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Samuel Morse, best known as the inventor of the telegraph, was also an accomplished painter. His masterpiece, Gallery of the Louvre, was a composite painting of Italian Renaissance works he created as a way to bring the culture of Europe home to America.

The five-term senator, a moderate Republican-turned-Democrat, was a key member of the Judiciary Committee and consistently a thorn for leaders of both political parties and their presidents. Specter died of complications from non-Hodgkins lymphoma at his home in Philadelphia on Sunday. He was 82.

Author Lucy Lethbridge explores the history of British servants through their diaries, letters and memoirs. She says, "What I found particularly fascinating was how ... butlers were so butlery"; the old caricature of the clever manservant and the silly master is one "butlers have appeared to play to the hilt."

Colin Meloy, best known as the Decemberists' front man, is also a novelist. His newest book is the second in a series for young readers, called Wildwood Chronicles. The book catches up with its precocious protagonist, Prue, who leaves the seventh grade to return to the magical world of Wildwood.

Anti-nuclear protests are growing in Japan over Tokyo's decision to restart two nuclear reactors in the wake of the March 2011 disaster at the Fukushima nuclear plant. Many Japanese fear another accident, but others say the lack of nuclear power will further hurt the ailing economy.

Despite having one of the lowest HIV rates in Europe, Greece's recent jump in the number of infections, particularly among injecting drug users, is alarming. Health workers blame cuts in health and social services, including the end of what had been a successful needle exchange program.

As some states try to weed noncitizens from their voter registration rolls, there have been a few catches, and many mistakes. Advocacy groups worry that some of these people will be challenged at the polls or discouraged from voting on Election Day.

In the '60s, the cheap music format was stocked in vending machines and embossed on cereal boxes. Now, magazines like Decibel and bands like Deerhoof are reviving the once-dead flexi disc.

The Philadelphia radio show has showcased some 4,000 artists since hitting the airwaves two decades ago. Host David Dye says there's one thing they all share: great stories.

A road trip from Michigan to Alabama places the Watson family in Birmingham in 1963, just as racial tensions are roiling. Christopher Paul Curtis draws upon his own experiences growing up in the 1960s for this Newbery Honor-winning novel.