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It's time to kill the penny. That's what Daniel Akst argues in a recent op-ed on Newsday.com. "Pennies," he writes, "are a pain in the neck, only more so because they're worthless." While the penny isn't quite worthless, it does cost more than two cents to create each one.

A discarded chunk of a Russian rocket forced six space station astronauts to seek shelter in escape capsules early Saturday, but passed safely in front of it. It was the third time in 12 years that astronauts have had to seek shelter from space junk.

The innovative puppeteer Basil Twist is the focus of a mini-festival in Washington, D.C., this spring. Performances include the underwater Symphonie Fantastique and Arias With a Twist, featuring renowned drag artist Joey Arias. Elizabeth Blair talks with Twist about his singular creations.

When con men took off with Texas rancher J. Frank Norfleet's fortune, he turned con man himself in the hopes of stealing his money back. In The Mark Inside, Amy Reading shares one of the strangest stories in the history of the swindle.

Saturday is presidential primary day in Louisiana where 20 delegates are at stake. Mitt Romney, Rick Santorum, Newt Gingrich and Ron Paul all campaigned there Friday. Romney leads in national polling, but Santorum is ahead in Louisiana.

Outrage over the death of unarmed teenager Trayvon Martin in Sanford, Fla., has spread. Thousands protested this week calling for the arrest of George Zimmerman, the neighborhood watch volunteer who says he shot Trayvon in self-defense. NPR's Joel Rose tells host Scott Simon the latest.

After John McCain so quickly clinched the Republican presidential nomination the last time around, the party changed its rules with an eye to extending their primary season, reaping public interest for months like the Democratic primaries of 2008. Host Scott Simon talks with GOP strategist Mike Murphy about whether this extension has been a help or a hindrance.

With a win Friday night against Indiana, the University of Kentucky Wildcats moved into the elite 8 of the NCAA basketball tournament. Kentucky has plenty of talent assembled, overseen by coach John Calipari.

As the Supreme Court heard arguments this week on sentencing juveniles, more than a dozen families of teenagers sentenced to life without parole came to Washington to advocate hand-in-hand with the families of the people their children murdered.

GOP presidential hopeful Rick Santorum released what may be the hardest-hitting ad of the 2012 campaign. "Welcome to Obamaville," shot and scored like a trailer for a Hollywood horror film, features a split-second flash of President Obama's face superimposed over the image of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. Guest host Laura Sullivan speaks to NPR's David Folkenflik about the ad.