Melissa Block talks with NPR's Greg Allen about Terry Jones' announcement that he's canceling plans to burn copies of the Quran at his Gainesville, Fla., church on Saturday. Jones said he decided to cancel the protest because the leader of a planned Islamic center in New York City has agreed to move its location away from ground zero.

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The United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia has temporarily lifted the temporary injunction on federal funding for stem cell research. Melissa Block talks with NPR's Julie Rovner about what the decision means and the next steps in the battle over stem cells.

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Two bits of relatively good economic news came out Thursday: The nation's trade deficit declined in July, and the number of people applying for unemployment benefits also fell. But analysts warn against reading too much into either number. The trade deficit bounces around a lot, and unemployment claims remain high.

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On Monday, the ousted chief executive of Hewlett-Packard was named co-president of rival Oracle. Mark Hurd, who helped revive a struggling HP, was forced out earlier this year after a scandal involving expense reports and a female contractor. On Tuesday, HP sued to prevent Hurd's move to Oracle, arguing he could reveal trade secrets. Melissa Block talks with Wall Street Journal reporter Ben Worthen about the case.

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The Purple Heart is the most powerful symbol that a soldier has sacrificed for his or her country. For generations, the military has awarded Purple Hearts to soldiers wounded in action. But an investigation by NPR and ProPublica has found that Army commanders routinely deny Purple Hearts to soldiers who've suffered concussions from explosions -- even though Army regulations say they merit the award. Four soldiers have struggled to get Purple Hearts -- and medical help.

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Melissa Block talks with Scott Vreeland, a Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board commissioner, about the removal of debris from the I-35 bridge from city parkland. Thirteen people were killed and one hundred forty-five were injured when the bridge over the Mississippi River collapsed in 2007. Vreeland hopes that with the removal of the wreckage, the park can open to the public again.

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If you haven't heard of House Minority Leader John Boehner before, President Barack Obama is trying to change that. The Ohio Republican could take over the speakership if the GOP succeeds in winning a majority of House seats this November. Between now and then, Democrats will paint a scary picture of Boehner.

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There's broad agreement among economists that a new tax system should have few loopholes and relatively low tax rates. But that's where the consensus ends. Rewriting the tax code in Washington is tricky, and as one tax expert put it, right now there is no politically feasible fix.

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The most expensive, and arguably the most beautiful book ever, John James Audubon's "Birds of America" is to be auctioned off.

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Though President Obama has portrayed the Ohio Republican as leader of the "party of no," political observers see Boehner as more mainstream than Tea Party and apt to work with Democrats on occasion.

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The disclosure was made in a court filing that seeks a new deadline to challenge evidence against Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab. The deadline to file motions is Friday. The Nigerian is accused of trying to blow up a Detroit-bound flight last Christmas Day.

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In a letter released Thursday by Donald Trump's publicist, the real estate investor told Hisham Elzanaty that he would buy his stake in the Lower Manhattan building for 25 percent more than whatever he paid.

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The winds were expected to pick up earlier than originally thought, leading authorities to close roads that had temporarily been opened to residents at 10 a.m. Residents who were set to be allowed in at 2 p.m. won't be able to get in at all.

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The Rev. Terry Jones said Americans oppose the mosque being built near Ground Zero and Muslims do not want the Quran burned. He said he will be flying to New York to speak to Imam Feisal Abdul Rauf about moving the Islamic center.

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The trade deficit narrowed significantly in July as exports climbed to the highest level in nearly two years, reflecting big gains in sales of U.S.-made airplanes and other manufactured goods while imports declined. The lower trade deficit should give a boost to overall economic growth.

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Four alleged Al Qaida members escape US custody in Iraq. They escaped from the same prison that used to hold Saddam Hussein.

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Apple Inc. said it will publish the guidelines it uses to determine which programs can be sold in its App Store. The move follows more than two years of complaints from software developers about the company's secret and seemingly capricious rules, which block some programs from the store.

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US Secretary of State compares the ongoing drug violence in Mexico to an insurgency. Mexico not so pleased with comparison.

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The Labor Department says new claims for unemployment benefits plunged last week by a seasonally adjusted 27,000 to 451,000. Economists had predicted a much smaller decline of just 2,000.

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An official with the Culture Ministry says one of the Americans will be released Saturday morning at a hotel near Tehran's Evin prison, where Sarah Shourd, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal have been held in Iran since July 2009. It wasn't clear which of the three will be freed.

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The monumental statues of Easter Island draw tourists from around the world. But the modern-day descendants of the people who made those ancient figures, the indigenous Rapanui, have a conflict with the Chilean state. They want to recover ownership of their island.

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With Richard Daley announcing his retirement as mayor of Chicago, there is no shortage of potential candidates to succeed him.  Most speculation has been on White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel.

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Tensions are rising in Gainesville as people gather in anticipation of the planned Quran burning to be held at a church there. NPR's Greg Allen is on the scene.

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A federal appeals court lifted a temporary ban on federal funding of research with human embryonic stem cells. The Justice Department argued a lower court judge had misinterpreted the law and that even a temporary stay on funding would be harmful.

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The federal court ruling permits government funding of stem cell research to proceed temporarily until the court rules on the merits of the Obama administration's position in the case.

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North Korea watchers are hoping a rare political conference in Pyongyang will yield clues about the secretive country's future leadership. Ruler Kim Jong Il is expected to name his youngest son to key jobs that could pave his way to power.

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A world wide survey ranks countries in how charitable they are. Near the top, Australia and the U.S. The bottom? China and Madagascar.

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For more than month, the West Bank city of Hebron has been running dry -- roughly 70 percent of its residents have received no water for five weeks. Some say it is because Israel controls the water resources, but others blame it on unscrupulous Palestinian businessmen.

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With delegates from the Workers' Party believed to be gathered in the capital Pyongyang for a political conference, North Korea watchers are saying a leadership change could be in the works. But the meeting is cloaked in secrecy, making it difficult for outsiders to determine where the nuclear-armed country is headed.

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At least 15 people, including the suicide bomber, were killed and 133 were wounded in the explosion

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