Lynn Nearly talks to sportswriter Stefan Fatsis about the busy baseball off-season. St. Louis slugger Albert Pujols is moving the Los Angeles Angels, the Marlins tweak their image and a pitcher in Japan might inspire a bidding war.

The U.S. has poured $28 billion of economic assistance into Egypt in recent decades. But now when Egypt's needs are the greatest, the U.S. and Europe are cash strapped. The Obama administration is trying to quickly reprogram aid to make sure it helps bolster democratic forces in the country and creates jobs to help ease the country's transition. The International Monetary Fund's chief Christine Lagarde says her door is open as well, but countries like Egypt need to ask for aid, which does come with some conditions. Meanwhile, leading members of Congress say the U.S. has to also start imposing conditions, particularly on U.S. military aid.

Ron Paul is surging in the polls — at least in Iowa — reflecting the implosion of other candidates, his memorable debate performances and eclectic libertarian positions. He's for ending the wars — as well as what he calls the "socialist big government." What is his role in the GOP nomination race? Who is he hurting and helping? Could he conceivably win the nomination? Does he want to be president?

Robert Siegel speaks with John Brennan, chief counterterrorism adviser to President Obama, about why the administration is threatening to veto the National Defense Authorization bill if it contains certain sections passed by the Senate.

Congress isn't doing much — with the major exception of cybersecurity. Citing rare bipartisan agreement and a common sense of purpose, members of both parties are advancing bills designed to protect American businesses and government agencies from hackers and intellectual property pirates. The proposed laws allow the government to block Americans' access to certain overseas websites, as well as make it legal for Internet service providers to share with the government information about emails and other traffic traveling their networks, in the interest of detecting and stopping cyberattacks. Sponsors of the bills say they're necessary to protect the U.S. from hacker disaster. But skeptics say the fears are overblown, and the legislation could take the U.S. closer to having its own version of the Great Firewall of China.

The case of a former FBI agent who disappeared from an Iranian resort island nearly five years ago has come back into the headlines. His family has decided to tell the media, for the first time, about some developments in the case that occurred last year — including a video of the former agent, Robert Levinson, who is shown asking the government to work for his release. NPR's Dina Temple-Raston talks to Lynn Neary about the questions surrounding the case and the family's efforts to bring Levinson home.

Mitt Romney has made far fewer visits to Iowa in 2011 than he did during his first run for the GOP nomination four years ago. Friday, Romney appeared in Cedar Rapids, just weeks ahead of the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.

From nacho cheese to watermelons to macaroni, drug smugglers sometimes turn to food to get their illicit cargo across the U.S. border.

Long a staple of Western wear, the bolo tie is getting the museum treatment in Phoenix. The Heard Museum celebrates the tie's history and artistry in a new exhibit where simple designs are displayed alongside more traditional works of art in the high-ceilinged gallery.

Florida is adding two new congressional seats this year because of its population growth — and that's sparking a battle. Legal challenges are likely in light of constitutional amendments adopted last year that require lawmakers to draw districts without regard to parties or incumbents.