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With the broad outlines of the 2012 general election in focus, host Rachel Martin talks with NPR's Mara Liasson about the ways forward for President Obama and his likely Republican challenger, Mitt Romney.

Palo Alto, Calif., recently hosted a 12-hour bonanza for software developers, artists and families. The "Super Happy Block Party Hackathon" was a marathon for coders to make new software in a short amount of time. It also featured food trucks, music and homemade robots. Corey Takahashi reports.

North Korea celebrates the centenary of the birth of its founder, Kim Il Sung, on Sunday. But the celebrations have been overshadowed by the failure of the rocket launched on Friday that was supposed to highlight North Korea's technological achievements. NPR's Louisa Lim reports on what might lie ahead for the "Hermit Kingdom."

Negotiators for Iran and six world powers say talks on Iran's nuclear program Saturday represent a constructive beginning, and the sides agreed to meet again next month. As NPR's Peter Kenyon reports, U.S. officials say there's still a long way to go before the world can be satisfied with Iran's claims that it's only enriching uranium for peaceful purposes.

Congress returns from its spring break this coming week. The Senate will vote on the Buffett Rule, raising taxes on millionaire investors. The House may wrestle again with the highway bill. The distraction of presidential primaries will no longer deflect public attention. NPR's David Welna talks with host Rachel Martin.

When Daniel Mendelsohn decided to retrace one of the most epic journeys of Greek literature, he went with his dad, Jay. Their journey was punctuated with unlikely encounters and uncanny coincidences.

Over 100 tornadoes touched down Saturday in the Great Plains, causing millions of dollars in damage across Oklahoma, Kansas, Nebraska and Iowa. Despite the wreckage, there were few fatalities, a result perhaps due in part to the National Weather Service's warnings. Russell Schneider of the Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., offers his insight.

Conservatives like Republican Rep. Paul Ryan are using religious arguments as they push for cuts to taxes and to services for the poor. That's prompting liberals to push back, saying it goes against Jesus' command to care for the poor.

"Americans now walk the least of any industrialized nation in the world," says writer Tom Vanderbilt. A reliance on cars, combined with a lack of sidewalks, means that what started as a push for convenience has become a difficult problem.

Now that Rick Santorum is out of the Republican race for president, Mitt Romney has the opportunity to go after President Obama without worrying about rivals in his own party.