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An attention researcher wanted to find out how radiologists would fare in a version of the famous Invisible Gorilla study. He found that 83 percent of the radiologists failed to spot an image of a gorilla on slides they were told to inspect for cancer. It's just one example of how, when people are asked to perform a challenging task, their attention can narrow and blocks things out.

Pretrial hearings resume Monday for Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other men accused of helping plot the Sept. 11 attacks. There will be two competing narratives in the courtroom, however, with the prosecution focusing on the attacks, and the defense stressing the defendants' treatment after they were captured.

It's Oscar season, meaning that classic toe-tapper "Hooray for Hollywood" will soon be booming out of TV speakers everywhere. But the cheery cinema hymn has a more complicated compositional past, as NPR's special correspondent Susan Stamberg explains.

Also: our pick of the best books coming out this week; the 50th anniversary of Sylvia Plath's death; and the real identity of a popular romance novelist.

Pope Benedict announced Monday morning he is retiring at the end of the month. He will be the first pontiff to step aside in six centuries.

The New York Post reports that Brooklyn-based Wonton Food is nixing its slightly suggestive fortunes after parents complained about children reading them.

"After having repeatedly examined my conscience before God, I have come to the certainty that my strengths, due to an advanced age, are no longer suited to an adequate exercise of the Petrine ministry," the 85-year-old pontiff says.

In a tropical spot like Puerto Rico, you'd think a person would practically be stumbling over exotic fruits and fresh fish. Not so much. Blame global economics.

The rebels say they captured war planes and bombs in taking the air base. The rebels have been targeting the bases in an attempt to prevent the Syrian army from resupplying troops in the north.

Obama used his fourth State of the Union address to set forth a sweeping vision for his second term. Obama said he would seek to reform entitlements, the tax code and immigration policy. He also offered a laundry list of smaller initiatives like raising the minimum wage and offering universal preschool.