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Amborella is the first known flowering plant and, like the platypus, a genetic dead end. Selaginella's relatives are the fossils in fossil fuel. Now, scientists are studying the genes of these plants, looking for clues about evolution and compounds that might be applied to medicine or agriculture.

While U.S. Special Forces were raiding a compound in Pakistan, President Obama and members of his national security team were monitoring events from the White House Situation Room. Osama bin Laden was killed in that operation. John Brennan, deputy national security adviser for Homeland Security and Counterterrorism, talks to Steve Inskeep about the event.

William Dodd served for four years as the ambassador to Germany before resigning — after repeated clashes with both Nazi Party officials and the State Department. Erik Larson chronicles Dodd's time in Berlin in his new book, In the Garden of Beasts.

The gun-slinging glory of Louis L'Amour Westerns might be romanticized past the point of reality, but not even American history scholar Elizabeth Cobbs Hoffman can resist the pull of their ruggedly glamorous adventures that sweep across the Great Plains.

In 1914, thousands of soldiers eagerly boarded trains across Europe to fight in World War I; they thought it would be a quick and easy battle. Five years later, more than 8 million troops were dead and countless families were split apart. Author Adam Hochschild explores those divisions in his book To End All Wars.

They're partying inside Buckingham Palace Friday evening. Prince William and Kate Middleton, now the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, were married Friday.

Former Assistant Secretary of Education Diane Ravitch explains why she was once an early advocate of No Child Left Behind, school vouchers and charter schools — and what changed her mind.

For a few hours Friday, the world will be transported by a royal wedding in Britain. Crowds will wave flags and cheer. Kings and clerics, lords and ladies, politicians and celebrities will all parade in their finery. But do these images really represent the British? Among the country's Asian community, reaction is mixed.

A wave of tornado-spawning storms strafed the South on Wednesday, killing 72 people in four states. At least 58 people died in Alabama alone, including 15 or more when a massive tornado devastated Tuscaloosa. Forecasters warned that even worse weather could be on its way.

If Amy Chua's tale of overachievement, Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, left you looking for a different image of an Asian-American family, writer Ben Ryder Howe recommends Mother on Fire. Sandra Tsing Loh tells the story of her refreshingly "average" Asian-American family.