The Academy Awards officially adopted the "Oscars" nickname in 1939. But who is Oscar, and who started calling them that? We may never know. But here are four enduring legends to consider.

Many TSA workers received no money in their paychecks Friday as the partial DHS shutdown drags on. Fees paid by airline passengers keep piling up, even as airport security officers work without pay.

With espresso shots, kisses on the cheek and Andrea Bocelli singalongs, Team Italy has charmed the baseball world. But their mission is more ambitious: Turn Italy into a bona fide baseball factory.

Based on a series of novels by best-selling author Patricia Cornwell, Scarpetta follows two different mysteries from two different timelines. It's structurally complicated — but it all holds up.

In the hilarious Netflix series How to Get to Heaven from Belfast, three women learn that a long estranged school friend has died in a suspicious manner — and take it upon themselves to investigate.

Fighting robots is a cultural fantasy going back at least to Richard Matheson's 1956 story "Steel." One Detroit impresario is now bringing the idea to the stage — and real audiences.

NPR critics share their hopes and predictions for the 2026 Academy Awards, which air on Sunday.

With growing interest in mining critical metals from the seafloor, countries are now negotiating international rules. The Trump administration is forging ahead on its own, speeding up environmental review for mining the fragile ecosystem.

The U.S. military confirmed that all six crew members on an KC-135 aircraft died after the refueling plane went down in western Iraq, raising the U.S. death toll after two weeks of war with Iran.

Meanwhile, if you've been paying attention to medicine, basketball and the British Parliament, you'll get at least three questions right this week.