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A rare mineral from Earth's lower mantle has been discovered inside a diamond from Botswana. The find breaks open a window into deep-Earth chemistry.

The agreement covers 95 nations, but it omits hard-hit countries such as Russia, Turkey, Brazil, and Mexico. Pfizer said it is seeking authorization for emergency use of the medication in the U.S.

NPR's David Kestenbaum reports on a possible wrinkle in the space-time continuum. Really. Physicists measuring the fundamental characteristics of a subatomic particle, the muon, have come up with some very puzzling results that could punch a hole in the long-standing "standard model" of how matter is put together. And that could help usher in a completely new theory of matter, time and space. Unless, of course, some scientist has made a mistake. (4:30) (It was later revealed this was a mistake: "Well, I would say I'm responsible for the mistake. My collaborator did most of the work, but I am equally guilty of making mistakes." Toichiro Kinoshita, a physicist at Princeton University. Kinoshita's sin was to have a minus sign where he should have had a plus or maybe the other way around. He can't quite remember, though it ended up having gigantic consequences. Kinoshita and his colleague were calculating how a particular subatomic particle behaves when it's stuck in a magnetic field. The particle, it turns out, wobbles like a toy top at a particular frequency. Kinoshita enlisted hundreds of computers and, after a decade of heroic work, had precisely predicted how fast it should wobble according to the laws of physics. Last winter, other physicists who were out measuring the wobble found it differed significantly from Kinoshita's prediction. In the clockwork world of physics, this was potentially a huge finding, signaling something new and mysterious, except that it wasn't. Kinoshita traced his error to a tiny quirk in a computer program he was using. He hadn't checked that bit, in part because other physicists using a different approach had gotten the same answer."

There were major shifts in key counties in both states and with key voting groups in Virginia, according to exit polls. Here's what the numbers tell us about where GOP support came from.

A Palestinian who gives tours of Bethlehem, and the different meanings it holds for different people, reflects on another subdued Christmas in the West Bank city.

Several airlines are reporting staff shortages from the spread of the coronavirus, leaving passengers with delayed or canceled flights. Bad weather also affected some flights.

The emergency gathering of the Organization for Islamic Cooperation was the largest international meeting on Afghanistan since the country fell to the Taliban in August.

The Maya Angelou design is the first quarter in the "American Women Quarters Program" — a four-year program that will feature prominent women in U.S. history.

The South Dakota Republican, a likely successor to Republican leader Mitch McConnell, says he will run for reelection in 2022, putting an end to the speculation about his political future.

In stressful times, it's helpful to be reminded of the good people willing to help out. That's the theme of a new podcast from the team at Hidden Brain. It's called: My Unsung Hero.