Melissa Block speaks with our regular political commentators, E.J. Dionne, of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution, and David Brooks, of the New York Times.

President Obama seeks the power to merge government agencies. He's asking Congress to allow him to reorganize the government.

The United States announced Friday that it will exchange ambassadors with Myanmar, also known as Burma, partly in response to the release of hundreds of political prisoners there. This is the latest development in what appears to be a dramatic turnaround for the repressive government in that Southeast Asian nation. President Obama calls the prisoner release "a substantial step forward for democratic reform." Currently, the U.S. Embassy is headed by a charge d'affaires rather than an ambassador.

A woman injected the illicit drug bath salts to get a party high, only to be attacked by flesh-eating bacteria. Her right arm and shoulder were amputated to save her life. It's the first case of serious infection reported from this increasingly popular stimulant.

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney has campaigned over the past several days in South Carolina, reaching out to different varieties of Republican voters. The Greenville area has a deep evangelical tradition in the state party and is now home to several big manufacturing facilities.

Cordova, Alaska, continues to accumulate piles of snow. Melissa Block talks with resident and innkeeper Wendy Rainey.

Due to labor disputes, the NBA started its season later than usual this year. But it's still playing about the same amount of games. For more, Audie Cornish talks to sportswriter Stefan Fatsis.

Pennsylvania State University President Rodney Erickson is meeting with alumni this week to address questions about the child sex abuse scandal that rocked the school.

The pro-Gingrich superPAC Winning Our Future has distributed a 29-minute film about former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney's time at the private-equity firm Bain Capital. Melissa Block talks with Bill Adair of the fact-checking website PolitiFact.com about the film, called King of Bain: When Mitt Romney Came to Town.