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In a rare hearing with the Senate Judiciary Committee, Justices Antonin Scalia and Stephen Breyer discussed the role of judges under the Constitution. Among the revelations: Scalia considers himself out of touch with modern American values and Breyer likes to top off debates with a joke.

In Afghanistan, ethnic political parties are carving up the government and military in anticipation of renewed factional fighting after Western forces leave the country. Tajik and Pashtun groups, in particular, are placing party faithful in key posts.

Former Mass. Gov. Mitt Romney has long held a commanding lead in the polls ahead of Tuesday's primary in New Hampshire. Taking nothing for granted, Romney campaigned in the state on Sunday with two of his top surrogates: former Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty and New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie.

The public relations problem for private equity capitalists at firms such as Bain, KKR and Blackstone is that they are the agents of the creative-destruction part of capitalism. They aim to take over underperforming firms and operate them more efficiently. In that process, people do lose their jobs.

The 69 new laws limiting reproductive rights in 2011 were one short of the record set in 1999. And action is already heating up for 2012, with several states looking at "personhood" ballot amendments, which define life as beginning at fertilization.

It will produce what astronomers clamor for: a detailed map of every square inch of the night sky.

As the debate over the political calculations behind President Obama's endorsement of gay marriage continue, Host Scott Simon checks in with acclaimed novelist and screenwriter Armistead Maupin to talk about this as a cultural moment.

NPR's Richard Harris talks with host Scott Simon about the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors, one year after multiple meltdowns there spread radioactive materials across a swath of northern Japan. Huge technical challenges remain and prospects for resettling the area are uncertain.

Zimbabwe suffered out-of-control inflation four years ago, and it ravaged an economy already in decline. Today, the economy has stabilized and the shops are full, though many Zimbabweans are still struggling.

It's known as the quiet period — the SEC-mandated time before an initial public offering when a company's top officials have to avoid anything close to hype. And with Facebook's IPO expected next week, CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his colleagues are pretty much staying mum.