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The story of Chester Gillette and the murder of Grace Brown in a remote lake in the Adirondack Mountains is the centerpiece of Theodore Dreiser's novel An American Tragedy. This was the O.J. Simpson trial of its day. An opera version of the story premieres in New York Friday.

That's according to a legitimate survey from Public Policy Polling. But it wasn't all bad news for Congress. They did out-poll the Ebola virus.

Before Tony Montana, there was Meyer Lansky. True-crime writer T.J. English recounts the history of a mob-ruled Havana before the 1959 revolution.

Robin D.G. Kelley's new book, Thelonious Monk: The Life and Times of an American Original, focuses on the career of the eccentric jazz pianist and composer. It reveals new details about Monk's life, music and mental health problems, and provides a glimpse into the New York jazz scene of the mid-twentieth century.

Los Angeles Times and Morning Edition film critic Kenneth Turan reviews American Dreamz, directed by Paul Weitz. It stars Hugh Grant as a Simon Cowell-like host of an American Idol knockoff. It's is satire that takes on pop culture and politics.

Junot Diaz is a young writer who was born in the Dominican Republic. He was raised there, but also in New Jersey, and he has just published a collection of stories about growing up on his old home island and in the U.S. The book is called Drown.

When in Rome, resist the urge to carve your initials into the Colosseum. Two women from California did just that — and captured the moment with a selfie. And now they face criminal charges.

In the Little Ethiopia section of Los Angeles, Christmas traditions remain strong. New immigrants -- and those who've been here for decades -- recreate the tastes, sounds, and smells of an Ethiopian Christmas. NPR's Renee Montagne reports.

The writer and Spanish Civil War veteran William Herrick died over the weekend. Our book commentator Alan Cheuse describes Herrick's life and work and the modern relevance of the writer's greatest subject: politics and terror.

Numbers emerging from a few cities and states suggest higher death rates for African-Americans from COVID-19. The findings also reveal deeper disparities.