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America's colors have been cased in Iraq — the flag was just symbolically put away at a ceremony marking the end of a war that lasted nearly nine years.

At the Baghdad airport a short time ago, Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and other officials were there to mark the occasion, NPR's Kelly McEvers reports. It was, she said on Morning Edition, a "quiet, small ceremony."

Jackson "Jax" Teller, the antihero at the heart of FX's blockbuster biker gang series Sons of Anarchy, is pretty easy to distinguish from a traditional hero. Just this season, Jax blew away a rival gang with an RPG missile, shot a Russian gangster in the head and got into some serious trouble while selling guns to the scariest gangsters on the planet.

China has announced that it will increase duties on some U.S.-made vehicles. The Ministry of Commerce in Beijing says it will levy "anti-dumping" duties on all U.S. imports with engines larger than 2.5 liters. It's just the latest volley in an ongoing tariff war with China.

President Obama visited Fort Bragg Wednesday as the military continues to pull troops out of Iraq. More than 200 of the troops killed in Iraq came from this Army post.

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One of the year-end fights going on in Congress is about extending unemployment insurance. Democrats want to extend benefits for people long out of work. Republicans say, wait a minute, it's time to reform the program and lower its cost.

The stakes are high on this one. The Labor Department estimates that if Congress doesn't do something soon, some two-and-a-half million people could stop receiving checks by March. NPR's Andrea Seabrook reports now on the politics and on the realities of unemployment insurance.

Television has always loved heroes who sometimes act a bit like the bad guys — from cheeky gambler Brett Maverick to know-it-all bigot Archie Bunker. But today's TV shows seem addicted to the anti-hero, pushing audiences to fall in love with a meth dealer, murderous biker gang and a serial killer. TV critic Eric Deggans of the "St. Petersburg Times" explains why bad-guy heroes are so popular now.

In Alabama, a teacher who takes a Christmas ham as a gift from a student could get jail time. That's because of a new ethics law the governor wants changed. The new law severely restricts gifts to teachers.

Oil futures are recovering after falling to a five-week low Wednesday, amid fears of declining demand and OPEC's decision to set a higher production ceiling for the next six months. The decision effectively ratified Saudi Arabia's move in recent months to pump more oil in an attempt to rein in soaring crude prices.

Actress Patty Duke celebrated her 65th birthday Wednesday by apply for Social Security benefits. She did so online, as she's encouraged other seniors to do for years.

Indonesia is the world's third largest democracy, behind India and the United States. But the governor of the province that's the cultural heart of that democracy is a Sultan, an un-elected monarch. This unusual arrangement has survived unchallenged for six decades - until now. NPR's Anthony Kuhn has the story.