NPR News

An analysis of 85 percent of school districts in the country finds that minority and disabled students have felt the brunt of disciplinary action.

NPR's Claudio Sanchez filed this report for our Newscast unit:

I spent some time at the Defcon and Black Hat conferences in Las Vegas over the past few weeks listening to hackers describe the myriad security holes and flaws in some of the most popular products and applications that roam free in the online world.

While this experience made me nervous, so far at least I have fared better than writer Mat Honan.

We would be remiss not to note that the legendary ranchera singer Chavela Vargas was sent off last night in Mexico City.

Her coffin was on display in Plaza Garibaldi, where Vargas was known to knock back a few drinks. NPR's Jasmine Garsd wrote about the 93-year-old Vargas on Sunday after her death. She was a woman who torched through barriers, many times singing about heartache with a pistol in her harness and a bottle of tequila in her hand.

This month we are collecting your stories about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Some of your contributions will become blog posts and the project will end with a story that weaves together submissions to make a story of Americans by Americans for Americans.

Scientific evidence is mounting on the links between sports and concussions. Host Michel Martin explores what some are calling the "concussion crisis" for athletes. She speaks with Chris Nowinski, author and co-founder of the Sports Legacy Institute, a group focused on researching concussions in sports.

Mounting scientific evidence is linking football to brain trauma. While calls to increase safety measures in football are getting louder, players themselves often resist efforts to change the game. Host Michel Martin speaks with former Pro Bowl NFL player LaVar Arrington, who argues that the risks of the sport are worth it.

Thousands of former players or their families are filing lawsuits, alleging that the league downplayed the risks for concussions. But the NFL denies wrongdoing. Host Michel Martin speaks with two sports reporters about the NFL's current approach to reducing concussions.