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Vaclav Havel, the Czech playwright who led a revolution to bring down the country's communist regime, has died. During the communist era, Havel was one of Eastern Europe's foremost dissident writers and champion of human rights. He was 75.

At one time, marriage and divorce were dictated by romance, the falling in and out of love. Nowadays, those decisions are being increasingly influenced by economic factors. Host Audie Cornish talks to NPR's Jennifer Ludden and Shankar Vedantam about mobility in marriage and divorce.

When Tropical Storm Irene swept through the Northeast this summer, the flood decimated the small town of Wilmington, Vt. However, as cleaning crews went to work inside the Wilmington Baptist Church, they found a surprise: a painting marked by a blurry water line, at the height of the flood of 1938. Nancy Cohen from Vermont Public Radio reports.

America's Got Talent champ Landau Eugene Murphy, Jr. is a crooner in the classic style, who has surprised and delighted audiences by being himself.

As troops withdraw from Iraq, it's a bittersweet day for Brandeis University Professor Kanan Makiya. On April 9, 2003, Makiya watched the fall of Baghdad on television from the Oval Office, alongside President George W. Bush. The former Iraqi exile was an outspoken critic of Saddam Hussein's crimes against the Iraqi people and had advised the President on the invasion of Iraq. Makiya tells weekends on All Things Considered host Guy Raz he believes the war was worth it for the Iraqi people — but perhaps not for the Americans.

To keep their closely guarded modesty intact, some Hasidic women in New York City are pushing to start an all-female unit of an Orthodox Jewish ambulance service to help deliver babies in emergencies. But the idea isn't getting a warm welcome from Hasidic men.

As Hollywood rolls out Oscar hopefuls over the next two months, there's a curious thread developing: Many of these films are set amidst the backdrop of wars — especially wars involving Great Britain.

The death of North Korea's mercurial and enigmatic leader was announced Monday by state television. Kim's iron rule and nuclear ambitions for his isolated Communist nation dominated world security fears for more than a decade.

A new Pentagon study shows that almost 30 percent of drone pilots surveyed suffer from what the military calls "burnout." It's the first time the military has tried to measure the psychological impact of waging a "remote-controlled war."

A new exhibit at the Freer Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., features photos of Cixi, a teenage concubine turned empress who ruled China for 43 years. The portraits were taken as a diplomatic effort — an attempt to revive the reputation of a dying dynasty.