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With Iran threatening to block U.S. ships from entering the Persian Gulf and the United States vowing not to back down, the stage seems to be set for war. And yet, what's happening with Iran right now may be more of an economic confrontation than a military standoff.

Each year, as Congress works to wrap up budget and tax bills and other "must-pass" legislation, inevitably not so must-pass items creep into the mix — inserted either to smooth passage for the more important things, or in the hopes that no one will notice. This year marks the first time that leadership has been unable to use earmarks to buy off reluctant votes, and has turned to other forms of grease instead. NPR's David Welna reports.

An illegal Jewish outpost in the occupied West Bank is at the center of a swirling battle over settlements. The collection of trailers and makeshift buildings is called Migron, and the Israeli Supreme Court has said that it must be dismantled by the end of March. NPR's Lourdes Garcia-Navarro reports.

The Hunger Games has been a huge success, and the film adaptation is only weeks away. Now, publishers are looking for the next big dystopian hit.

The elite athletes who travel to London for this summer's Olympic Games will include petite gymnasts, huge wrestlers — and elite horses, which compete in dressage and other events. The man whose job it is to get 50-60 horses to England says, "It's quite a logistical feat."

Pinterest, the hot new social media taste-sharing site, isn't necessarily about how many friends you have. It's about interacting with people you may not know and in the process developing a certain style. But can the site, which has gained millions of users in a short period, sustain its stellar growth?

Just weeks after New York Times correspondent Anthony Shadid died in Syria, his latest book has been released. House of Stone tells of the year he spent restoring a family home in Lebanon.

This week, a group of scientists sent a letter to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency urging farmers to stop planting genetically engineered corn with a certain gene because it will no longer protect them from the corn rootworm. If the recommendations are put into practice, it could cause major changes in the way that seed companies like Monsanto do business.

The people of Japan have been remembering the dreadful events of March 11, 2012, when at 2:46 p.m., a massive earthquake struck. Soon afterward a tsunami crashed into the northeast coast. The village of Minamisanriku, once a beautiful fishing community and tourist destination, was one of the towns worst affected. NPR's Anthony Kuhn reports.

The New York Giants came back with a last-minute score to beat the New England Patriots 21-17 Sunday night for New York's fourth Super Bowl title. It was a rematch of the 2008 NFL championship, when Eli Manning led New York past New England to ruin the Patriots' bid for a perfect season.