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In China this weekend, 200 million people are traveling home for the Chinese New Year. For some, this means entire days on standing-room only trains. One gadget being sold to travelers is a padded metal pole. It's to lean your head on, so you don't fall when you doze off.

Also: Iran's supreme leader rejects direct talks with the U.S. over nuclear policy; leaders gather for the U.S. National Prayer Breakfast; Russia dismisses Japan's claims of an air space violation; and funny reasons people give when they're late to work.

Who says healthy doesn't sell? McDonald's, Panera Bread and other restaurant chains that offered more lower-calorie food choices saw a 9 percent jump in food and beverage sales from 2006 to 2011, a new report finds. Restaurants without these options saw sales drop.

NPR Music, Jazz24.org and Seattle's KPLU asked listeners to rank their favorite lyrical songs in the jazz canon — and now you can listen to the results. Dive into a continuous stream of Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Nat King Cole and many more legendary singers.

Germany was the world's most future-oriented country in 2012, followed by Switzerland and Japan, according to the "Future Orientation Index," which is based on Google searches. Scientists say the index is "strongly correlated" to economic health.

San Francisco's library system responded to the city shelter's need for newspapers with donations of its used copies. But dogs are "poop machines," as a shelter spokesman says. So the problem may not be quite solved.

Kim Lee posted a photo of her battered face online, and has become a national icon in China. She won a divorce, a financial settlement and a restraining order against her Chinese husband, a famous author and English teacher.

The State of the Union address has always been a tough act to follow, no matter who delivers the opposing party's response. Since the first response was televised in 1966, it has often seemed doomed to be ignored and forgotten.

The 15-year-old's shooting death became a rallying cry for gun control advocates. Senior advisor Valerie Jarrett and Secretary of Education Arne Duncan will also attend the funeral.

The legacy of the late hip-hop producer extended far beyond the beats he painstakingly created.