Europe's telecommunications industry is lagging, despite having some of the most successful companies serving some of the most connected populations in the world. The European Union's official in charge of the digital agenda says the bloc is making a huge mistake by not investing more in this sector — depriving itself of a source of income and jobs it can ill afford to ignore.

In 2011, during the debt ceiling crisis, Congress passed and President Obama signed a law mandating automatic budget cuts. The cuts were never supposed to take effect. In fact, they were designed to be clumsy and damaging enough to prod lawmakers to agree on something better. Which they haven't.

Cuban President Raul Castro has been named to a new five-year term but says this will be his last. Parliament has named as his vice president 52-year-old Miguel Diaz-Canel, the highest-ranking official who was not part of the 1959 revolution.

The new guidelines for treating childhood ear infections are intended to reduce unnecessary antibiotics use. They say doctors should look at the eardrum to make sure a kid really has an ear infection, instead of relying on symptoms. And if the child doesn't have severe symptoms, see if the ear gets better on its own.

In the weeks following the killings at Sandy Hook Elementary School, more than a quarter-million cards, letters and gifts have arrived in Newtown, Conn. The town is trying to decide what to do with a collection that quickly outgrew its storage at the municipal building and now fills a warehouse.

A new poll explores how crucial everyday decisions are made in American households about food and exercise. Many parents say that their families don't always have time to eat the healthiest meal or exercise.

A new poll explores how crucial everyday decisions are made in American households about food and exercise. Many parents say that their families don't always have time to eat the healthiest meal or exercise.

If you didn't have time to pack a lunch and you're tired of eating out, why not cook up something in the office? All you need is a microwave, a mug and a few basic ingredients to make scrambled eggs, mac and cheese or a brownie.

NPR's Linda Holmes recaps Hollywood's big night.

In Canada, teachers at a school in Windsor, Ontario, suspected an eighth grader was going through their desks. So they planted brochures for a class trip to Disney World. They even made a presentation, and then said: "just kidding." The snooping student got his comeuppance but other kids and parents were furious. The school apologized.

A 10-year-old boy from Brockton, Mass., didn't want to go to bed. When his mom insisted, he replied, "I'm gonna call the cops on you." A local newspaper reports police came and gently explained when it's appropriate to dial the emergency number.

Boeing is formally laying out its case for the 787s to be returned to the sky. The Dreamliner has been grounded since last month when batteries overheated. Senior company officials meet with the FAA administrator Friday.

For the first time, the race will start with a woman at the front of the pack. Danica Patrick's claim of the pole position is a shot in the arm for NASCAR after a few down years. Linda Wertheimer talks to Jeff Gluck, motorsports reporter for USA Today, about Patrick's milestone, and how the rest of the field is shaping up.

A massive storm closed more than 200 miles of highway and grounded hundreds of flights. Kansas City suffered one of the worst storms in its history.

A mural by the mysterious graffiti artist Banksy was removed from a wall in London and turned up at a Miami auction house for sale Saturday. London neighbors are protesting, the auctioneers will only say that it was not obtained illegally, and Banksy, as usual, isn't talking.

Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe meets with President Obama at the White House Friday for discussions that will focus on both security and economic issues. The U.S. is pushing Japan to join a regional trade pact known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but Japan wants the U.S. to agree to special conditions first.

A flaming meteor streaked through the skies over Russia last Friday. It exploded with the force of 20 atomic bombs over the Siberian city of Chelyabinsk. A thousand people were injured; most of them were watching it and were cut when the shock wave shattered windows.

Activists have long warned about the widening achievement gap between white and minority students. The Equity and Excellence Commission, a federally chartered group of about 30 education experts, is recommending changes to the funding and delivery of education. Steve Inskeep talks to three members of the commission: Chris Edley, dean of University of California Berkeley law school, Stanford, education professor Linda Darling-Hammond and Eric Hanushek, a Hoover Institution Senior Fellow and Stanford professor.

On Sunday, nominees who don't win an Academy Award will take home more than $47,000 worth of consolation gifts. Sounds like a nice haul but in 2010, the swag was worth more than $90,000.

Morning Edition goes back into the archives to hear from the directors of two films nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, which will be handed out Sunday. Life of Pi, directed by Ang Lee, and Beasts of the Southern Wild, directed by Benh Zeitlin, both have elements of magical realism.