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For 15 years, an Icelandic teenager has been called her given name, Blaer Bjarkardottir, by everyone except government employees and other officials. That's because "Blaer" (reportedly Icelandic for "light breeze") isn't on a list of government-approved names for girls.

With all that's going on in the Middle East now, it's easy to forget that the Arab Spring began just two years ago in Tunisia. A video of one of Mathlouthi's songs went viral and became an anthem for protesters in her homeland during the December 2010 uprising. Her debut album is out now.

The state has the largest pension-fund shortfall in the nation, with about $96 billion of liability. Lawmakers are running up against a tight deadline: A new Legislature will be sworn in next week. State employees swarmed the Capitol this week to protest the underfunding of their pensions, as well as pending legislation on the issue.

The cast of lawmakers and their leaders in the new 113th Congress is mostly unchanged. The same can be said for Capitol Hill's never-ending drama over taxes, deficits and spending.

This can't be. How does that big heavy rock stay pivoted on top of that itsy bitsy one, which is hanging precariously onto the one below? Yet they do. The beauty of balance.

Photographer Eugene Richards explains why, 40 years after his first visit to the Arkansas Delta, he decided to go back.

The framers of the Constitution didn't spell out all the responsibilities of the speaker of the House. In practice, one of those duties has been engaging in one-on-one negotiations with a president on important policy issues. But John Boehner says no more — even with new fiscal fights looming.

The 113th Congress reconvened this week with 84 newly elected members. Kentucky Public Radio's Kenny Colston travels to Lexington, Ky., to meet the newest member of the Kentucky Republican delegation, Andy Barr.

President Obama handily won re-election, but Congress remains fairly unchanged. Will the status quo prevail during his second term? Or will he follow through on promises that got progressives excited about him in 2008?

The band's leaders say Antibalas relies on two factors to play well: tropical temperatures and a relaxed pace. The ensemble's latest album is simply titled Antibalas.