Mythili Rao

The National Kidney Registry called it "Chain 124." It began last August and lasted through December, linking 60 lives forever in the longest-ever chain of kidney transplants.  Through the cooperation of seventeen hospitals in eleven states, it connected 30 people who needed a kidney with 30 people willing to give up an organ to a complete stranger. Transplant chains like this are rare, but computer models suggest thousands more transplants could be made each year if there were a national databank of willing donors and recipients — and if more Americans knew about such programs.

Gas prices are going up and it's turning into a campaign issue. Gas prices have already risen 25 cents since the start of the year, putting them at $3.25 a gallon, a record high for this time of year. Occupy organizers turn their attention towards the more than 2 million people in prisons with what they're calling National Occupy Day in Support of Prisoners. Arizona Republican Senator John McCain is in Egypt trying to resolve a diplomatic dispute over American NGO workers in Egypt charged with using illegal funding to incite revolution. 

This time last year, unrest in Libya sent oil prices climbing, adding pressure to an already struggling economy.  Now, it looks like a similar scenario could happen this spring and summer: in retaliation for an embargo planned by the European Union, Iran has threatened to cut off oil supplies. Impacting virtually every aspect of the U.S. economy, these increased oil prices will almost certainly influence the election's climate.

If there's one thing that Republicans and Democrats traditionally agree on it's transportation legislation. Yet this is not the case for two different transportation bills that are stalled in the House and Senate. Tea Party conservatives are complaining about the cost, even thought traditional GOP members want to create jobs. Some think the problem is lack of earmarks, which bring "pork" to certain districts.

After an internal review spanning many months, the FBI announced Wednesday that it has purged hundreds of training documents containing Islamophobic material.  The bureau stated that instructional materials were destroyed that contained "factual errors," stereotyped Arabs, were in “poor taste,"or lacked accurate information. The FBI is now in the process of reviewing and updating its training material and policies. 

In recent years, U.S. special operations forces — a shadowy division of elite soldiers — have emerged as the new heroes behind some of the country’s toughest military operations, like rescuing Jessica Buchanan, an American woman who’d been kidnapped by Somali pirates, and killing Osama Bin Laden. Now Admiral William McCraven, the leader of the special operations command, is seeking new authority to deploy his forces with less Pentagon oversight.

"I am a son of Detroit." That's the first line from an op-ed Republican presidential hopeful Mitt Romney published in The Detroit News on Tuesday. The candidate's father, George Romney, was the Governor of Michigan in the 1960s; Mitt Romney grew up in Michigan, and with the Michigan primary contest just a week away, he’s been vigorously re-asserting his roots. But given the fact Romney hasn't lived in the state in years and "corporate-raider" past, whether or not Michigan voters will accept him as a native son remains to be seen.

Chinese vice president Xi Jinping, the man expected to become China's top leader in the fall, is in Washington this week as part of a five-day trip to the U.S. The visit is expected to set the tone for bilateral relations over the next decade, particularly where economic ties are concerned. On Wednesday, he'll head to the city of Muscantine, Iowa, to reunite with a family he visited there in 1985 and to sign a trade agreement with soybean farmers there.

Kateri Tekakwitha, a Mohawk Indian who was born in upstate New York in 1656, has been approved for sainthood by the Catholic church. She embraced Catholicism after smallpox left her disfigured and partially blinded. Eventually, she left her tribe to join a mission in Canada. With her canonization, she'll become the first Native American saint. But given the Church's history of violence and oppression against Native Americans, this isn't necessarily news to celebrate.

Monday morning, President Obama sends Congress his 2013 budget plan. The president’s budget includes stimulus-style spending increases on highway construction projects, schools, and other public works. It also includes increased taxes for wealthy Americans and corporations. What it doesn’t include are significant cuts, and the president already getting push-back from Republicans about his plan. They say it avoids making needed sacrifices and that it doesn’t do enough to curb the deficit or keep the rapid growth of benefit programs like Medicare in check.

Over the weekend, Romney won both the CPAC straw poll and Maine caucuses; he'll head to Arizona on Monday while Santorum heads to Washington. After rioting and looting in Athens, Greece's parliament approved an austerity and debt-relief bill early Monday. Back in the States, President Obama unveils a budget blueprint Monday. Later this week, Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits the White House. Fourth quarter earnings reports from more than 50 S&P 500 companies are expected this week. 

The 39th annual Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) began on Thursday with speeches from Jim DeMint, Stephen Halbrook, Michele Bachmann, Anne Coulter, and President Eisenhower’s granddaughter Susan Eisenhower, among others. With invocations of Reagan and cries for party unity, the three-day event could help give focus to what has been a lukewarm GOP race.

David Sanger, chief Washington correspondent for The New York Times and contributor to WQXR's The Washington Report, explores the history of Syria from the Ottoman Empire to the present day dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad. At a time where civilians are under attack by Assad's oppressive regime, Sanger explains the president's rise to power and his family's 40-year reign. He goes in-depth about the complicated relationship with Israel and Syria's ties to Hezbollah.

On Tuesday, a federal appeals court panel ruled that Proposition 8, the voter-approved ban on same-sex marriage which passed into law in 2008, was unconstitutional. This is the first time an appellate court has said there is any kind of constitutional right to marry. But this ruling is still being considered "cautious" by legal experts: Proposition 8 supporters can appeal to the entire 9th circuit, or ask the Supreme Court to take up their case.

Since early 2007, 4 million families have lost their homes to foreclosure. Only now have state officials around the country begun to finalize a multi-billion dollar settlement with the biggest mortgage-providing banks that engaged in abusive or misleading practices, like robo-signing. Some critics, including those who have already had their homes go underwater, worry that it may let the banks off too easily.

Named for Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow who was allowed to play sports at his local high school during his home-school days, a new bill could give Virginian home-schooled students the chance to play sports with their peers. While some are applauding the opportunity for these students to have a chance to participate, others say it's unfair to taxpayers.

Over the weekend, Egypt’s international cooperation minister, a former Mubarak regime member, said an investigation by her bureau had uncovered "plots aimed at striking at Egypt's stability."  Egyptian authorities referred 19 Americans and 2 dozen other NGO employees in Cairo to trial, and are reportedly charged with brewing unrest in Egypt. 400 Egyptian NGOs are also under investigation at this time.

On Tuesday the National Center for Science Education, a nonpartisan group of scientists that works to promote the instruction of evolution in American public schools, announced a new initiative aimed at teaching climate science. The NCSE claims global warming and climate change have become increasingly charged topics in classrooms around the country. The initiative is a way for teachers to be supported in states like Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Oklahoma where regulations are being considered that would require educators to justify the denial of global warming as a valid scientific position.

Wednesday sites like Wikipedia and Reddit pulled the plug for 24 hours to protest the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and Protect IP Act (PIPA), acts that threaten the existence of such sites. SOPA is up for heated debate not only in congress, but online also. Steve Tepp, who represents the working man in Hollywood, and Scott Harbinson, who deals with movie business clients, discuss why they support SOPA and PIPA.   

Last Tuesday Tucson Unified School District voted to end its Mexican-American Studies program to comply with an Arizona State Law banning ethnic studies.  The administration released a list of seven books teachers would have to remove from their curriculum including titles like "Critical Race Theory" and "Rethinking Columbus: The next 500 Years." Teachers are also being advised to avoid books that address themes of race, ethnicity, and oppression. One such targeted text is Shakespeare's "The Tempest."