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Melissa Block speaks with our regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne, of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks, of the New York Times. They discuss the jobs numbers, Obama's recess appointments and presidential campaign developments.

The yellow-eyed snowy owls were made famous by the Potter movies. So why are they being spotted in rare numbers from Portland to New York? Blame the Arctic lemmings.

The opposition movement in Morocco adopted the music of provocative rapper Mouad Belrhouate. Now, supporters say his arrest and trial are attempts to silence him. Despite recent reforms, activists say Morocco still has a long way to go.

Volkswagen has come a long way since it tried to market cars to Americans with the "Fahrvergnugen" slogan. The company has adapted to the U.S. market with bigger, less quirky cars. It seems to have paid off, as sales rose last year in the U.S. — but the company is set on becoming No. 1 worldwide.

Kodak developed the first, 13-pound digital camera in 1975. But it was never really able to capitalize on the product it had invented, and its digital strategy was a bust, analysts say. Now, it's trying to sell thousands of patents for the technology behind digital photography to stave off bankruptcy.

One NPR reporter's harrowing trip to cover the Iowa caucuses turned out to be the perfect start to 2012.

"Before 2009," writes columnist Thomas Frank, "the man in the bread line did not ordinarily weep for the man lounging on his yacht." Frank looks at how the recession gave birth to a conservative populist revolt in his book Pity the Billionaire.

Presidential superPACs can solicit big, corporate contributions and use the money to run attack ads. They're not allowed to coordinate those ads with the candidates they support. But there's a never-ending debate over whether that ban has teeth.

A Japanese sushi magnate paid $736,000 this week for one 593-pound bluefin tuna, the highest amount ever paid for a single fish. But environmentalists say this extravagant sale may encourage fishermen to continue to exceed set quotas for catching bluefin.

A new law that went into effect Jan. 1 allows shops, cafes and restaurants to stay open 24/7, all year long, holidays included. But Italian customs can be hard to break, and opponents argue deregulated hours will create problems for small businesses.