It may be an unassuming piece of fabric, but it has woven itself prominently into American life.

If you've seen a photo of a newborn baby recently, you've probably laid eyes on it.

We're talking about a white flannel blanket with pink and blue stripes that is used in hospital delivery rooms across the country. It's one of the first things to touch the skin of countless babies every year.

Robert Siegel and Michele Norris read letters from listeners about a discussion with NFL star Michael Vick.

Ever had that roasted chicken or your favorite pork shoulder recipe turn out much saltier than you expected? You're not alone.

After years of getting consumer complaints about it, yesterday the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will soon release a rule that would make it clear — right on the label — that some meat products have been enhanced with sodium solutions.

The new film Another Earth stars Brit Marling as a woman who watches a duplicate planet hover beside ours as she struggles to escape from her own devastating past. But Marling doesn't only star in (and, some say, steal) the film — she also co-wrote and co-produced it with director Mike Cahill.

Joining state lawmakers and hundreds of residents, three members of the Louisville Metro Council are criticizing the pending merger between U of L Hospital, Jewish Hospital and a division of Catholic Health Initiatives.  Council members Tina Ward-Pugh, D-9, Vicki Aubrey Welch, D-13, and Marianne Butler, D-15, signed a petition that will appear as a half-page advertisement in the Courier-Journal this weekend, which protests the hospital merger and says it will “stop vital medical procedures” for residents in the area.

With the students in the U.S. falling behind in math and science, teachers are hoping to learn new ways to rekindle interest in the subjects, and nearly 1000 teachers have gathered in Lexington over the past few weeks to do just that.  The National Assessment of Educational Programs recently found only 33 percent of eighth graders are proficient or advanced in math. Likewise, math and science teachers are becoming harder and harder to come by. For the past couple weeks, a program called Laying the Foundation has been training teachers, mostly from Kentucky, to better prepare students for the rigors of Advanced Placement courses.

Kentucky Utilities spokesman Cliff Feltham says despite thousands of households running air conditioners 24/7, the local power grid is surprisingly in good shape, and at present, there are no signs of a potential brownout.  "We hit a July peak on Wednesday and so we figured it would continue to set another peak on Thursday and it did not do that."

After months of rumors, most observers in Kabul now believe that American officials have met with a Taliban envoy face to face. The most likely interlocutor is Tayyeb Agha, the head of the Taliban political committee and one of a handful of people in the world said to have direct contact with Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban.

Three states and two major cities say they have pulled out of a federal program aimed at deporting criminals who are in the U.S. illegally. And now Boston's mayor has threatened to join them.

Secure Communities was created to help federal authorities deport illegal immigrants who are hardened criminals. But some state and local officials say it goes too far.

To understand the controversy, you have to understand how this program works.

Kentucky is among the states with the worst air quality, according to a report released this week.  The report was commissioned by the Natural Resources Defense Council, but used data self-reported by industries and publicly available on the Environmental Protection Agency’s website. Kentucky ranked fourth in the list of the 20 ‘most toxic’ states.