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Tens of thousands of South Africans and world leaders celebrated the life of former president Nelson Mandela at FNB Stadium in Soweto. NPR's Gregory Warner has the story.

American bank regulators unveiled the final version of the so-called Volcker Rule, which prohibits banks from trading stocks, bonds and derivatives for their own accounts. For more, Steve Inskeep speaks to NPR's Jim Zarroli.

The memorial service for Nelson Mandela concluded Tuesday in Soweto, but South Africans will have additional opportunities to say farewell to their late president. Mandela lies in state in Pretoria for three days and will be buried Sunday in his home village of Qunu.

Leaked internal documents reveal new insights into the goals and finances of the American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC brings together state legislators and representatives of corporations to develop model bills that lawmakers try to pass in their state legislatures.

President Obama shook hands Tuesday with Cuban leader Raul Castro, a move that led to speculation about the future of ties between the two Cold War-era foes. But one expert says none of the issues separating the U.S. and Cuba will be resolved by a handshake alone.

The latest installment in the Hobbit movie trilogy opens this week. And some hard-core fans plan to celebrate not just with a marathon screening of the Lord of The Ring films that came before it, but with a full day of feasting — seven meals, hobbit-style. We offer up a sample menu.

The family had gone to an abandoned mining town in northern Nevada to play in the snow and didn't return. They faced subzero temperatures.

The vaccine made by Novartis isn't approved for general use in the United States. But the Food and Drug Administration is allowing it on the Princeton campus. The university is offering the vaccine to students and some other people on campus through Thursday.

House and Senate negotiators said late Thursday that they reached a budget deal. The agreement would restore some of the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, and includes some relatively small deficit reduction over the next two years. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., hammered out the deal, which they characterized as a step in the right direction that would avoid another government shutdown in mid-January if both the House and Senate approve the budget.

Photographers and a cake baker who oppose same-sex marriage on religious grounds are challenging rulings that compel them to provide wedding services to gay couples. Lawyers have asked the U.S. Supreme Court to weigh in.