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Vice President Joe Biden traveled to China this past week to do a little maintenance on the U.S. relationship with that growing economic power. Guest host John Ydstie talks to Nicholas Lardy of the Peterson Institute about the economic relationship between China and the U.S.

When a president vowed as a candidate to break money's raptor grip on Washington then, once in office, continued some of the very same practices in which big donors are apparently rewarded, then some voters may smell hypocrisy.

The analysis from the nonprofit Center for Public Integrity found nearly 200 bundlers — givers who solicit money from other supporters — obtained administration posts for themselves or their spouses. Jobs ranged from ambassadorships to positions at the Department of Justice.

Funding for specially trained meth lab cleanup crews is drying up as state budgets are tightening. Police forces are learning how to handle the dangerous job themselves.

When it comes to packing lunches for school, keeping hands and counters clean is probably the most important tip. Also, putting a bottle of hand sanitizer in kids' backpacks is a good idea.

Pat Gallant-Charette wants to swim across the English Channel in August. On top of her job as a nurse, the 60-year-old grandmother from Westbrook, Maine, follows a rigorous training schedule that includes one- to 10-hour swims along the crashing waves of the cold ocean shore. Gallant-Charette almost crossed the Channel once before, but currents kept her at bay just a mile and a half from the finish. This time, she's convinced she'll make it. Independent producer Patty Wight sends this audio postcard.

The wide-ranging inquiry into criminal abuses by the British press has led to testimony about relationships and careers damaged by tabloid excess. Newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. are at the heart of the scandal. A former features editor for one of those papers stole the show at Tuesday's hearing.

Moody's Investor Services is putting the United States' top-notch credit rating under review for a possible downgrade. The credit ratings agency's action comes as lawmakers continue talks on how to raise the U.S. debt ceiling. Robert Siegel talks to NPR's Jim Zarroli.

Indian police are looking into "every possible hostile group" in their search for the culprits behind the triple bombing in the heart of Mumbai that killed 17 people and wounded 131 others, the country's top security official said Thursday.

Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Pentagon got the money it asked for. Now, with hundreds of billions in cuts proposed, the Defense Department is faced with basic questions about its priorities.