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Among the many sea changes enacted in one struggling school district is a mandate no one expected. All students, of all grade levels, are being enrolled in Chinese language classes. The superintendent says being familiar with Asian culture is crucial to students' future success.

There are several daytime talk shows starting up, featuring Katie Couric, Steve Harvey and Ricki Lake, among others. TV critic Eric Deggans says they are all still jockeying to be the next Oprah — but there probably won't be another Oprah.

Just 2 percent of delegates at the Republican National Convention were black. That's higher than the percentage that supported Mitt Romney in a recent poll: 0. And getting blacks on board may prove especially hard for the GOP presidential candidate given the tone of some recent campaign ads and a wave of new voter ID laws.

China's vice president hasn't been seen for a week and a half. That's fueling speculation among some people in China about Xi Jinping and his health and whereabouts. He has canceled meetings with Hillary Clinton and Denmark's prime minister. For more, Renee Montagne speaks with Rob Gifford, the China editor at The Economist magazine.

A scientist who studies tornadoes says there's still much to be learned about how they form and how to better forecast them. Still, the storm chasing and research communities will be reevaluating their procedures in the wake of three colleagues' deaths.

Degree-granting institutions are responding to austere budgets by catapulting themselves into the world of online education. But some professors point to low online completion rates as evidence that these "massive open online courses" do a disservice to students.

Sherman worked a tight niche: classic songs rewritten to tickle a Jewish audience's funny bone. A new biography, Overweight Sensation: The Life and Comedy of Allan Sherman, explains how the performer's 1960s crossover fell in line with a collective awakening to ethnic identity in America.

Microsoft has had few blockbuster successes in recent years. On Tuesday, when the tech giant is scheduled to introduce its new Xbox, it will be targeting more than just hard-core gamers. Analysts say Microsoft will also be aiming to make its console the center of entertainment in your living room.

A giant lot of Captain Kangaroo memorabilia goes on the auction block this week in Los Angeles. Among the items up for auction are several of the captain's signature jackets, Mr. Green Jeans' famous jeans and the life-sized costume worn by Dancing Bear.

Our closest relatives, chimpanzees and gorillas, breast-feed their offspring for several years. Some baby orangutans nurse until they are 7 years old. Researchers found a way to test ancient teeth for clues about when humans cut nursing short.