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President Obama may go into the next round of fiscal battles without his long-time Treasury Secretary. Tim Geithner reportedly plans to step down in January, even as the Treasury Department is scrambling to avoid cracking the government's debt ceiling. Robert Siegel talks with Scott Horsley about that and other personnel changes as the president prepares for his second term.

The president is moving to fill two key posts on his national security team. If confirmed, former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel (a Republican) would lead the Pentagon. John Brennan, the president's counterterrorism adviser, would be at the Central Intelligence Agency.

A mass kidnapping in Algeria and an Islamist rebellion in Mali underscore Western concerns that the regional security situation is deteriorating. Both France and the U.S. have compelling interests in propping up Mali's fragile government against extremists, but stabilizing the country could prove a difficult task.

The NCAA today handed down a series of penalties against Penn State University that include a ban from post-season football bowl games for four years, a $60 million fine, the loss of Joe Paterno's victories from 1998-2011, and the loss of football scholarships, over its handling of a sex abuse scandal involving Jerry Sandusky, former assistant football coach. For more on this development, Steve Inskeep talks to NPR's Joel Rose.

Some affected private companies are so frustrated by their inability to defend against attacks that they have opted to go on the offense themselves. Some cybersecurity firms are now marketing cyberweapons and attack strategies to companies that want to go after their adversaries.

As the gun-violence debate ratchets up to include mental health and violent pop culture, video games have become frequent targets of concern. But do violent games influence their players? Experts aren't clear, but violent games remain remarkably popular.

The so-called "Bridge to Nowhere" came to symbolize all that's wrong with earmarks in Congress. But during the past few weeks, as Speaker John Boehner struggled to rally support for his alternate tax plan, some said earmarks could have helped him convince fellow Republicans to push legislation through the House.

Asian-Americans make up the fastest-growing segment of the population, notably in key swing states including Virginia, Nevada and Florida. What's more, they're often independent voters — and the way they swing could have a big effect on the presidential election.

Whether GOP vice presidential pick Paul Ryan will help Mitt Romney's quest for the White House is the subject of fierce debate. But some politicos are calling Ryan a kingmaker after former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson's slim victory in the hotly contested Republican U.S Senate primary.

Food manufacturers have been quietly reducing sodium by tiny amounts in popular foods like crackers for years now. That's because if products are marked "low sodium," consumers won't buy them. But companies are also working on ways to deliver more salt taste with less sodium.