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President Barack Obama talks about National Security Agency surveillance Jan. 17 at the Justice Department in Washington. Seeking to calm a furor over U.S. surveillance, the president called for ending the government's control of phone data from hundreds of millions of Americans and immediately ordered intelligence agencies to get a secretive court's permission before accessing the records.

5 Takeaways From The President's NSA Speech

The president's speech Friday offered a revealing look into the nation's phone data collection program and the direction of the surveillance policy debate. But some of biggest controversies have been put off or pushed to Congress.

Kamal Hamade, the owner of the Taverna du Liban, had taken many steps to make his restaurant secure, and it was one of the few that Western agencies allowed their personnel to frequent.

Restaurant Owner Loved The Patrons He Died Trying To Protect

The owner of the Taverna du Liban, attacked by a suicide bomber in Afghanistan Friday night, treated each of his customers as a personal friend. NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson was a regular at the cozy Kabul restaurant, and remembers Kamal Hamade's friendship.

Supporters of Tunisia's secular Popular Front on Tuesday celebrate the third anniversary of the ouster of dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali. The country is on the verge of approving a new constitution that was negotiated by Islamist and secular political parties.

Three Years After Uprisings, Arab States Take Different Paths

Tunisians were celebrating this week. Egyptians were voting on a new constitution. Syrians are hoping peace talks can end their civil war. Several Arab Spring nations are now working through key events that will shape the road ahead.

UPDATED: Student In Philadelphia School Shooting Surrenders

The shooting injured two fellow students. Police say teens may have been playing with a gun when it went off.

Donors Pitch In To Protect Detroit's Art And Pensions

Under a deal mediated by a federal bankruptcy judge, a group of local and national foundations this week pledged more than $330 million to help Detroit's pension fund and protect the city's valuable art collection. Bio-chemical entrepreneur Paul Schaap is one of the donors; he speaks with NPR's Lynn Neary about the effort.

Civilian militia members stand guard in the town of Nueva Italia on Monday. Since a government crackdown last weekend, militia groups say they have laid down their weapons against drug traffickers.

Under Government Pressure, Mexican Vigilantes Vow To Fight On

Federal forces are backing away from a plan to disarm the civilian militias that are defending their communities from ruthless drug traffickers. In the western state of Michoacan, it's unclear how long the fragile peace will last.

Syrian Coalition Votes To Attend Geneva Peace Talks

Ahmad Jarba, the president of the Syrian Coalition, said this was "a major step from tyranny to freedom for the people of Syria."

Fans cheer on Dec. 29, during the last NFL football game ever played at the Metrodome in Minneapolis.

Watch: The Metrodome Roof Deflates In 35 Minutes

Deflating the roof marked the end of a 31-year era in Minneapolis. The Vikings played their final game in the dome on Dec. 29.

High Court Grants Nuns Temporary Exemption From Birth Control Mandate

The Little Sisters of the Poor, a group of nuns from Denver, are suing the Obama administration over the Affordable Care Act's contraception mandate. The court put the mandate on hold, while the case is decided by the 10th Circuit Court of Appeals.

A fireball goes up at the site of an oil train derailment in Casselton, N.D., in December.

String Of Oil Train Crashes Prompts Push For Safety Rules

The National Transportation Safety Board is calling for the swift enactment of tough new standards on trains carrying crude oil. With the huge increase in oil shipped by rail across North America, safety officials warn another major disaster could be looming.

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