National

The first excerpts are out from journalist Joe Posnanski's upcoming biography of former Penn State head football Joe Paterno.

The New Orleans Botanical Garden was neglected long before Hurricane Katrina destroyed its grounds. But at that point, the garden's director Paul Soniat decided to seek out donations and breathe new life into the garden. He speaks with guest host Jacki Lyden about what it took to revive the historic space.

Older voters make up a major voting bloc that both candidates will be courting, and Mitt Romney's pick of Rep. Paul Ryan as his running mate has put Medicare and Social Security front-and-center. Guest host Jacki Lyden discusses how these voters might respond with Andrew Kohut of the Pew Research Center.

Uh-oh, Bumbo.

The South African maker of molded foam seats that help babies sit up is recalling about 4 million of the chairs because of safety problems.

Babies can get hurt falling out of the seats.

If you have one of the Bumbo seats, you don't have to throw it out or return it. Instead, the recall works a little like one for a car. Bumbo International Trust has a free fix that consists of a safety belt to keep kids in place.

Miramonte Elementary School in Los Angeles, where the entire staff was temporarily replaced last February after two teachers were accused of lewd conduct with students, opened for the 2012-13 school year on Tuesday with most of the instructors who had been displaced back in the classrooms.

By telling a racially mixed audience in Virginia on Tuesday that the Republican ticket's economic plans would "put y'all back in chains," Vice President Biden sparked the latest campaign controversy.

Republican presidential contender Mitt Romney called it an "outrageous charge" and said called on President Obama to "take your campaign of division and anger and hate back to Chicago."

Nellie Gray, who in 1974 helped start the annual antiabortion demonstration in Washington called March for Life that attracts thousands to the nation's capital, has died. She was 88.

According to The Washington Post, "Gene Ruane, a colleague, said that he found Miss Gray dead Monday in her Capitol Hill home and that the chief medical examiner will determine the cause and date of her death."

Despite being a busy M.D.-Ph.D. student at Brown University, Bill Brucker is determined to improve science education in the United States.

To that end, Bill has set up the Providence Alliance for Clinical Educators that combines captivating storytelling with exquisite illustrations to teach scientific principles in a fun and memorable way.

Once used mostly for one-time promos and marketing, Twitter is now something businesses are relying on to provide customer service. For instance, Southwest Airlines tweets to alert folks about delays. And Best Buy responds to questions and complaints via Twitter. And they're not alone.

Let's say you're thinking of ordering a pair of shoes online and you want to know the store's exchange policy. You could pick up the phone — but then you'll hear the old recording: "To ensure quality service, your call may be monitored or recorded."