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By most measures, New York City is safer than it's been in a half-century. The city recorded just 418 murders in 2012 -- the lowest total since record keeping began in the early 1960s. But there's some debate about where to place the credit for that drop.

Fifty albums for a heavier-than-average year, selected by NPR Music's staff and member station partners. These are the albums we held close in 2014 and the ones we want to share.

Through the centuries, old songs known as the Child ballads have been passed down and tweaked to fit the times. More recently, they've been adapted by the folk revivalists of the 1950s and rockers from the '60s and '70s. Now, a duo of young songwriters is reviving them yet again.

The Austin musician learned guitar after getting thrown out of school at 17 and hanging out in bars.

The news Wednesday from Moore, Okla., much of which was destroyed by a massive tornado Monday, begins with word that officials doubt they will find any more survivors or bodies under the hundreds of homes, businesses and other buildings that were leveled.

At a retreat outside Fort Hood, Texas, a group of Army veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress agreed to try something new. Now they're collaborating with accomplished songwriters to capture their stories through music.

Winning the Texas 23rd Congressional District means much more than adding another party vote in Congress -- it’s a window into the future of politics in Texas.

Critics of the former prime minister have not remained silent in the wake of her death. Some Britons have openly celebrated her passing, with harsh graffiti, cyberattacks, drinking in the streets and even fireworks.

In some ways, it was like any other writing class: backpacks, books, rough drafts, discussions about literature. But instructor Christine Dumaine Leche and her students weren't sitting in a college classroom or a community center -- they were on an air base in Afghanistan and the students usually came to class after long days in a war zone. Leche was teaching them to translate their experiences -- the danger, the boredom, the painful separation from their families, the fear and the hatred -- into prose.

Pope Benedict XVI recently called on priests to "proclaim the Gospel" through blogs, videos and Web sites. Bloggers have some advice for the pontiff if he decides to start his own: Write daily, keep it short and think hot links, not footnotes.