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To attract and keep new patients, hospitals are offering a range of special benefits, including free or low-cost health screenings and educational sessions on diet and exercise. There's also free valet parking for a lucky few.

Davos, Switzerland, is the glamorous place where about 2,600 wealthy business executives, top political leaders, central bankers and closely followed economists gather this week. They will discuss ways to hold off a potentially disastrous European financial meltdown that would threaten world growth.

France, the land of haute cuisine, is McDonald's second most profitable market. That's partly because the company has figured out that to win over the French, it must encourage people to take their time while eating.

In 2010, eight young homeless people died in a New Orleans warehouse fire. Journalist Danelle Morton gained access to this community through an unlikely source — her runaway daughter, Marissa. Marissa made it home, but other squatters and runaways are not so lucky.

The Boston Globe broke the story of sex abuse within the Catholic Church's Boston diocese, and a systematic cover up, in 2002. Since then, hundreds of victims have come forward with their stories. After resistance, the Church changed course, but many complain it hasn't gone far enough.

Shocked by the poverty he saw on a reporting trip, a Chinese journalist set up a program to provide meals to 25,000 poor children in rural China, many of whom suffer from malnutrition. Indirectly, his efforts have prompted the government to ramp up its efforts to feed the country's most vulnerable.

NPR's Neal Conan reads from listener comments on previous show segments, including responses to a conversation about the challenges autistic people face in navigating romantic relationships, and about when and how to ask for a second medical opinion.

Melissa Block and Robert Siegel read emails from listeners.

President Obama's critics say he has blocked domestic oil production. But under his administration, a steady uptick in U.S. drilling operations, combined with falling overall consumption, has led to a steep drop in the percentage of oil the U.S. imports. Analysts say by 2035, the U.S. will import a little more than a third of its oil, down from 60 percent in 2005.