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It's been said that to properly understand a magician, you have to get right on stage and watch how the act is done. NPR's Bob Mondello had that chance once with card whiz Ricky Jay — subject of the new film Deceptive Practice — and has a few words about how the showman works.

For Republicans along South Carolina's coastal low country, Tuesday is a chance to decide whether they want former governor and famously non-Appalachian Trail hiker Mark Sanford to represent them in Congress.

The Center for American Progress, a think-tank closely associated with President Obama, offered up a deal on Wednesday on how to cut the deficit by reducing spending for Medicare without, it says, hurting seniors.

Gov. Mitt Romney started his campaign calling for big tax breaks for the middle class. Over time his goals for those breaks have expanded to maintaining the government's flow of income and creating jobs. In the end, will a middle-class tax cut still be possible?

Two days before the attack on the American Consulate in Libya, U.S. officials and pro-government Libyan militias discussed the growing risks in Benghazi, according to a militia leader. He didn't cite a specific threat, but said security in Benghazi was deteriorating.

Spain's slumping economy has sent thousands of people, many of them immigrants, scrounging in trash bins. Some scour the garbage for food, but many others are involved in a black-market trade for recycled materials.

Members of Congress say they'll investigate why the FBI and Justice Department didn't tell them earlier about an investigation involving former CIA Director David Petraeus. But the legal authority for reporting such sensitive information to lawmakers is murky.

In Mexico City's most prominent tree-lined park, you can find statues to such international heroes as Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King and now Heydar Aliyev. He's the Soviet-era autocrat of Azerbaijan. Its government paid for the park's latest statue and restoration of a nearby plaza. The gilded gift has upset many in the capital and is causing headaches for Mexico City's outgoing mayor.

Gov. Chris Christie is defending local tax increases and major federal investments, despite his tough talk on spending. Gov. Andrew Cuomo is courting the spotlight as he calls for billions of dollars from Washington to rebuild. The Republican and Democrat will have to find consensus on the plan for rebuilding — together and with a divided Congress.

President Francois Hollande says the extra work penalizes students with difficult home situations, proposing doing away with homework in elementary and junior high schools. But others argue the individual work is exactly what those students need to succeed.