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Guests who get an invitation to the annual State of the Union address tend to reflect the personal and political aims of the president. Some have won notice during important news events that define the times — like the Boston Marathon bombing.

Prickly relations between the U.S. and Islamabad are becoming even thornier because of one issue: the case of Shakil Afridi, the Pakistani doctor who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden in 2011. Afridi is seen as a hero by many Americans, but that didn't deter Pakistan from jailing him for alleged militant ties. The U.S. Congress is withholding $33 million in aid to Pakistan until the doctor is freed. But Afridi's lawyer fears this tactic will antagonize Islamabad. He urgently wants Afridi freed, warning that the doctor is at severe risk of being killed by fellow prisoners.

Out of Cairo on Monday came new indications that Egypt's military chief, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, will run for president in an election expected within the next three months. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces, Egypt's highest military body, disseminated a message praising Sisi and endorsing him for a presidential bid.

Attempts by Ukraine's president to quell anti-government protests — including an offer to install opposition leaders in a reshuffled cabinet — seem to have failed. The protests grew over the weekend and spread beyond the capital, Kiev. The protestors say they are determined to force the president's resignation and end what they call a corrupt and dictatorial regime.

At the Syrian peace talks, government and opposition representatives held their first face-to-face discussion about a political transition — but by the end of the day, UN mediator Lakhdar Brahimi had no progress to report. He urged both sides to focus on the desperate humanitarian situation facing Syrians in several besieged cities.

In a community overrun with stray animals, one woman in Macon, Ga., has taken it upon herself to spay every single female dog at her own expense. The stray dog problem is acute in the South and has gotten worse since 2008. Kerri Fickling decided she would never really solve the problem piecemeal; the only solution was to stop overpopulation at the source, and if no one else would do it, she would. Adam Ragusea, of Georgia Public Broadcasting, reports on her quest.

Weeks after he turned 19, Jason Brown placed second at the U.S. Figure Skating Championships with an electrifying performance that became a YouTube sensation. "I'm so blown away and so shocked — beyond shocked. It's so surreal to me," he says.

While the agreement gives tech companies more options in publishing data about government requests for information, it also includes several limitations. It's part of President Obama's plan to change how U.S. intelligence agencies handle personal data.

Drinking too much may seem like an essential part of college life for many students. But interventions aimed at getting students to drink less dangerously do work, a study finds. The efforts need to go beyond generic online courses and involve students on a personal level.

On Tuesday night, President Obama will lay out his priorities before Congress and, more importantly, the country at large. NPR's national political correspondent, Mara Liasson, speaks with Audie Cornish about what the president hopes to accomplish with this year's State of the Union.