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As foreclosures continue to rise, regulators and others are questioning the role of credit agencies, which gave top ratings to risky mortgage-backed securities. Critics say the system, in which firms are paid by the companies they rate, is inherently flawed.

Michael Shannon draws questions about his life from the Wild Card deck.

This week, the Department of Justice handed Credit Suisse the largest criminal tax penalty ever. $2.6 billion is a lot of money, so NPR's Arun Rath asks the New York Times' Jessica Silver-Greenberg where it all goes.

It's been said that to properly understand a magician, you have to get right on stage and watch how the act is done. NPR's Bob Mondello had that chance once with card whiz Ricky Jay — subject of the new film Deceptive Practice — and has a few words about how the showman works.

The head of a credit scoring firm says Facebook posts can offer an insight into creditworthiness. If your online presence becomes a financial health gauge, there are legal protections to know about.

NPR's Jennifer Ludden reports on the growing lobby against Mexican ID cards. Three states have passed bills barring their acceptance, arguing the cards violate federal law.

"We're thinking about it as an archive of well wishes, but an archive that shouldn't exist, that exists because of a terrible structural inequality that we all face," says artist Sam Lavigne.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez reports on disappointing results released today from the National Assessment of Educational Progress -- a report known as the "nation's report card." Reading scores of fourth graders have improved little over the last eight years and the achievement gap between white and minority students remains substantial.

NPR's Snigdha Prakash reports on the voting machine business. Punch card machines, so widely-criticized during the recent presidential balloting in Florida, are used by some 30% of U.S. counties, cities and townships. The technology may be outdated and unreliable, but it is much cheaper than buying new, more advanced machines.

The White House says pausing immigration and a variety of temporary work visas will help respond to job losses caused by the coronavirus pandemic.