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NASA's Kepler mission has found a new solar system where a Saturn-like planet spins around twin stars 200 light-years away from us. It's the first direct observation of such an arrangement, and astronomers say they're not sure why the planet is there.

Work crews Thursday begin dismantling the two dams on the Elwha River, on Washington's Olympic Peninsula. By some measures, this is the largest dam-removal project ever — and, at 210 feet, one of the dams is certainly the tallest dam ever taken down. The process is an extremely tricky one — in terms of engineering, ecology and politics — but environmentalists hope this project heralds the beginning of the end of the age of big dams in the American West. Those who like big dams, for economic reasons, worry about the same thing. Michele Norris talks with NPR's Martin Kaste.

Like thousands of other people here whose homes were incinerated by a wildfire in Bastrop County, Texas, Linda and Roger Ward are living in a daze. The fire was not the deadliest wildfire or the largest in acreage. But in terms of destruction — 1,554 homes and counting — it is one of the worst forest fires in recent U.S. history.

Israel has never had many friends in the Middle East, and now it is facing serious problems with traditional partners like Turkey and Egypt. A Palestinian bid for statehood at the U.N. next week is expected to add to Israel's sense of isolation in the region.

As Sarah Palin keeps the GOP guessing on her White House intentions, she faces challenging filing deadlines and dismissed allegations in a new book as "disgusting lies."

The latest rhetorical artillery shell to be launched in the trench warfare between Washington Keynesians and supply-siders landed Thursday in the form of House Speaker John Boehner's speech to the Economic Club of Washington.

A possible shutdown of the Federal Aviation Administration has been averted. It's funding was set to expire Friday night. For the past two days, one senator had been blocking a bill to temporarily extend funding both to the FAA and highway projects. But instead, the bill is now headed to the president's desk. Michele Norris talks to NPR's Tamara Keith for more.

A Tumblr post from an English lit geek has gone viral and you'd be surprised how much we owe Shakespeare.

Sen. Tom Coburn threatened to block a transportation bill that would extend funding for the FAA. He objected to a part of the bill that funds bike paths and museums.

The city of San Francisco is taking a step to even the playing field by offering public school kindergartners college savings accounts. It is part of a nationwide effort by government and nonprofit groups to address the widening wealth gap.