U.S. officials are trying to improve relations with Pakistan. Both Washington and Islamabad have agreed to form a joint intelligence team to track down militant targets inside Pakistan. Steve Inskeep talks to NPR's Julie McCarthy about the attempt at renewed cooperation.

Berlin's increasing rents could force thousands of social welfare recipients out of their homes if the senate cannot come to an agreement on new Hartz IV living costs.

The city's ruling left coalition (SPD/Linke) is working on new regulations, but rents for many Hartz IV recipients now lie well above the prescribed benchmarks.

"We assume that the benchmarks will be increased for apartments of all sizes," said government spokesperson Anja Wollny.

The number of people crossing state lines to buy prescription pain killers has policy makers looking for ways to crack down on drug trafficking and pill mills. There is currently no national network to monitor the flow of prescription drugs. But as Kentucky Public Radio’s Brenna Angel reports, that will soon change, and states will have options.

It's not often that you hear of Native American tribes flourishing thanks to the U.S. government, but that's what happened to Colorado's Southern Ute.

Electric cars now enjoy a white-hot market, with customers on waiting lists for many models. General Motors is building a new Maryland plant to meet demand for motors for its Chevy Volt. But can the tax-subsidized vehicles also create sustainable job market?

With the technology for electric cars steadily improving, and gas prices fluctuating, consumer interest has taken off.

Following the revolution that ousted Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak earlier this year, the country's economy is sagging — tourism has plummeted, unemployment is soaring and poverty is spreading.

This week, a delegation of U.S. business leaders is expected to visit the Arab world's most populous state, looking to give the economy a boost.

In Cairo, it's easy to see how devastating the Arab Spring has been to economies in the Mideast and North Africa. Nowhere has the damage been greater than in Egypt.

The search for the perfect artificial heart seems never-ending. After decades of trial and error, surgeons remain stymied in their quest for a machine that does not wear out, break down or cause clots and infections.

But Dr. Billy Cohn and Dr. Bud Frazier at the Texas Heart Institute say they have developed a machine that could avoid all that with simple whirling rotors — which means people may soon get a heart that has no beat.

President Obama flies to North Carolina on Monday for the latest meeting of his jobs and competitiveness council. His administration is betting that green technologies — from wind and solar power to advanced batteries and biofuels — will create jobs of the future.

Opponents of gay marriage will challenge notions of judicial neutrality in a San Francisco courtroom on Monday. They're arguing that a federal judge who struck down California's ban on same sex marriage last year was biased because he's in a same-sex relationship.

Installing a pump or an artificial heart is not likely to become mainstream treatment for heart disease. Scientists are more enthusiastic about an approach involving stem cells — cells that can, in theory, be coaxed into replacing heart cells damaged or destroyed by disease.