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Conversion these days at the state's Spanish missions isn't only about religion; it's also about seismic retrofitting. That's because the missions — which date to the late 1700s, when Spain's king sent Franciscan missionaries to convert natives to Christianity — would not withstand a major earthquake.

R&B singer Fontella Bass has died at a hospice in St. Louis. She was 72. Bass is best known for the soul classic "Rescue Me."

Opposition to a bill allowing gay couples to adopt has been unexpectedly fierce in the country, which legalized civil unions more than a decade ago. In a rare move, and to the surprise of many, even the French Catholic Church has become involved in the debate.

The shape-shifting musician often sounds like a completely different artist from one song to the next. On his new Song Reader, he leaves the sound in the listeners' hands.

The deadline for the so-called "fiscal cliff" is fast-approaching. The combination of automatic spending cuts and tax hikes go into effect in just three days. NPR's Ari Shapiro talks with host Jacki Lyden about where congressional leaders are on a deal.

Mikhail Sebastian came to the South Pacific island for what should have been a short vacation; he has now been there for a year. U.S. immigration officials say he self-deported.

In 2009, thousands of boxes of potential evidence were discovered untested. Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy is leading the effort to handle the backlog. While the city still lacks sufficient funding to test all of the 11,000 kits, it has made two convictions and discovered a pattern of serial rapists.

In one of Pakistan's oldest cities, Lahore, street signs are rare, and people constantly ask for directions. Two young entrepreneurs are hoping to change that with a project to make street signs commonplace.

As the year comes to an end, NPR librarian Kee Malesky shares closing lines from some great novels — those last few moments spent with a story that you love.

Even if the Senate were to approve a compromise package and a majority of the House (Republicans and Democrats) were prepared to accept it, the deal likely won't even be brought to the House floor for debate and a vote. How can this be? Because of the de facto "majority of the majority" rule.