Five-time NASCAR champion Jimmie Johnson reclaimed his spot at the top with a late push in Sunday's race. Danica Patrick was the first woman to start from the pole, but she went on to finish eighth.

In New Jersey, Hoboken Mayor Dawn Zimmer announced a proposal to build seawalls and other mitigation efforts to fortify the city against flooding from future storms. Saltwater inundated low-lying parts of Hoboken for weeks after Hurricane Sandy. Zimmer wants to make Hoboken a test case for low-lying coastal cities like Boston and Philadelphia, but she'll need approval and support from the federal government to do it.

Hail causes about $1 billion in damage to U.S. property and crops each year. Insurers would like to minimize those losses. That's where the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety comes in. Earlier this month, the Institute created a full-scale hailstorm inside a laboratory. The idea is to study why the damage can be so bad.

Some are calling it "the trial of century." In New Orleans Monday, dozens of lawyers will pack into a federal courtroom to argue over BP's civil liability from the 2010 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Millions of barrels of oil fouled beaches from Texas to Florida. Billions of dollars are at stake.

President Obama is expected to file a friend of the court brief in a same-sex marriage case headed to the Supreme Court. But the president's position might not be as cut and dried as it seems.

For decades after the devastation of World War Two, Germany recoiled from any prospect of military engagement. Now the country is under pressure to get involved in foreign military conflicts as the U.S. cuts back its role as the world's policeman. Germany's growing military role is now being debated in government and academic circles.

Europe's telecommunications industry is lagging, despite having some of the most successful companies serving some of the most connected populations in the world. The European Union's official in charge of the digital agenda says the bloc is making a huge mistake by not investing more in this sector — depriving itself of a source of income and jobs it can ill afford to ignore.

In 2011, during the debt ceiling crisis, Congress passed and President Obama signed a law mandating automatic budget cuts. The cuts were never supposed to take effect. In fact, they were designed to be clumsy and damaging enough to prod lawmakers to agree on something better. Which they haven't.

Cuban President Raul Castro has been named to a new five-year term but says this will be his last. Parliament has named as his vice president 52-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, the highest-ranking official who was not part of the 1959 revolution.

The new guidelines for treating childhood ear infections are intended to reduce unnecessary antibiotics use. They say doctors should look at the eardrum to make sure a kid really has an ear infection, instead of relying on symptoms. And if the child doesn't have severe symptoms, see if the ear gets better on its own.

In the weeks following the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, more than a quarter-million cards, letters and gifts have arrived in Newtown, Conn. The town is trying to decide what to do with a collection that quickly outgrew its storage at the municipal building and now fills a warehouse.

A new poll explores how crucial everyday decisions are made in American households about food and exercise. Many parents say that their families don't always have time to eat the healthiest meal or exercise.

A new poll explores how crucial everyday decisions are made in American households about food and exercise. Many parents say that their families don't always have time to eat the healthiest meal or exercise.

If you didn't have time to pack a lunch and you're tired of eating out, why not cook up something in the office? All you need is a microwave, a mug and a few basic ingredients to make scrambled eggs, mac and cheese or a brownie.

NPR's Linda Holmes recaps Hollywood's big night.

In Canada, teachers at a school in Windsor, Ontario, suspected an eighth grader was going through their desks. So they planted brochures for a class trip to Disney World. They even made a presentation, and then said: "just kidding." The snooping student got his comeuppance but other kids and parents were furious. The school apologized.

A 10-year-old boy from Brockton, Mass., didn't want to go to bed. When his mom insisted, he replied, "I'm gonna call the cops on you." A local newspaper reports police came and gently explained when it's appropriate to dial the emergency number.

Boeing is formally laying out its case for the 787s to be returned to the sky. The Dreamliner has been grounded since last month when batteries overheated. Senior company officials meet with the FAA administrator Friday.

For the first time, the race will start with a woman at the front of the pack. Danica Patrick's claim of the pole position is a shot in the arm for NASCAR after a few down years. Linda Wertheimer talks to Jeff Gluck, motorsports reporter for USA Today, about Patrick's milestone, and how the rest of the field is shaping up.

A massive storm closed more than 200 miles of highway and grounded hundreds of flights. Kansas City suffered one of the worst storms in its history.