NPR News

Smoking marijuana has just got to be bad for the lungs, since it's been made abundantly clear that cigarettes wreak havoc. Or so it would seem.

But the record on marijuana and lung health has been confusing at best. The latest study is typical: It shows that pot smokers' lung function actually improves, at least if they're not smoking a lot.

There is no escaping artificial flavor. It's everywhere, and the people who invent it argue that it will enhance your experience of a food — making it more tropical, more floral, or more bitter, in a good way.

Europe's debt crisis is a huge threat to the U.S. economy. Or is it?

For many months, economists have been warning that Europe's debt troubles could spiral into a massive recession that drags down U.S. growth.

But some analysts say those fears may be wildly exaggerated. The U.S. economy has been "decoupling" from Europe for some time, and wouldn't be significantly harmed by any recession taking shape over there, they argue.

The debate over a math problem at a Georgia elementary school intensified today with parents protesting and the Georgia NAACP calling for the teacher who wrote the math problem to be fired.

At issue is a third-grade worksheet that included references to slaves filling baskets with cotton and this question: "If Frederick got two beatings per day, how many beatings did he get in one week? Two weeks?"

If campaigning for Republican presidential candidates in New Hampshire sounds like hard work, try going door-to-door before the primary — for Jesus. Ike Sriskandarajah of TurnStyleNews.com, a production of Youth Radio, spoke with two Mormon missionaries in Exeter, N.H., to hear how they ride the line between proselytizing and politics.

As Sriskandarajah reports on All Things Considered Tuesday, most canvassers wear candidates' buttons and carry campaign signs.