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Among those surprised at the Tampa Bay Rays' rise from the bottom to the top of the American League: its fans. Margarita Fazioli, a season-ticket holder for six years, has remained loyal through good years and bad. "If you look at the spring of 2008, you had a glimpse of what was going to happen during the regular season," she says.

Norm Bass, a 69-year-old table-tennis player, has rheumatoid arthritis. He says he's been banned from the Paralympics because of his age. Bass has the points to qualify for the games and he's competed previously in the Paralympics.

A State Department report obtained by NPR gives fresh evidence of entrenched corruption in the Iraqi government. The report finds that the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is not only failing to stop officials from committing crimes, it's hindering its own watchdog agency from conducting investigations.

Last year, Time magazine named Raul Castro one of the 100 most influential people in the world. This year, another Cuban has taken his place: Yoani Sanchez. Her critical blog also earned one of Spain's top journalism prizes, but Cuban officials denied her a visa to go to Spain to accept it.

For decades, the way the TV networks and advertisers worked together was simple. A lot of people watched TV, the Nielsen company estimated just how many, and the advertisers paid for airtime based on the Nielsen ratings. Now, the TV industry is changing and Nielsen is trying to keep up.

Much of the international focus in Afghanistan has been on fighting the insurgency. Efforts to improve life for civilians have lagged. Defense Secretary Robert Gates blames Kabul's ineffectiveness and a lack of coordination.

Forty years ago Wednesday, The Beatles launched Apple Records. The label's trademark green Apple logo appeared on albums by The Beatles and other artists the band helped discover. It didn't take The Beatles long to show they were better at making music than running a business.

The Senate Judiciary Committee gives chairman Patrick Leahy the authority to subpoena top White House officials, including political adviser Karl Rove. Leahy says the White House's offer to let them testify without an oath or transcript is unacceptable.

The Texas governor rocketed to the top of the field after he entered the race for the GOP presidential nomination last month. But his wobbly debate performances have reversed his momentum and led many Republicans to say he needs to make some big changes — and fast.

Meru is a 21,000-foot mountain in northern India. Some of the greatest climbers in the world have tried and failed to reach its peak — a sheer granite wall known as the Shark's Fin.