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Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel returned to the Mideast on Monday after a weekend tour of Afghanistan and a stop in Pakistan. The trip focused on a planned security deal with Afghanistan and concerns among Gulf allies about a nuclear deal with Iran.

USIS, which processes thousands of background checks a year for the U.S., is being investigated for "systemic failure" to adequately vet employees and contractors. The company would not comment on the specifics of the Alexis investigation.

It's not yet clear when Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius will testify before Congress. But it won't be soon enough for the Republicans who are calling for her resignation as a result of the Internet mess that is HealthCare.gov.

Diplomats are again meeting to consider setting aside a protected zone in the pristine waters around Antarctica, though their previous negotiations ended in failure. A scaled-back plan on the table this week would still create the largest marine preserve in the world.

The motivation for flying with other birds in V formation is probably to save energy, say researchers who tracked the pattern of wing flaps in an ibis flock. Each bird in the V catches a bit of lift from the bird ahead.

Although it may be uncomfortable for patients to learn that there are profound disagreements among doctors about medicine, these differences of opinion are common.

The offer comes after anti-government demonstrations spread to cities where the citizens have shown support for the president. Meanwhile, the nation's justice minister has warned she may declare a "state of emergency" unless protesters leave her headquarters.

Ousted Egyptian President Mohammed Morsi was in a Cairo courtroom on Tuesday, seen and heard for only the second time since he was thrust from office in a military coup last July. Morsi and other members of the Muslim Brotherhood are facing charges of collusion with Hamas and Hezbollah during the 2011 uprising against the Mubarak regime.

The blaze at a complex that housed the elderly quickly engulfed much of the building. Investigators were having a hard time searching for victims because water used to fight the flames had frozen over the scene. A key question: Why was the complex only partially fitted with sprinklers?

Opportunity, NASA's Mars Rover, landed on Mars on Jan. 24, 2004. It was supposed to be a three-month mission, but 10 years later the rover is still investigating the red planet and sending data and images back to NASA. Jim Bell, an astronomer at Arizona State University, talks with NPR's Rachel Martin about Opportunity's decade on Mars.