NPR News

"After more than 30 years of handing prayer cards to customers aboard its planes, Alaska Airlines has decided the practice is outdated and will stop doing it on Feb. 1," The Seattle Times reports.

A few things struck us about this news.

Samantha Garvey, the homeless teen who came into the national spotlight after she became a semifinalist in the prestigious Intel Science Talent Search competition, has had a bittersweet 24 hours.

First the bitter part: When the science prize competition finalists were announced today, she was not on the list.

Egyptians commemorate the first anniversary of the uprising against the Hosni Mubarak regime. Demonstrators are in Cairo's Tahrir Square, even though opinion polls suggest the overwhelming majority of Egyptians are firmly against further protests.

Last year this time, Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn was pushing a big income tax increase to help balance the state's budget. This year, Quinn is being pressured to roll part of that increase back. But the state is still months behind in paying its bills, with a pension shortfall looming.

In a wide-ranging discussion with All Things Considered's Robert Siegel, Ron Paul, the Republican congressman from Texas, said of all the GOP hopefuls, he's been the steady one.

"All I know is that the message is powerful," he said in response to a question about the viability of his campaign. "The message is well-received. Our numbers are growing, and we don't go up and down like a yo-yo."

The Keystone XL pipeline is supposed to connect Canada to Texas. But does it also have to connect to a payroll tax holiday?

White House Senior Advisor Valerie Jarrett, speaking today on NPR's Tell Me More, said no link should be made because the oil pipeline is not "germane" to legislation involving a tax holiday.

In Los Angeles, the center of the U.S. adult film industry, condom use during the making of porn films will soon be required.

Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa signed the controversial ordinance into law this Monday.

Now it's up to the L.A. city clerk to post the new rule, which could happen this week, the Associated Press reports. After the posting, the rule would take effect in 41 days.

Filmmakers would have to agree to comply with the requirement to get a permit to make a movie.

The economy "has been expanding moderately, notwithstanding some slowing in global growth" in recent weeks, the Federal Reserve just reported.

In a statement timed for release at the end of their most recent meetings, Fed policymakers also said they expect economic growth in coming quarters "to be modest," that the jobless rate will "decline only gradually" and that inflation will run "at ... or below" levels the central bank wants to see.

Maybe you've never heard of Kris Kobach. To hear some immigration advocacy groups tell it, however, Kobach is going to cost Mitt Romney the Hispanic vote and — should Romney become the Republican nominee — the election.

Kobach is serving as the Kansas secretary of state. He remains better known in some quarters for his work as an adviser to legislators around the country drafting immigration laws — including the 2010 Arizona law that is being reviewed by the Supreme Court this spring.

Less salt and fat. More whole grains, fruit, veggies and low-fat dairy. This is what kids can expect in the school lunchroom soon, according to new nutrition standards for school meals announced today by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and first lady Michelle Obama.

Europe does not now have the "political structures" to make the euro work properly, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told world leaders today.

At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, The Associated Press reports, "she said the weaknesses 'arose over years — so they can't be overcome at one fell swoop.' "

But, Merkel added, "we are determined to do this."

Mitt Romney hasn't had a lot of good news lately but he did get some positive information Wednesday — a new Univision/ABC News poll gives him a significant lead over Newt Gingrich among Florida Latinos less than a week before the Florida Republican primary.

The survey found that 35 percent of respondents said they would vote for Romney while 21 percent said Gingrich was their choice. Rep. Ron Paul was at six percent and Rick Santorum at seven percent.

The new World War II saga Red Tails exploded across the big screen last week with action-filled scenes of aerial gun fights waged by the Tuskegee Airmen. Amid the battles scenes, the movie presents an equally difficult fight waged by America's first all-black air force fighting group to earn respect for their combat skills.

The film was not only inspired by true events, but the actors were also instructed by real Tuskegee Airmen — many of whom are nearly 100 years old.

In an emotional ceremony on the floor of the House of Representatives, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords handed her letter of resignation to Speaker John Boehner.

Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz spoke on the Arizona congresswoman's behalf.

"This is only a pause in her public service," Schultz said with a shaky voice and with tears streaming down her face. Schultz then went on to read Giffords' resignation letter.

After hitting a year and half year high in November, the number of contracts to buy homes fell a bit in December.

The AP reports:

"The National Association of Realtors says its index of sales agreements fell 3.5 percent last month to a reading of 96.6. That's down from November's reading of 100.1.

"But the reading is still the second highest since April 2010, the last month that buyers could qualify for a federal home-buying tax credit.

"A reading of 100 is considered healthy.

Good morning!

Our early posts:

-- Egyptians Take To The Streets To Mark First Anniversary Of Revolution

-- Google's New Privacy Policy Will Allow Tracking Across Services

There's little doubt that the U.S. wastes a lot of money on unnecessary health care. But pinning down the worst offenders isn't easy, as a fresh analysis of the scientific literature finds.

Published research on overuse is in pretty short supply, so rooting out waste by looking at the existing studies can be a little like limiting your late-night search for lost car keys to the spots right under streetlights.

It was a year ago today that Egyptians started a revolt that led to the fall of President Hosni Mubarak. Marking the day, tens of thousands of people took to the streets both in celebration and in protest of the military rulers that took Mubarak's place.

Reporting from Cairo, NPR's Soraya Sarhaddi Nelson sent this report to our Newscast unit:

Yesterday afternoon Google announced it was making sweeping changes to its privacy policy beginning March 1. Users can't opt out, so Google is beginning to send notice to its users via email and even on its homepage.

Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, who pleaded guilty of dereliction of duty in connection with the killing of 24 unarmed Iraqi civilians in Haditha, apologized during his sentencing hearing yesterday.

The AP reports:

The biggest solar storm in years has lit up the skies with the spectacular show known as the Northern Lights. The Aurora Borealis offers a spectacle of green and blue over Canada and Northern Europe. The big storm is treating stargazers as far south as England — and may well make up for the disruptions it could bring to the electrical grid and GPS signals.

In New York City, the street in front of a high school was painted with big white letters that were supposed to read "school." But the word painted read "shcool." The city says a contractor made the mistake after some street repairs.

British adventurer Felicity Aston this week became the first woman to ski solo across Antarctica, from one coast to another. It took her 59 days to cover more than 1,000 miles, dragging her supplies behind her on sleds. She talked to Steve Inskeep from the Union Glacier base camp in Antarctica while waiting to go home.

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney earned more than $42 million over the past two years — the bulk of it from an array of stocks and investment funds. And he paid about 15 percent of what he made in taxes. The release of some 500 pages of tax returns give a much fuller picture of how he made his money and what he did with it.

In an article in The New Yorker, author Ryan Lizza describes President Obama as someone who spoke of a post-partisan world but also made calculated political moves. The article is called "The Obama Memos." Steve Inskeep talks to Lizza about the president's State of the Union address.

As the president delivered the final State of the Union address of his term before a looming re-election battle, he looked out at a sea of angry and skeptical Republicans who had fought him on budgets, government shutdowns, and whether or not to raise the nation's debt ceiling.

And what did President Bill Clinton do in 1996?

He delivered his "the era of big government is over" speech, which The Washington Post summed up this way: "Clinton Embraced GOP Themes in Setting Agenda."