Netflix is splitting into two companies — one to handle its online streaming business and one to handle DVDs by mail.

Feeling rushed at the doctor's office? No wonder, if you're there with an infant or toddler.

A third of parents say the last well-child visit with the doctor lasted 10 minutes or less. About half said the checkup lasted 11 to 20 minutes. That leaves about 20 percent who say the visit took longer than 20 minutes. The findings appear in the latest issue of Pediatrics.

In the San Antonio neighborhood in Oakland, Calif., sex trafficking has been a problem since several motels moved into the community decades ago attracting pimps.

For comparison purposes, here's a look at the latest words about taxes from President Obama (D) and House Speaker John Boehner (R-OH). As NPR's Mara Liasson said earlier, "yes, we're at a stalemate."

Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas sounded a defiant note, today, while still recognizing the consequences of asking the United Nations to grant Palestinians statehood.

Abbas said he planned on presenting a formal request to the U.N. during his speech on Friday. As Reuters reports, Abbas also said "all hell has broken out" against them because of the decision.

Reuters adds:

Last weekend marked a milestone for Afghanistan's Parliament that should have been cause for celebration: It's been a year since Afghans braved the threat of insurgent violence to go to the polls to pick a new legislature.

But a dispute over election results has smoldered between President Hamid Karzai and lawmakers ever since. And the resulting gridlock has prevented the new parliament from passing a single notable law, confirming any of the president's ministers, or giving any oversight to the president or his cabinet.

Bird watchers, and other nature lovers, take note:

"Scientists in Norway say they have conclusive genetic evidence that sparrows recently evolved a third species," the BBC reports. "The Italian sparrow, they argue, is a cross between the ubiquitous house sparrow and the Spanish sparrow."

The president of the Palestinian Authority, Mahmoud Abbas, plans to take the issue of Palestinian statehood to the United Nations Security Council on Friday. The US plans to veto the application. Professor Rashid Khalidi argues it's time for the US to step back and adapt to a new Middle East.

Hal Holbrook is best known for his timeless portrayal of Mark Twain. But before becoming a beloved actor, Holbrook endured a painful childhood. In Harold: the Boy Who Became Mark Twain, Holbrook shares how he found his own identity by playing others on the stage and screen.

President Barack Obama's deficit-reduction plan seeks to reduce the federal deficit by more than $3 trillion over a decade. NPR's Ron Elving describes the details of the plan and the politics surrounding its reception — and its possible fate — in Washington.