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Historians tell us that caffeine in coffee helped Western civilization "sober up" and get down to business. Now scientific research shows that at low doses, caffeine improves performance on mental tasks, especially in people who are already tired.

A group of Phoenix charter schools is facing criticism for using a teaching tool based on the work of L. Ron Hubbard, best known for founding the Church of Scientology. The tool has concerned parents in other schools, but the Phoenix schools' leader insists it has nothing to do with the church.

The new album It's Okay To Do Stuff pays tribute — sort of — to the 40-year-old Free To Be ... You And Me.

Parsons played Hilary Banks on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. The role first called for a model type, but Parsons says she couldn't do that. So, she says, she made Hilary self-centered: a "real brat."

Hall has played with everyone from Stevie Wonder and Smokey Robinson to Pink Floyd and Bob Dylan. She grew up in Detroit in the '60s, and was sitting in on Motown sessions before she could drive.

When it comes to on-the-spot answers to simple historical and political questions, some people don't have a clue.

NPR and the Center for Investigative Reporting are documenting just how vivid the typical person's digital picture has become — and how easy it can be for others to see it.

Highway engineer George Thornton, who led a 1970 operation to blow up the dead whale on a beach, died this week at age 84. Thornton's decision resulted in a foul shower of whale blubber. Whenever video of the unlikely event resurfaces, some viewers declare it a hoax.

On Aug. 28, 1963, Lewis was the youngest speaker to address the estimated quarter-million people gathered in Washington. Now a Georgia congressman, he says: "I'm not prepared to sit down and give up."

Amid the shutdown, House Republicans have adopted a piecemeal strategy, voting to reopen small parts of the government. That's put politicians in surprising positions — with Democrats voting against their favorite programs and Republicans cheering for fully funding programs they usually argue need a trim.