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Afghanistan's roads are in such bad shape that the United States, Japan and Saudi Arabia have agreed to pay for repairs. One major construction project is to build a new 745 mile highway linking three of Afghanistan's largest cities. The project will cost $250 million. NPR's Ivan Watson reports.

Thousands of high school seniors in Mass. today are taking a standardized test called the MCAS. Most of them have already taken it -- and failed. This week is their last chance to pass the test so they can receive their diplomas this spring. There are arguments on both sides regarding the merits of these so-called "high stakes" tests. Host Michele Norris gets to both sides of the issue by speaking with Monty Neill, executive director of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, and Paul Reville, a professor at Harvard's Graduate School of Education.

17 people with the Ohio-based Christian Aid Ministries remain missing after being kidnapped in Haiti. A gang has claimed responsibility and is reportedly asking for a ransom of $1 million per person.

Several Israeli newspapers report that al Qaeda is planning attacks on Israeli citizens in Prague, where 250,000 Israelis travel each year. Several other cities in Africa, the Middle East and Asia were cited as possible targets. NPR's Linda Gradstein reports.

Jerry Holly, the owner of an exotic animals breeding business, has been charged with three counts of animal cruelty, after one of his three escaped zebras was found dead in a snare trap.

Nikolas Cruz admitted to being the gunman in the shooting rampage at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School and pleaded guilty to killing 17 people and wounding 17 others in 2018.

Host Liane Hansen talks with novelist Kevin Baker. His new book Paradise Alley takes place in New York City during the draft riots of 1863 when Irish mobs terrorized Manhattan.

Fighting between government forces and Tigrayan rebels is escalating in Ethiopia's north. The government is bombing targets in the rebel capital and there's a bloody battle over two strategic towns.

Unrest increases in Caracas, Venezuela, where leftist president Hugo Chavez faces heavy opposition from capitalists. NPR's Martin Kaste reports.

Researchers have hardened wood and fashioned a knife out of it. It's three times sharper than steel and can slice through steak, and could be a sustainable alternative.