A package of tough new economic sanctions imposed this week by the Arab League is another blow to the government of Syrian President Bashar Assad. But will international pressure really help the people of Syria? Melissa Block talks with Kimberly Ann Elliott, a senior fellow at the Center for Global Development. Elliott co-authored a case study on sanctions against Syria that was published by the Peterson Institute.

Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich is campaigning this week in South Carolina, which holds its primary on January 21. Gingrich has been surging in the polls recently, though he's drawn attacks from his Republican rivals over remarks on immigration at a debate last week. But many voters in South Carolina are not bothered by Gingirch's position on immigration.

Thanhha Lai was 10 years old the day in 1975 that North Vietnamese tanks crashed through the gates of the presidential palace in Saigon and fear spread through the city on rumors that Communist troops were about to begin a massacre. Lai recalls fleeing with her eight older siblings and her mother to the nearby port and boarding a crowded South Vietnamese Navy ship that then headed to sea.

As diplomats from around the world gather in Durban, South Africa, for talks about climate change, a big question looms: What will become of the Kyoto climate treaty, which was negotiated with much fanfare in 1997. The treaty was supposed to be a first step toward much more ambitious actions on climate change, but it is now on the brink of fading into irrelevance. That could have major implications for the future of United Nations climate talks.

Twitter already beat us to all the good puns, including the one in the headline. But, yes, it is true, you will either love or hate this news story from England: A tanker carrying 20 tons of yeast extract — the main ingredient in the loved-or-reviled Marmite — was involved in a late night accident, yesterday, spilling its contents and shutting down the M1, which connects London to the northern part of England.

Philadelphia singer-songwriter Meg Baird nestles her songs at the convergence of her entrancing vocals and the sparse yet weighty sound of her acoustic guitar. Folk music runs in her blood: Baird is descended from one of the first recorded Appalachian players, Isaac Garfield Greer. From childhood, Baird has been shaped by all things folk; she even listened to Smithsonian Folkways LPs while she taught herself guitar and piano.

Politicians and food executives have been talking about ending the problem of child labor in the West African cocoa industry for the last decade. After shocking revelations that hundreds of thousands of children were forced to harvest cacao beans under abusive conditions, companies pledged to address the practice as "fair trade" entered their lexicon.

Florida A&M's famed "Marching 100" band has been rocked by the death of its drum major on Nov. 19. Police still haven't released all the details of his death, but they said Robert Champion had been throwing up and hazing had something to do with it.

Actor Alan Rickman has played a loving husband, leader to a group of terrorist henchmen, a stern professor of the dark arts and even a caterpillar.

From Sense And Sensibility to Die Hard to Hogwarts, Rickman's talents have made him recognizable to several generations of moviegoers. Now, Rickman is hoping to continue that trend on stage in the new play, Seminar, which recently opened on Broadway.