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Nationwide, many cash-strapped cities have raided funds intended for retirees or have chronically underfunded their pension systems. But despite a budget crunch, Milwaukee's fund has consistently ranked among the nation's top pension programs. Even so, some changes lie ahead for city workers.

It's rivalry week in college football. And this weekend, there's some extra spice as games from Alabama to Florida to Michigan could have an impact on which two teams end up playing for the national championship.

For more than two centuries, France's Pleyel pianos were among the best in the world. They were a favorite of Chopin and Debussy. But now the iconic brand has been forced to close its last remaining plant.

Previous estimates of the climate-warming gas were based on the rough number of methane-emitting sources on the ground — such as factories, refineries, stoves, swamps, landfills and cattle herds. But by directly measuring levels of methane in the air instead, a new study puts the total much higher.

"When we pull back the curtain now, the mess is disturbing," says House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich., of the latest revelations. These documents call into question whether contractors can fix the website as promised by the end of November.

A drop in the numbers of fierce beasts worldwide might seem like good news for deer and antelope. But expanding herds of grass-eaters leave stream banks naked and vulnerable to erosion, and can even change the stream's course, according to scientists calling for more protection of large predators.

Some analysts say that Nintendo's days are numbered because sales of its new console, Wii U, have been lackluster. But since Nintendo still offers some of the most popular game franchises, the love of Zelda and Mario may keep the company going for a long time.

Archaeologists are now mapping a wall in eastern China that is as much as 15 feet tall in some places, and predates the more famous barrier by 300 years. Hundreds of miles long, it was likely erected to keep neighboring Chinese dynasties from invading each other, historians say.

The New Jersey governor has said neither he nor his staff were involved in the closing of some key lanes leading onto the George Washington Bridge into New York. Democrats have said the governor's office may have been trying to punish the mayor of Fort Lee, N.J., for not supporting Christie's re-election bid.

Anti-government activists in Ukraine plan another big demonstration in the capital of Kiev on Sunday — the first major protest since the government introduced new restrictive laws aimed at curbing the protests. NPR's Corey Flintoff talks to NPR's Rachel Martin from the streets of Kiev, where violence has mounted in recent days.