National

With the implementation of the new Common Core standards, parents across the country will notice a few changes in their kids' math homework.

For Time Warner Cable customers in major cities, the battle for the future of television is playing out before their eyes as CBS and the cable giant fight over fees. You might not realize it, but between a third and half of your cable bill goes directly to pay for channels like CBS or ESPN.

The environmental agency has proposed permits that would allow oil companies to continue releasing contaminated wastewater onto the Wind River Reservation in central Wyoming. NPR found last year that the EPA has been allowing oil companies to send so much wastewater onto dry land that it was creating raging streams.

The U.S. has canceled plans for an Obama-Putin summit because Russia granted temporary asylum to NSA leaker Edward Snowden. But Secretary of State John Kerry and Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel will go ahead with plans to meet their counterparts in Washington.

Americans once waited in line for the chance to be photographed atop the striped donkeys on this famed tourist strip. But 9/11, the recession and the Mexican drug war have stifled tourism and nearly put the "zonkeys" and their owners out of work. A new push is on to save the historic icons.

One of the nation's largest herb producers once relied heavily on undocumented labor, but has learned some hard lessons since an immigration crackdown. He says transitioning to a legal workforce was well worth it, but that navigating a cumbersome foreign worker program has been challenging.

Patty Stonesifer once held a top spot at Microsoft. After that, she spent years at the helm of philanthropy giant the Gates Foundation. But this year, Stonesifer downsized. She's taken on a smaller-scale role as CEO of Martha's Table, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that serves the poor.

There was an unexpected hold-up on day two of the court martial of Army Maj. Nidal Hasan, accused of gunning down fellow soldiers at Fort Hood. His "standby" attorneys have told the judge that don't believe it's ethical for them to keep assisting a man who they believe is trying to get the death penalty.

The news that billionaire Jeff Bezos has purchased The Washington Post came shortly after Red Sox owner John Henry agreed to buy The Boston Globe. That's left many scratching their heads as to why a successful businessperson would take on a paper when revenues are plummeting.

New pumping and irrigation systems made it easy for farmers to extract billions of gallons of water from the High Plains Aquifer. But now, parts of the aquifer are dried out, prompting a debate over how to preserve what once seemed to be an almost inexhaustible resource.

What are the implications of a businessman like Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos owning a major media outlet? Melissa Block talks to Merrill Brown, director of the School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University in New Jersey.

Voters in New Jersey go to the polls next week in a special primary election for a U.S. Senate seat. No one on the ballot has more name recognition than the Newark mayor, considered a Democratic rising star. But Booker's critics say he's been more focused on his ambitions than on governing.