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Given North Dakota's Republican leanings, it was assumed that GOP Rep. Rick Berg would be virtually certain to win the state's open seat in the U.S. Senate. But the most recent poll shows a tossup between Berg and Democrat Heidi Heitkamp.

Economic historian Gregory Clark's study of social mobility traced surnames and found that a person's success in life may be largely determined by the status of ancestors hundreds of years ago. That means improving opportunities across generations might be a lot harder than anyone imagined.

Bruce Fleming, English professor at the U.S. Naval Academy, thinks military academies like the USNA and West Point infantilize students, and can't be relied upon to produce the best leaders. In The Chronicle of Higher Education, he questions whether they should even exist anymore.

Northern Nigeria is the only region in the world where the number of polio cases is on the rise. International groups have poured money and volunteers into the area to combat the disease. But vaccinators face daunting challenges — from security threats like terrorist bombings to a lack of basic resources like electricity.

Researchers have found that fat cells become less responsive to insulin when sleep is lost. Over the long-term, fat accumulation can set the stage for Type 2 diabetes, fatty liver disease and weight gain.

Cuba has announced it's lifting restrictions on travel outside of the country beginning in January. It's the most sweeping overhaul since Castro imposed the restrictions more than half a century ago. But not all Cubans will be treated equally when the new rules take effect.

Parts of the country report a boom in the squirrel population. Vermont apple growers report squirrels can strip a tree of half its apples in hours.This adds urgency to the work of South Carolina researchers, who are experimenting with feeding squirrels birth control pills.

In 1990, a bloodless revolution brought down the Communist government of Mongolia,and their memorials to communist heroes were destroyed or sold for scrap. But one remaining statue of Lenin is being sold at auction.

President Barack Obama went on the offensive against Republican candidate Mitt Romney in the second of three presidential debates. Political Junkie Ken Rudin talks about the face-off's memorable moments, and NPR's Andy Carvin shares which quips and quotes lit up the Internet.

Argentine author César Aira's newest novel, The Miracle Cures of Dr. Aira, is the story of a doctor's quest for miracle cures for imagined illnesses — and to defeat his wicked archnemesis, the sinister Dr. Actyn. Reviewer Pablo Medina says it's worth a read.