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States, already facing multibillion-dollar shortfalls, will come under additional financial pressure as Congress seeks to cut the deficit. Surprisingly, some state officials welcome the opportunity to tighten their belts.

NPR INVESTIGATION: In states like Illinois, parents can provide at-home care for children with severe illnesses and Medicaid foots the bill. But the funding disappears the minute they turn 21, forcing families to make a painful choice: Find the money to pay for sometimes exorbitant health care costs or send their children to a nursing home.

A referendum next month in Sudan will decide whether the country will be divided between the Arab, mostly Muslim north and the ethnic African south. Whether things turn bloody may hinge on what happens in Abyei, a disputed region along the border of north and south.

NPR INVESTIGATION: In states like Illinois, parents can provide at-home care for children with severe illnesses and Medicaid foots the bill. But the funding disappears the minute they turn 21, forcing families to make a painful choice: Find the money to pay for sometimes exorbitant health care costs or send their children to a nursing home.

The recall comes after a two-year investigation by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration into a series of crashes — some deadly — that happened while the Autopilot system was in use.

The president's review of U.S. policy in Afghanistan is due in the coming days. Even as the administration looks for a path out of the country, observers are casting doubt on progress so far -- and Afghans say the war in the country is a long struggle that has just begun.

Darryl Pendergrass, his wife and their two boys live on his $43,000-a-year salary, right about the median income for the state. But because of state budget shortfalls, he hasn't had a raise in five years. His wife says that has meant giving up some of the niceties they once enjoyed.

Astrakhan, on the Volga River, once was known as Russia's caviar capital — but no more. As the fish neared extinction, Russia banned all commercial sturgeon fishing in the area and the export of all black caviar. Now, both the sturgeon and the local people struggle to survive.

Highway safety officials are considering whether to recommend banning all cell phone use by drivers. Such a ban would include hand-held and hands-free devices. Eight states and the District of Columbia now ban hand-held cell phone use; 30 states ban texting while driving.

The American Psychiatric Association wants the White House to send condolence letters to the families of service members who commit suicide. The move would help reduce the stigma of mental illness, advocates argue.