NPR News

This month we are collecting your stories about the good things Americans are doing to make their community a better place. Some of your contributions will become blog posts and the project will end with a story that weaves together submissions to make a story of Americans by Americans for Americans.

Scientific evidence is mounting on the links between sports and concussions. Host Michel Martin explores what some are calling the "concussion crisis" for athletes. She speaks with Chris Nowinski, author and co-founder of the Sports Legacy Institute, a group focused on researching concussions in sports.

Mounting scientific evidence is linking football to brain trauma. While calls to increase safety measures in football are getting louder, players themselves often resist efforts to change the game. Host Michel Martin speaks with former Pro Bowl NFL player LaVar Arrington, who argues that the risks of the sport are worth it.

Thousands of former players or their families are filing lawsuits, alleging that the league downplayed the risks for concussions. But the NFL denies wrongdoing. Host Michel Martin speaks with two sports reporters about the NFL's current approach to reducing concussions.

Concussions make up about 15 percent of all high school sports injuries, according to Children's Hospital Boston. But how can parents decide whether children should play sports, and how to keep them safe? Host Michel Martin talks with three "sports" moms, including a pediatrician who studies concussions in children.

As its stock tumbled today following word that New York State regulators have labeled it a "rogue institution" that allegedly hid about 60,000 secret transactions involving $250 billion in Iranian funds, Britain's Standard Chartered Bank strongly denied the accusations.

It "rejects the position or portrayal of facts as set out in the order," the bank said.

The streets of Caracas, Venezuela, were awash in joy Monday, as fencer Rubén Limardo brought home the country's first gold medal in 44 years. That's right: the last time a Venezuelan Olympian won gold was in 1968. So, Limardo's fans could be forgiven for going a little crazy over it.

"I never imagined they'd receive me like this," he said.

There's been a lot of controversy over the health care overhaul's requirement that most health plans this month to start covering contraceptive services for women as a free preventive benefit.

But that requirement may prevent some young women from falling into a coverage gap of a different kind: no maternity coverage.