Shortly following the November elections, a Gallup poll revealed that 68 percent of Americans believe that President Obama will improve education in his second term. Education reporters Beth Fertig and Rob Manning explain whether the optimism is warranted.

According to the State Department, 27 million people around the world are victims of human trafficking, and the fight to end modern slavery continues. Alison Kiehl Friedman, deputy director for the federal Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons discusses how the United States is combating the demand for trafficked persons at home and abroad.

The Seattle Supersonics were snatched up in a deal that created the Oklahoma Thunder in 2008. Now the Sonic booms of basketball are being heard again above the Emerald Empire. Seattle's days of being a basketball-free zone may be coming to an end. Sara Lerner, reporter and morning host at our affiliate KUOW in Seattle, has been following the story.

As President Obama begins his second term, no senior Wall Street executives have yet been held criminally liable for the alleged fraud that led to the mortgage crisis. A new Frontline documentary, produced by our partner WGBH, investigates the Justice Department’s reluctance to indict Wall Street bankers. Martin Smith is the producer and correspondent for the film.

Today is election day in Israel, the end of a contentious campaign season on fraught political territory. Israeli singer-songwriter Idan Raichel explores his country's politics through his music, and explains how he hopes to reach Israel's neighbors through song. 

As more and more individuals pursue professional degrees as a means to a more rewarding career, there are fewer and fewer jobs waiting on the other side of graduation. Jay Bhatti, a graduate of the Wharton MBA program and currently an adviser to start-ups in New York, explains how a master's degree in business administration is growing increasingly irrelevant in today's economy.

Employers have typically tried to restrict what their employees say online about work place issues, especially if their comments are negative. But according to some recent rulings by the National Labor Relations Board, many companies' social media policies are illegal. Steven Greenhouse has been reporting on all of this for our partner, The New York Times.