Teacher contracts expire in many places Friday, and for many teachers, those contracts won't be picked back up. State budget deficits and increased cuts are taking their toll on school districts around the country. In Milwaukee, 354 teachers are going to be laid off. In Chicago, a thousand. Smaller school districts are losing positions too. Robert Siegel speaks with Sean Cavanagh, who covers state education policy for Education Week, about the cuts — and what they mean for the upcoming school year.

Former International Monetary Fund chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn was released without bail Friday after questions arose about the credibility of a woman accusing him of sexual assault.

Melissa Block gets the run down on how to cook perfect corn from Betty Fussell, author of The Story of Corn. Fussell is also a descendant of Nebraskan corn farmers.

Census data confirms what many San Francisco lawmakers and policy wonks know: The city is bleeding families. San Francisco has about 5,000 fewer children than 10 years ago, despite the city's reputation for being among the most family-friendly in the country. The culprit: the cost of housing.

Melissa Block speaks with our regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks of the New York Times. They discuss the latest on the budget and debt ceiling discussions.

Thousands of state workers had an unscheduled day off in Minnesota Friday. Many functions of state government are on hold after the Legislature and Gov. Mark Dayton failed to reach agreement on a budget for the fiscal year that began Friday.

France once again woke up to stunning news about Dominique Strauss-Kahn: Because of his accuser's lack of credibility in several areas, New York prosecutors no longer think they have a solid case against the French politician.

Strauss-Kahn, former head of the International Monetary Fund, had been under house arrest while fighting the charge that he sexually assaulted a hotel housekeeper in May. Friday, after prosecutors said they had found inconsistencies in his accuser's story, he was released on his own recognizance (though he must stay in the U.S.).

The recent legalization of certain fireworks may help one stand manager go back to school. “I’ve wanted to go back,” said Will O’Neil, 22, who manages Tennessee Ted’s in Brighton Park. “I just need the money to do it.” He attended Kentucky State University for two years, then had to take off last year because he couldn’t pay for more classes.

It could be as long as six weeks before the two Whitley County High School students charged with assaulting teacher Dewayne Bunch know if they will be tried as adults. Whitley County Sheriff Colan Harrell said at a hearing Tuesday, Judge Cathy Prewitt recused herself from the case involving Dewayne Cox and Trevor Canada.

Findings from a series of autopsies could alter the debate over the controversial diagnosis of shaken baby syndrome.

A new study suggests that babies can die by violent shaking alone — but not in the way doctors have previously thought.

A team of researchers who conducted autopsies on 35 babies in Miami, Dallas and Calgary, Alberta, report that when children die after being violently shaken, they die of neck injuries and not from brain trauma.