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The tax code has long favored investment income over the money you get in your paycheck. But today's rates on dividends and capital gains are especially low, dating to tax cuts installed under President George W. Bush. And they're one target in the talks to avert a so-called fiscal cliff.

From directors to designers, almost everyone in beauty pageants turns a profit. But not most of the contestants. Many can wind up spending thousands of dollars for entrance fees, the perfect gown and top-notch coaching. For most contestants, it's an expensive hobby with little or no financial reward.

Since the assault weapons ban passed in the mid-1990s, Congress has had little appetite for gun control measures. "I think it was a very different time in 1994. I don't think there's very many lessons to learn from that," says Ted Kaufman, who was then-Sen. Joe Biden's chief of staff.

A decade ago, Botswana was facing a national crisis as AIDS appeared on the verge of decimating the country's adult population. Now, the country provides free, life-saving AIDS drugs to almost all of its citizens who need them.

Former World Wrestling Entertainment executive Linda McMahon is making her second run for a U.S. Senate seat in Connecticut. Once again she is campaigning with primarily her own millions. And her opponents again say she can't separate herself from the controversial side of professional wrestling.

As the party conventions approach, elaborate theatrics on the part of presidential candidates are at the forefront. NPR critic Bob Mondello takes a look at the ways campaigns frame their candidates to make them stand out like Broadway stars.

The ACLU alleges the United States violated the due process rights of Americans killed in drone strikes in Yemen.

When pro athletes want help comparing contracts, they turn to financial advisers. CPA Robert Raioli advises athletes on contracts, financial decisions and tax compliance. On Twitter he's known as Sports Tax Man. His tweets calculate players' earnings per game, per inning and per point.

NPR's Richard Harris talks with host Scott Simon about the Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors, one year after multiple meltdowns there spread radioactive materials across a swath of northern Japan. Huge technical challenges remain and prospects for resettling the area are uncertain.

The most elite club in the military, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, is set to get a new member: the chief of the National Guard. Congress approved the change as part of the defense authorization bill last week and the president is expected to sign the bill into law.