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China is the world's top coal consumer but slow economic growth and pollution concerns are lessening demand. Chinese energy officials say more than 1,000 coal mines will be closed this year.

Venezuela's top state prosecutor has accused security forces of excess in their response to protests. As John Otis reports, the prosecutor announced investigations into alleged human rights abuses.

Oklahoma has sent its eight-year public education plan to the U.S. Department of Education.The 218 page plan, called Oklahoma Edge, shows how federal…

The Jamaican native, who died last week in London at age 63, was one of the first popular artists to perform his island's local sounds for a world audience. His international success helped fuel the reggae revolution.

The United Nations Security Council is delaying its formal response to North Korea's July 5 missile tests, as diplomats give China time to persuade its longtime ally to cooperate. The tests are challenging China's credibility as an effective diplomatic broker.

Fans in France are left to ponder what might have been after a penalty-kick loss to Italy in the World Cup's championship game. The turning point may have been the ejection of the team's top player in overtime.

It is less than three months before the Olympic Winter Games in Turin, Italy, and Patrick Quinn is closer than he has ever been to achieving his Olympic dream. He hopes to represent the U.S. in doubles luge at the Games.

Phyllis Wheatley was America's first published black poet -- a native of Senegal, sold into slavery in Boston in 1761 and taught to read and write. Now a newly discovered letter by her is expected to fetch top dollar at auction.

At a time when soul music is heavily tricked-out, singer Maxwell likes to pare things down, inviting listeners in with his smooth, fluttery singing and raw emotion. In 2001, Maxwell scored a top-selling album, then disappeared. He's back with a new album, BLACKsummers' Night.

In their day, acts like Edgar Bergen and Charlie McCarthy would keep audiences young and old as transfixed as the biggest stars on television today. It's hard to imagine that ventriloquists and their wooden sidekicks would be such big hits -- on radio. NPR's Bob Edwards talks to the author of a new book about the bygone era of ventriloquism.