After the Soviet Union broke up, Belarus — squeezed between Russia and the European Union — kept its Soviet-style economy and its Soviet-style leader. President Alexander Lukashenko has clung to power all these years by promising full employment and by crushing his political opposition. Still, as Europe struggles through a major economic crisis, it's not paying much attention to this former Soviet state.
Dan Brown, author of the blockbuster The Da Vinci Code, is back with his first novel in four years. Inferno follows academic hero Robert Langdon on a chase through Italy as he attempts to avert a biological catastrophe.
Designer Katie Shelly's upcoming cookbook offers 50 illustrated recipe "blueprints" for basic meals — from simple snacks to more hefty dishes like eggplant Parmesan. She hopes they'll inspire any level of cook to improvise in the kitchen.
NPR's Peter Overby reports on the Congressional testimony of IRS officials in response to the scandal over special scrutiny of tea party groups. Underneath all the politics, there's a policy question that hasn't been addressed.