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Afghan soldiers are taking a more prominent role in the country's security operations, slowly winning the respect of ordinary Afghan citizens. But, the soldiers say, they aren't receiving the same respect or thanks from the government: benefits go missing and proper medical treatment is often scarce.

Americans are now consuming more chicken than beef or pork. To help meet the demand, Texas has become the sixth biggest state in poultry production. But more chickens mean more waste, and more pollution.

China has long dominated the sport of table tennis, winning almost every Olympic medal since 1992. That's not likely to change at this year's Summer Olympics, but one young American athlete may be on her way to giving China a run for its money.

The former Liberian president was convicted of aiding and abetting war crimes in Sierra Leone this week. More than 50,000 people were killed during the 11-year conflict, and in Sierra Leone, the verdict was celebrated. But in Liberia's capital, many believe he has been used as a scapegoat for another country's war.

The dirt track at the hallowed Churchill Downs is known for crushing dreams and cementing equine legacies. Raymond "Butch" Lehr leads a team of dozens that carefully tends the one-mile oval. On Saturday, Lehr will end his 30-year career.

After a meteoric rise, GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann is now polling in the single digits. But she's still plowing ahead with her campaign, and this week she came out with a memoir. The Minnesota congresswoman talks with co-host Steve Inskeep about Core of Conviction and aiming to win the nomination.

Scientists have found what they say is the world's oldest bed: a 77,000-year-old grass and leaf mattress in a cave in South Africa. And the people who made it were crafty: Atop layers of sedge grass were leaves from a plant known to repel insects — key for living in buggy, dank caves.

California software developer Octavio Good and his team won $50,000 for reassembling shredded documents. Host Audie Cornish talks to Good about the Pentagon-sponsored contest.

Two recent explosions and the unlikely capture of an American stealth drone have left a flood of questions — but very few answers — in Iran. Was it the action of Israel? Has a covert war already begun? Iranians are unnerved, feeling that the country is constantly under attack.

Nearly nine years after U.S. forces stormed into Iraq, American involvement in the war ends with a flag-lowering ceremony attended by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta. Only a few thousand U.S. troops remain, and they are to leave within days.