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Hamelin was the setting for the tale of the Pied Piper who lured the town's rats into a river and then led away its children when he wasn't paid. Some 700 years later, the rats have returned and chewed through the electric cable powering the town's fountain.

Jeff Neely, the regional official at the General Services Administration who hosted a 2010 taxpayer-funded conference that became a scandal as details about excessive spending, gifts and lavish parties were revealed, is no longer with the agency.

According to the latest Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan survey, confidence has risen to a level not seen since late 2007. And if confidence is on the rise, that could affect both the economy and the 2012 campaign.

The divisive battle to recall Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker moves into its final phase Friday with the first televised debate between Walker and Democrat Tom Barrett. Some predict as much as $80 million will be spent on the race, as Walker tries to avoid becoming the third U.S. governor ever recalled by voters.

Tehran explained this happened because of technical reasons beyond its control.

A self-described "control freak," Mayer opens up about how time off allowed him to lose himself in the songwriting process, and plays songs from his new album, Born and Raised.

One irreverent tweet about a powerful Chinese politician was enough to get Fang Hong sent to a Chinese labor camp for a year. Encouraged by the recent fall of that politician, Bo Xilai, Fang is appealing his case and attacking the system of re-education through labor.

U.S. oil production has been on the rise, and that's been widely noted. But the same is true throughout the Americas, which are now home to four of the world's top nine producers.

Egypt held its first free election for a national leader this week. Though the official results are not yet in, the election is certainly a milestone in the democratic awakening known as the Arab Spring. Host Scott Simon talks with NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson in Egypt, Eleanor Beardsley in Tunisia and Kelly McEvers in Beirut.

If you're one of millions of motorists on the roads this holiday weekend, you may have noticed something unexpected and welcome: Gas prices are falling. Host Scott Simon talks with Daniel Yergin, chairman of HIS Cambridge Energy Research Associates about the trend.