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Luciano Pavarotti, the most famous opera singer, died at his home in Italy after suffering from pancreatic cancer. He was 71. Pavarotti was larger than life – a dominating physical presence with a voice to match. Pavarotti used his voice to bring opera to a wide audience.

The Obama administration announced Tuesday that the Medicare program is running out of money faster than projected. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said that news should make lawmakers redouble their efforts on a full health system overhaul. On Capitol Hill, senators are struggling to come up with ways to pay for that overhaul.

Barack Hussein Obama has been sworn into office as the 44th president of the United States. A crowd that stretched for more than 2 miles on the National Mall came to listen and watch Obama.

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, by Amy Chua, discusses Chua's extreme parenting techniques. The book has become fodder for debate among parents across America. NPR's Michele Norris talks to Chua about the book, and to Chua's husband, Jed Rubenfeld. The two are professors of law at Yale Law School, and Rubenfeld has a forthcoming book of his own, The Death Instinct.

Santa Barbara County is sometimes called a “land of extremes.” That’s especially true of the divide between the majority-Latino agricultural communities of North County and the majority-white, highly educated areas of South County.

NPR's Ailsa Chang talks with Progressive Caucus whip Greg Casar, D-Texas, about the proposed debt ceiling bill.

Bumble-ardy is a deeply imaginative tale about an orphaned pig who longs for a birthday party. Sendak, who is 83, wrote and illustrated the book while caring for his longtime partner, who died of cancer in 2007. "I did Bumble-ardy to save myself," Sendak says. "I did not want to die with him."

Politicians in red states sometimes resist green policies. NPR's Steve Inskeep talks to Ben Jealous, executive director of the Sierra Club, about how they're trying to bring red and green together.

India's national song turns 100. The song was written as a rallying call for independence from Britain. But since its inception, the Hindu-inspired lyrics have fueled a debate about whether the song ignores India's large Muslim population.

Brazilian activists fighting to protect the Amazon from deforestation face violent opposition — sometimes, death. Scores of people fighting to protect the forest have been killed in recent years.