reflected her own troubled childhood. Jean Nathan discusses Dare's life with NPR's Steve Inskeep.

In an expected vote in the Senate Wednesday, 30 of the 45 Democrats plan to oppose the confirmation of Alberto Gonzales as the next attorney general. Democrats accuse Gonzales of having played a leading role in providing legal grounds for the torture of foreign detainees.

In Wisconsin, people are celebrating a retro yuletide tradition: the aluminum Christmas tree. In 1959, the Aluminum Specialty Company rolled out the Evergleam, the first mass-produced aluminum tree on the market. Wisconsin Public Radio's Patty Murray reports.

Washington, D.C., saw its homicide rate fall to 198 murders in 2004, down from 248 murders in the previous year. While the nation's capital and other cities have seen a drop in the annual number of murders, others have not.