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President Barack Obama's choice to lead the National Intelligence Council has withdrawn his agreement to serve in that position. Chas Freeman, a veteran diplomat, had come under fire for statements he has made in the past about China and Israel.

The popular children's book author turns his attention to a macabre event at the orchestra, complete with music and illustrations. Daniel Handler, acting as Mr. Snicket's mouthpiece, investigates the mystery, starting with the death of the composer.

Rudresh Mahanthappa's Kinsmen blends South Asian music with American jazz. The jazz saxophonist says his inspiration to explore Indian music on the saxophone came from a CD his brother gave him as a joke called Saxophone Indian Style.

President Obama kept a campaign promise Monday by overturning President Bush's restrictions on federal funding of embryonic stem cell research. But the stem cell executive order — and a companion presidential memo intended to rebuild the wall between politics and science — aren't helping the administration's efforts to reach out to the pro-life community.

Happy Birthday Barbie! The iconic doll turns 50 Monday. As part of a marketing bonanza, Mattel has commissioned a life-sized Barbie Dream House in Malibu.

The nation's unemployment rate is at its the highest level since 1983. The jobless rate for February stands at 8.1 percent after employers slashed 651,000 jobs. Both figures were worse than what analysts had expected. Since the recession began in December 2007, the economy has lost 4.4 million jobs.

Prosecutors in Georgia recently charged four members of a group called the Final Exit Network with assisting in suicides. Investigators say they could be involved in as many as 300 deaths. The group's president, Jerry Dincin, who was not charged, says the group isn't doing anything wrong.

The White House on Thursday hosts a summit designed to begin overhauling the nation's health care system. It's just one of the major issues President Obama is trying to tackle. Is it a good idea to have so many major issues in play at once?

A new translation of Carlo Collodi's 1881 classic Pinocchio reveals a puppet that's much darker than Walt Disney might have you believe. Critic-at-large John Powers has a review.

The attack on the Sri Lankan cricket team in Lahore, Pakistan, is an embarrassment for the Pakistani government. Islamabad has had trouble convincing other cricketing nations to compete in Pakistan due to the deteriorating security situation.