On today's newscast: The Olympic qualifying races for ski mountaineering — better known as “skimo” — are this weekend in Utah, and Aspen athletes John Gaston and Jessie Young are vying for a spot on Team USA; local residents will have a chance to cut their own Christmas trees at a bilingual, bicultural event near New Castle tomorrow; and Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold has rejected the second request this year from the U.S. Department of Justice for sensitive voter information. Tune in for these stories and more.

The pigeon population has exploded — a result of people feeding the birds. For some it's a holy duty and a way to connect to nature. Critics point to health risks tied to exposure to pigeon droppings.

The UN's top humanitarian and emergency relief official has told NPR that the lack of attention from world leaders to the war in Sudan is the "billion dollar question".

The new movie stars Lucy Liu as an ailing mother to Joe, played by Lawrence Shou as a teenager facing mental illness in his feature debut role.

From 400-year-old globes to cosmic funeral shrouds, how the Osher Map Library in Maine shows people that maps aren't just for navigation — but windows into history, culture, and how we see the world.

Earlier, a group of soldiers had appeared on Benin 's state TV Sunday to announce the dissolution of the government in an apparent coup, the latest of many in West Africa.

At least 25 people, including tourists, were killed in a fire at a popular nightclub in India's Goa state, the state's chief minister said Sunday.