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There's significance behind the choice of California as the venue for the U.S.-China summit between presidents Barack Obama and Xi Jinping. The state is home to more than a third of the China-born population in the U.S., and Chinese-backed investment groups have been pouring billions of dollars into real estate property and private companies based in California. At the same time, exports of California goods to China are surging, and state leaders are bullish about capitalizing on new markets there.

Over the past two days, there have been revelations about the way the National Security Agency is gathering information for intelligence. While details of both programs are still coming out, the data collection practice appears to be legal. But it could be the beginning of something new in the intelligence community. And that is, the use of data to find patterns analysts might have missed.

Revelations of phone traffic surveillance by the NSA highlight the ongoing and controversial role of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court. It was created to address domestic spying abuses uncovered in the 1970s.

Sen. John McCain, just back from a quick foray to rebel-held territory in Syria, is pushing the Obama administration to do more to help rebels topple Bashar Assad's regime. His call comes as rebels lose ground in their fight, and as skepticism rises about the U.S.-Russian plans for a peace conference.

Syracuse city worker Gary Clifford saw a mother duck leading a dozen little ones down a busy street. He followed in his truck, stopping traffic along the way. Until they walked across a storm drain and four ducklings fell in. Syracuse.com reports a city crew was called in and took the feathered family to a creek.

Open water swimmers in Utah perform weekly marathon swims in water five times saltier than the ocean. They endure blisters, wild currents, a variety of temperatures and water that tastes "like a battery." They treasure the beautiful view and the refuge from boat traffic.

The veteran singer-songwriter sits down with World Cafe's David Dye to perform songs from her latest album, American Kid. Along the way, she also shares stories about her father, whose passing inspired many of the new songs.

Southern California Edison announced Friday morning that it will not restart the troubled San Onofre nuclear power plant. The facility has been offline for a year and a half after a leak in a steam tube created safety concerns.

Entrepreneurs, investors and data geeks descended on Washington, D.C., in pursuit of better ways to make health information useful for consumers. They urged bureaucrats to set the health data free.

Audie Cornish talks with NPR's Kirk Siegler about Friday's shootings in Santa Monica, Calif. A gunman killed six people before he was shot and killed.