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Last year China banned the sale of commercial elephant ivory. But that's led to another illicit trade — in woolly mammoth tusks — that is having a severe impact on Siberia's permafrost.

Iowa, Minnesota and other parts of the Midwest have been hit with record levels of rainfall recently. As water floods homes and businesses and threatens crops, local officials scramble to help.

With swollen rivers still expected to crest and bring more flooding on Monday and Tuesday, Gov. Pat McCrory says, "This storm is not over for North Carolina."

Residents affected by a leak of a coal-washing chemical into the Elk River reached a deal with a chemical company. A class-action suit against a water company was set to move forward in federal court.

Iowa farmer Don Rief tells NPR's Scott Simon about dealing with Missouri River flood damage.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott announced a $1 million string of buoys along the river that divides Texas and Mexico — and more may be installed in the future.

It was Chicago's cold winters that gave birth to the futures market, author Emily Lambert says. In the beginning, commodities trading was all about hedging bets against bad weather, spoilage — or an accidental dump in the river.

In honor of National Poetry Month, former poet laureate Robert Pinsky shares the work of one of his favorite writers, Alan Dugan, who died in 2003. Pinksy says Dugan was an amusing, soulful and engagingly nasty poet who sang the truth — often with a splash of high-grade vinegar.

The state's historic drought has been bad for farmers but good for gold seekers, who can now pan areas that have long been buried under feet of water.

The photo from aboard the Air Force's legendary U-2 spy plane shows the Chinese balloon. But where, exactly, was it taken? It's actually possible to answer that question using clues from the image.