Actress Patty Duke celebrated her 65th birthday Wednesday by apply for Social Security benefits. She did so online, as she's encouraged other seniors to do for years.

In Alabama, a teacher who takes a Christmas ham as a gift from a student could get jail time. That's because of a new ethics law the governor wants changed. The new law severely restricts gifts to teachers.

China has announced that it will increase duties on some U.S.-made vehicles. The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing says it will levy "anti-dumping" duties on all U.S. imports with engines larger than 2.5 liters. It's the latest volley in an ongoing tariff war with China.

Many people who have been out of work or underemployed for a long time would move to another state or work the night shift to get a job, an NPR/Kaiser Family Foundation poll found. "You [say] yes to any shift, to any time, to any pay," says one man who is considering a move from the Seattle suburbs to North Dakota.

A new report says just 78 offenders were handed capital sentences this year, marking the first time in more than three decades that fewer than 100 people were sent to death row. Some experts say Americans are becoming ambivalent or opposed to the death penalty, but others note that may be because there is another option: life without parole.

The city of Inkster, Mich., has just laid off 20 percent of its police force in an effort to make ends meet. The cutbacks illustrate a larger paradox currently at work in the labor market: While the private sector is slowly adding jobs, the public sector continues to shed them.