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Mexico's congress is set to pass a controversial plan to open up the country's vast and sluggish oil industry to private investment. The move requires a constitutional amendment since Mexico forbids foreign involvement in the oil industry. Opponents of the plan say the president is selling out the country, but many experts say that without foreign investment, Mexico won't be able to tap all its oil and won't modernize.

Ozy co-founder Carlos Watson talks about a rising star in soccer who could turn things around for England in the 2014 World Cup, and a Bahraini woman who calls herself an "accidental activist."

The high-tech system can essentially override human error and slow a train that is going too fast. Congress mandated that all trains have it by 2015, but only a few passenger and freight railroads will be ready by then. And after a deadly train crash in New York, few in Congress may be willing to vote for a delay.

The esteemed UK songwriter says the idea of making a holiday record seemed laughable at first. He tells NPR's Arun Rath how he came around, and performs a few songs from the new Quality Street: A Seasonal Selection for All the Family.

Tom Wagner was on his way from Louisiana to California when his plane landed for a layover in Houston. The airline said it's not sure how the crew missed him during their sweep of the plane after the flight. They gave him a voucher.

The cold snap that hammered Dallas five days ago is still creating problems. Thousands of people remain without power. Some truckers remain trapped at rest stops. And an unusual phenomenon called "cobblestone ice" is hampering crews from de-icing interstate bridges, overpasses and off-ramps.

House and Senate negotiators said late Thursday that they reached a budget deal. The agreement would restore some of the automatic spending cuts known as sequestration, and includes some relatively small deficit reduction over the next two years. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., and Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., hammered out the deal, which they characterized as a step in the right direction that would avoid another government shutdown in mid-January if both the House and Senate approve the budget.

Colorado enacted several tough gun control measures after the shooting in Newtown, Conn. — and then voters ousted two lawmakers who backed those laws. One former senator says he has no regrets, while the man who helped remove him is now focused on other gun rights supporters.

Ireland has made a concerted effort to grow its tech industry, through tax incentives and development programs. Officials credit the initiative with helping uplift the country's economy. But the country has also faces local and international criticism for its approach.

Community and charity groups are scrambling to provide care where the VA is failing veterans who left the military with less-than-honorable discharges. Many of these groups have extensive experience with the problem; they say tens of thousands of Vietnam veterans faced the same problem.