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"Poetry holds the knowledge that we are alive and that we know we're going to die," poet Marie Howe tells Fresh Air's Terry Gross. One of Howe's most famous poems, "What the Living Do," was recently included in The Penguin Anthology of 20th-Century American Poetry.

It's not clear what motivated an Afghan sergeant to fatally shoot a U.S. Marine sergeant earlier this month. But American troops are increasingly wary of their Afghan partners after repeated shootings.

Monday marks the symbolic arrival of a milestone in the world's population: 7 billion humans. And as the number of people grows, so does the need for infrastructure to support them, such as roads and schools. Both China and South Sudan have fast-growing populations, but the challenges the two countries face are vastly different.

One family submitted necessary paperwork for a loan modification to Bank of America but was told it wouldn't qualify — until a letter arrived recently that admitted the bank had made a mistake. Regulators are now trying to address the problem on a large scale.

The classical pianist, who turns 200 today, changed the art of performance forever with his over-the-top concerts, creating a craze that historians have dubbed "Lisztomania."

NPR's Scott Simon speaks to Pulitzer Prize-winning author Anne Applebaum about the state of democracy around the world.

The latest job numbers reveal the economic pain that continues to wrack Americans, and could complicate President Obama's 2012 reelection aims. As pressure increases from his party's liberal wing to refocus on job creation, the political environment is dominated by pressure to reduce the nation's debt.

Even without a Supreme Court ruling, a new Kentucky law shut down abortions for several days before a federal court stepped in. Abortion rights groups fear it's just the beginning.

On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will hear arguments in a case that will determine whether Wal-Mart is too big to be sued. The retailer is fighting a class action discrimination lawsuit brought against it by 1.5 million current and former female employees.

Nearly three weeks after the earthquake and tsunami wreaked havoc on an aging nuclear power plant on Japan's Pacific coast, officials handling the crisis face multiplying hurdles, making the end goal of a stable facility with a functioning cooling system seem further from reach.