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Her hits included The Wallflower, Something's Got a Hold on Me, and the wedding favorite At Last. James had leukemia. She would have turned 74 next Wednesday.

In 1978, the farmers in a small Chinese village signed a secret contract. They thought it might get them executed. Instead, it wound up transforming China's economy.

The "Matriarch of the Blues" had grit in her voice that could melt like sugar or rub like salt in a wound. The great vocalist, whose turbulent life broke through in her affecting delivery, has died at age 73.

Bandleader and producer Johnny Otis, who launched and then nurtured the careers of many of R&B's greatest singers, died Tuesday at his home near Los Angeles. He was 90. Fresh Air remembers Otis with excerpts from a 1989 interview.

Palestine might not seem like a breeding ground for race car drivers. But that hasn't stopped a group of Palestinian women from driving very fast, winning races and making a name for themselves along the way.

A lower court must now take a new look at election maps drawn up by the Texas Legislature, which is dominated by Republicans. The state is getting four new seats in the House of Representatives, so the stakes are high. But this decision is unlikely to be the last word on how Lone Star reapportionment will play out.

South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley swept into office on a wave of Tea Party enthusiasm. One year later, her approval numbers are slumping, and her endorsement of former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has drawn criticism from many of her core supporters.

Rick Perry, Rick Santorum and Newt Gingrich are all Republicans who've bashed federal judges for meddling with states' rights. But when none of them got on the Virginia primary ballot because of the state's strict ballot access laws, where did they turn? To a federal judge in Richmond.

The Israeli and Saudi hackers have picked on stock exchanges and airlines, releasing credit card information. So far, it appears only a small number of hackers have been involved on either side, but there are concerns that the scale of the attacks could escalate.

Smart, scintillating reads are hard to find — especially when you like your protagonists nerdy. Author Lev Grossman offers three great reads for the geeks in all of us.