California Gov. Jerry Brown has signed the nation's first statewide ban on single-use plastic bags. Here, mixed plastic items are seen at a recycling plant in Vernon, Calif., earlier this year. Reed Saxon/AP hide caption
Must Reads : The Two-Way Some stories are just too weird, too funny or too sad to ignore. They may not be "serious news," but are so fascinating you must read them. NPR correspondents are on the watch for such tales. We pass along the best, from NPR and other news outlets.
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Must Reads
Tuesday
Images from August 2000 (left) and August 2014 (right) show the drop in water levels in the Aral Sea. NASA hide caption
Husain Abdullah of the Kansas City Chiefs scores a touchdown after an interception against the New England Patriots Monday. He was then penalized for praying on his knees — something the NFL now says shouldn't have been punished. Dilip Vishwanat/Getty Images hide caption
Monday
Mike Trout and Los Angeles Angels have been named favorites to reach the World Series, as have Clayton Kershaw and the Los Angeles Dodgers. They're seen here when the two teams played in August. Matt Brown/Angels Baseball LP/Getty Images hide caption
A group of Swedish scientists who are fans of Bob Dylan's music made a bet 17 years ago to see who could work more of the folk singer's song lyrics into their scholarly articles. AP hide caption
California has become the first U.S. state to define when "yes means yes" in sexual assault cases on college campuses, after a bill sponsored by state Sen. Kevin de Leon was signed into law Sunday. Rich Pedroncelli/AP hide caption
Sunday
Clubgoers dance at a Stockholm club that forbade its patrons from drinking Friday night. Marten Andersson hide caption
Kenya's Dennis Kimetto crosses the finish line to win the Berlin Marathon Sunday. Kimetto set a new world marathon record, breaking the 2 hour, 3 minute mark for the first time. Tobias Schwarz/AFP/Getty Images hide caption
Riot police launch tear gas into a crowd of thousands of protesters outside the government headquarters in Hong Kong Sunday. Police warned of further measures as they tried to clear the streets. Wally Santana/AP hide caption
Saturday
Former Rep. James Traficant, seen here arriving at a House ethics hearing in 2002, has died at age 73. Mark Wilson/Getty Images hide caption
Travelers lined up Friday to reschedule flights at Chicago's O'Hare International Airport after the region's air traffic control was sabotaged. More flights are resuming Saturday, but hundreds were also canceled. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption
A hiker's dramatic video captured the scene as a huge cloud of ash poured down the side of Mt. Ontake in Japan Saturday. YouTube hide caption
President of Catalonia's regional government Artur Mas acknowledges cheers Saturday after signing a law setting a Nov. 9 vote on independence. At left is the president of the Catalan Parliament, Nuria de Gispert. Lluis Gene/AFP/Getty Images hide caption