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The alderman in the 49th Ward became the first elected official in the country to hand over the purse strings to his constituents in 2009. Three years later, the "participatory budgeting" experiment is still attracting new residents to planning meetings.

After more than a decade busting corruption, Patrick Fitzgerald is stepping down. The federal prosecutor, known as "Eliot Ness with a Harvard degree," went after the Gambino crime family, al-Qaida and even the White House — not to mention two former Illinois governors who are now in jail.

The FAA is hoping to make some delays a thing of the past. It's developing what it calls "NextGen" technology to modernize the air traffic control system, transforming it from radar to GPS-based technology.

The Times-Picayune of New Orleans announced this week it would stop publishing seven days a week. The paper has a rich heritage and is widely loved in New Orleans. As Eileen Fleming of member station WWNO reports, when Hurricane Katrina struck in 2005, the paper continued to report despite danger and days-long power outages.

Early polling can do much to shape political campaigns, but for voters who are just trying to follow the debate, polls and surveys can seem contradictory and confusing. Host Scott Simon talks with Michael Dimock of Pew Research Center and J. Ann Selzer, president of Selzer and Company, about how to make sense of polling this election season.

In Massachusetts, Democratic Senate candidate and Harvard Law Professor Elizabeth Warren continues to be dogged by the question of her American Indian heritage. Friday, in the wake of a report from The Boston Globe, Republican Sen. Scott Brown accused Warren of misleading Harvard about her Native American ethnicity. From member station WBUR in Boston, Fred Thys reports.

The Stanley Cup finals are set, the NBA playoffs feature a thrilling matchup between Texas and Oklahoma, and the French Open, uh, opens. Host Scott Simon catches up on the week in sports with NPR's Tom Goldman.

Maine lobstermen are hauling in an unexpected catch: soft-shell lobsters, about a month ahead of schedule. Biologists aren't sure why, but lobster-lovers are are glad for the harvest — and know just what to do with it.

Constructing the iconic bridge was a coveted job in Depression-era San Francisco. The work was dangerous, but the men were careful and years passed without a single fatality. Just months before it opened, however, the bridge finally claimed its due — all in a few horrifying seconds.

The Catholic Church has been in the public spotlight a lot this year. The issues of contraception and gay marriage have been part of the presidential campaign and church leaders have weighed in. There have also been new revelations in a case involving leaked Vatican documents, and it may actually be a case where the butler did it. Host Rachel Martin speaks with John Allen, a senior correspondent for the National Catholic Reporter.