Earlier this year, NPR's Tom Bowman reported on the high casualty rates experienced by the 3rd Battalion, 5th Regiment of the Marine Corps — the Darkhorse Battalion. This was during their deployment in one of Afghanistan's southern provinces. Morning Edition reached out to a member of that battalion who is home for Christmas this year. Renee Montagne talks to Staff Sgt. James Foley, who joined us on the phone from Camp Pendleton in Southern California.

The state of Hawaii is in danger of losing millions of dollars in Race to the Top funds due to its "unsatisfactory" performance.

Linda Wertheimer has the Last Word in business.

If the company's board approves, Yahoo could receive about $17 billion in a deal that would shed most of its Asian assets. That means Yahoo would dramatically decrease its valuable stake in Ali-baba — China's largest Internet company. The deal would get the company some much-needed cash.

Renee Montagne speaks with Alex Thier who oversees projects in Afghanistan for the U.S. Agency for International Development. They discuss the tremendous efforts that have been made to improve medical care in that country over the last decade.

The fight between Syria's government and anti-government forces continues. Activists and groups that monitor the country say recently hundreds of people have been killed in the villages and towns near the Turkish border as the Syrian government mounts an offensive on anti-government forces.

Transcript

RENEE MONTAGNE, HOST:

Violent explosions have rocked Baghdad this morning. At least 69 people are dead, and scores have been injured. The Iraqi capital hasn't seen violence of this magnitude in quite some time, and it's happening in the midst of a deepening political crisis. NPR's Sean Carberry is in Baghdad. And Sean, what can you tell us about this morning's attacks?

The suburban Southwest is awash with empty lots and zombie subdivisions — developments that have been abandoned by builders. Experts believe up to a million dirt lots in central Arizona were in some stage of approval for new homes when the housing market crashed. Urban planners say to fix the zombie problem, the state must realize the that people are leaving the suburbs and should consider "smart decline." Peter O'Dowd of member station KJZZ explains.

Johann Sebastian Bach's Christmas Oratorio was first performed in Leipzig on Christmas Day in 1734. In Germany, no matter what the economic and political times, it's the Christmas work. In the oldest functioning church in Berlin, the 13th-century Saint Mary's, performance of Bach's Christmas Oratorio is a fixed tradition.