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It's a strategy some countries have adopted to boost falling fertility rates. Here's why it often fails.

While much of the world worries about how to sustain 7 billion people, in many countries, low birthrates are the more pressing problem. From Germany and Russia to Japan and South Korea, leaders are desperate to reverse a trend of lower birthrates.

Lanny A. Breuer, assistant attorney general in charge of the Justice Department's criminal division, said he found out in April 2010 that ATF agents had let more than 400 guns connected to suspicious buyers cross the Southwest border during the Bush years. But, he said, he didn't tell senior leadership at the department.

As the world's population tops 7 billion people, population experts are worried about inevitable increases in cars, computers, bigger homes and a drain on resources. In an effort to combat this, one California company is producing small, energy-efficient homes — some as tiny as 300 square feet.

As the world's population tops 7 billion people, population experts are worried about inevitable increases in cars, computers, bigger homes and a drain on resources. In an effort to combat this, one California company is producing small, energy-efficient homes — some as tiny as 300 square feet.

Lots of creepy crawly things will appear on doorsteps and fence posts for Halloween, but will they be on your dinner plate? Insects are being proposed as a cheap and environmentally friendly food source. Long accepted around the world, eating bugs is considered, well, gross to many in North America and Europe.

Writer and comedian Andy Borowitz read through more than 1,000 different authors before picking the top 50 for his new book, The 50 Funniest American Writers: An Anthology of Humor from Mark Twain to the Onion.

Companies are trying to bring down their spiraling health care costs by helping employees lose weight. At Dow Chemical, managers hope to set an example by hitting the corporate gym at midday, and the company offers weight-management classes on demand, at workers' convenience.

It's an important indicator, but there's a lot it doesn't tell you.

Welcome to NPR's Backseat Book Club, where author Neil Gaiman is here to answer your questions about The Graveyard Book. Gaiman explains how Nobody Owens learns the value of life from the dead.