News from NPR

The marriages of more than 900 couples have been put on hold as courts weigh in. But "those families should not be asked to endure uncertainty regarding their status as the litigation unfolds," Attorney General Eric Holder said Friday.

Reports this week about former Defense Secretary Robert Gates' new book have implied that he thinks President Obama approved a 2009 troop surge in Afghanistan believing the strategy would fail. But Gates tells NPR that's not right. He believes Obama became skeptical about the "troop surge" later on.

In February 1960, four young black men sat down at a whites-only lunch counter in North Carolina. Their protest would be followed by others across the nation and become a key moment in the civil rights movement. McCain once said that he wasn't scared. He was angry.

The number of people affected by a data breach during the holiday shopping season has increased dramatically. Target says customers names, mailing addresses, phone numbers or email addresses were taken. It's offering free credit monitoring and "zero liability" for any fraudulent charges.

The unemployment rate is the lowest it's been since late 2008, but the labor force has shrunk. That could be a sign that many Americans still think there just aren't that many job openings out there.

A chemical used to wash coal seeped into the Elk River near Charleston on Thursday. Customers in more than 100,000 homes and businesses that get their water from one local company have been advised not to drink, wash or bathe with what's coming from their taps. More than 480,000 people live in the affected area.

In the wake of revelations about the National Security Agency's surveillance programs, there have been calls for changes in oversight of the agency. The outgoing deputy director tells NPR that the NSA believes some of those suggestions can be implemented.

Dan Le Batard, a columnist for The Miami Herald who also appears on ESPN radio and television, says he turned his ballot over to Deadspin readers for many reasons, including a need for reform in Hall of Fame voting.

The company's stock slumped after a criminal and civil settlement was announced – and after Alcoa also said it had missed Wall Street analysts' earnings estimates.

"I see the government operating the way the founders intended," says FBI Director Jim Comey, who notes that branches of the U.S. government approved the bulk collection of U.S. phone records.