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All Things Considered host Melissa Block remembers Eva Zeisel, one of the premier ceramic designers of the last century. She died last week at her New City, N.Y., home at the age of 105.

In almost one-third of private home loan modifications, big banks are now slashing what homeowners owe. It's overdue housekeeping for America's economy, says one investor: Banks clear their balance sheets, investors get a predictable stream of income, and homeowners stay homeowners.

The Vatican announced Sunday an arrangement to allow disaffected Episcopalian congregations in the United States to join the Roman Catholic church. The arrangement will allow an exemption to priestly celibacy for former Episcopal priests who are married.

The tiny Persian Gulf state of Qatar has deep pockets and a big microphone in the form of its news network, Al Jazeera. In recent months, those assets have been used to propel the Arab Spring forward. Qatar has supported rebel movements in Libya and Syria, and is promoting a "Marshall Fund" for Oman, Morocco and Jordan. The country's emir has close, personal relationships with the emerging Islamist leaders from Casablanca to Cairo — and meanwhile provides a home to the largest U.S. military base outside the United States.

Six GOP candidates — most with family members in tow — shook voters' hands and made their final arguments on the eve of the Iowa caucuses.

States have long sought to restrict cellphone use by drivers because of safety concerns, and as the new year begins, several states are toughening their laws. It turns out it's a hard habit to break. And for government officials, it's not easy to stay ahead of tech advances.

Most of the millions in the U.S. who are infected with hepatitis C can't afford the cure. Some say the U.S. could save money and cure more people if it bought the drugmaker Gilead Sciences Inc.

Locals say at least 30 people were killed in a U.S. airstrike in Syria. The U.S. says it was targeting senior al-Qaida leaders, but Syrians on the ground tell a different story.

Secretary of State Rex Tillerson has raised the prospect of pre-emptive action as a way the U.S. and its allies could deal with the threat of North Korea's nuclear missiles. NPR takes a look at the state of the North's nuclear and missile programs, and what kind of conventional threat it also poses to its neighbors.

NPR's Audie Cornish speaks with Joseph DeTrani, former special envoy for Six-Party Talks with North Korea, about Secretary of State Rex Tillerson's comments regarding North Korea.