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Federal prisoners can request compassionate release if they are terminally ill, but a recent investigation found that many die while their requests drift through the system. Now, prison leaders say they will simplify the approval process and start tracking requests electronically.

On Thursday, President Obama is expected to explain how the fight against al-Qaida has changed, and how the U.S. will adapt its counter-terrorism policies to the evolving threat. The president will speak at the National Defense University.

A British soldier was hacked to death on a busy south London street Wednesday. Witnesses say the two attackers claimed to be acting in revenge for the deaths of Muslims. Authorities are praising the heroism of women who confronted the attackers.

An 80-year-old Japanese mountain climber has become the oldest person to reach the summit. But that record may not last. His 81-year-old Nepalese rival plans to make the ascent again next week.

Armando Christian Perez — better known as Pitbull or Mr. Worldwide — has sold five million albums and had No. 1 hits in more than 15 countries. He tells NPR's Michel Martin about using music as an escape and playing a well-dressed toad in the animated film Epic.

Millions of students rely on loans and grants for their studies. But with universities strapped for cash, fewer schools are able to admit students regardless of their financial need. Host Michel Martin asks the President of Iowa's Grinnell College, Dr. Raynard Kington, why his school considered putting a halt to need-blind admissions.

Monday's tornado ground parts of the Heatherwood subdivision to bits as it tore through Moore, Okla. At one house, a crushed pickup truck is all that's keeping a garage from collapsing. Neighbors pulled on their work gloves to help one another dig out.

Ramsey gained instant fame with his accounts of what happened after he heard cries for help from inside a Cleveland home where authorities say three young women had been held captive for about a decade. His tale famously included a mention of the Big Mac he'd been eating.

A Japanese mountaineer has become the oldest person to conquer Mount Everest, as Yuichiro Miura, 80, reached the peak Thursday morning. The feat marks Miura's third time atop Mount Everest. As in 2008, Miura's accomplishment is in danger of being surpassed by rival climber Min Bahadur Sherchan, 81.

University of New Hampshire professor Yitang Zhang announced this week that he has come close to solving a centuries-old problem: proving the twin prime conjecture. Host Scott Simon gets an explanation from Weekend Edition Math Guy Keith Devlin of Stanford University.