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New York Mayor Bill de Blasio tours and meets with youth Dec. 17 at Second Chance Housing on Rikers Island in New York City. Second Chance Housing is an alternative for incarcerated adolescents, instead of punitive segregation, also known as solitary confinement.

To End Solitary Confinement, Rikers Steps Out Of The Box

With a single move, Rikers Island prison has taken the lead on prison reform on one issue: It banned the use of solitary confinement for inmates under 21 years old.

2014 Hashtags: #BringBackOurGirls Made Nigerian Schoolgirls All Of 'Ours'

As part of a series on hashtag activism in 2014, Audie Cornish speaks with Obiageli Ezekwesili of the Open Society Foundation. Ezekwesili was one of the early promoters of the hashtag #bringbackourgirls, about schoolgirls kidnapped in Nigeria in April.

Richard Linklater's daringly experimental <em>Boyhood</em> is Bob Mondello's favorite film of 2014.

Favorite Films Of 2014: Why Stop At 10?

Box-office figures were gloomy in 2014, but movie critic Bob Mondello still found a lot to cheer about among the year's quirky offerings — and as usual, his annual 10-best list runneth over.

President Obama spoke about the Ukraine crisis Friday afternoon, saying, "The United States will stand with the international community in affirming that there will be costs for any military intervention in Ukraine."

Obama Warns Russia Against Using Force In Ukraine

"Any violation of Ukraine's sovereignty and territorial integrity would be deeply destabilizing," President Obama said, urging Russia not to intervene and calling for an end to the recent violence.

Protest Calls Grow To Abolish U.S. Immigration And Customs Enforcement

Noel King talks to Sarah Saldaña, former director of ICE, about demonstrators marching in cities throughout the country and on the border demanding the 15-year-old agency be abolished.

A member of the Syrian Democratic Forces, the rebel group backed by the U.S.-led coalition, looks out upon the ruins of Raqqa last October, toward the end of the coalition's campaign to dislodge the Islamic State from its former stronghold.

U.S.-Led Coalition Accused Of 'Potential War Crimes' In Push To Reclaim Raqqa

Amnesty International alleges that during last year's successful campaign to dislodge ISIS from the Syrian city, the coalition's airstrikes were "either disproportionate or indiscriminate or both."

Senate's Budget Deal Spends Too Much Money, Rep. Davidson Says

Steve Inskeep talks to Republican Rep. Warren Davidson of Ohio about the Senate's federal spending deal that includes more money for the armed forces, disaster victims, infrastructure and more.

The Blind Boys Of Alabama have been performing for nearly 70 years. The group's latest album is called <em>Almost Home.</em>

'Almost Home' Celebrates The Blind Boys Of Alabama's Storied Lives

Since their 1948 debut, the Blind Boys have won 6 Grammys and performed at the White House. Songs on the group's new album consider personal and historical moments in the members' lives.

Kathleen Phelps, who lacks health insurance, speaks in favor of expanding Medicaid at a news conference in Portland, Maine on Oct. 13, 2016.

Maine Voters Will Decide If They Want More Access To Medicaid

The state of Maine has wrestled for years over whether expanding its low-income health insurance program would help more people or be a budget buster. Now they're going to take it to a vote.

Lou Reed performs in New York City in 2004. "I wanted to write a book that took Lou ... seriously," says biographer Anthony DeCurtis.

Biographer Sought To Write The Kind Of Book Lou Reed 'Deserved'

"It wasn't like I had to go looking for the drugs and the sex," Anthony DeCurtis says. "Lou wrote about it ... so I felt it was fair game." DeCurtis' new book is Lou Reed: A Life.

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