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Names are possessions that we carry with us all our lives. But we seldom think about what goes into choosing the right one. At 24, Silas Hansen decided to change his birth name — Lindsay — as he told his family and friends that he's transgender.

The change that may matter most for the proposal's chances of success, though, is purely bureaucratic. The White House wants foreign food aid to be funded through the U.S. Agency for International Development instead of the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Sen. Rand Paul went to one of the top historically black colleges in the nation and tried to make a case for his Republican Party as a continuing defender of the civil rights of African-Americans. The Kentucky Republican got credit for the effort, but not always his message.

Hugo Chavez won't be on the ballot in Sunday's presidential election, but in many ways he's still the dominant figure. Chavez's hand-picked successor is favored over the opposition candidate, leading by double digits in some polls.

Shane Reams owes his freedom from prison in no small part to his mother's 17-year campaign to change California's tough three strikes sentencing law. Sue Reams' work is not done, she says, not when people are still in prison "for stupid things" like stealing baby food.

The first lady gave a personal and emotional speech in her hometown, two months after attending the funeral of a Chicago teen who was shot and killed earlier this year. Michelle Obama is encouraging business leaders to donate millions of dollars for programs to help at-risk youth.

The decentralization was on display during a march on Washington on Wednesday, which was organized by a disparate group of activists. But experts and protesters said not having a national leader gave them a political advantage.

The biopic Renoir plots the final years of the impressionist master Pierre-Auguste Renoir, and creating the film's sumptuous imagery took a special eye for detail. NPR's Susan Stamberg explores the inspirations behind the film.

Seven years ago, Evie Branan suffered a stroke that left her in a semi-coma. In May of 2011, she tumbled out of bed, bumped her head and woke up. Her first words: "I want to go to a Bob Seger concert."

Also: A new T.C. Boyle short story; the problem with the "death" of print; and Maya Angelou speaks with The Daily Beast.