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Alistair Campbell, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's top media strategist, steps down amid accusations that he helped exaggerate evidence on Iraq's weapons programs. The British media had dubbed Campbell the "real deputy prime minister." Campbell cites family reasons for his resignation. Hear NPR's Guy Raz.

This week, following a series of security lapses, the Secret Service director resigned. For a look at the agency beyond the scandal, author Ben Dolnick recommends the novel Big If by Mark Costello.

NPR must lay off 10% of its workforce to address an advertising shortfall of about $30 million, CEO John Lansing says. Lansing says marketers are nervous about the economy.

The U.K. band uses interviews, newsreels, propaganda films and its own stormy instrumental music to craft a fun-but-powerful statement about industry and automation.

"Diet for a Small Planet" promotes a plant-centric approach to eating as being more beneficial for personal and global health.

A House committee has approved a measure allowing the Secret Service to spend more to protect the president's many homes, and Trump's proposed budget would increase the number of agents.

Some Columbia citizens have found themselves with one less way out of town. Transportation service Megabus announced last Friday it would stopping all…

The Education Department said today that changes to a pair of previously troubled programs have recently led to $4.8 billion in loan relief for another 80,000 borrowers.

Updated at 6:30 p.m. to add information on mercury pollution. A new report released today puts both Missouri and Illinois among the top 20 states with the most toxic air pollution from power plants. The Natural Resources Defense Council report ranked Missouri 15th and Illinois 16th nationwide, based on 2010 data from the Environmental Protection Agency, the most recent data available. Although their relative rankings changed little from the year before, the NRDC's clean air director John Walke says both states actually reduced their emissions. "That reflects a 20 percent drop in power plants' toxic pollution in Missouri, and a 16 percent reduction from that sector in Illinois," Walke said. "So those are impressive reductions." About a million pounds less air pollution in each state. Walke says that’s also good news for our region’s water and fish, which are contaminated with mercury – a power plant pollutant. “It builds up in water bodies through a process called bioaccumulation, but once you reduce it, you can actually see a pretty substantial recovery.” Exposure to mercury can cause developmental problems - pregnant women and children are most at risk. The U.S. EPA set limits on mercury emissions from power plants late last year, but they won’t go into effect until at least 2015. Walke says that nationally, air pollution from the electric sector has dropped as plants have installed pollution controls or switched from coal to natural gas. Missouri still gets more than 80 percent of its electricity from coal; Illinois gets close to half of its energy from nuclear power. Follow Véronique LaCapra on Twitter: @KWMUScience

The Senate Armed Services Committee votes unanimously to approve Robert Gates as the new secretary of defense. In his sole day of hearings, Gates faced questions about Iraq and U.S. troop levels. The full Senate will vote on his nomination Wednesday.