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NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with journalist Lucia Benavides about the ongoing conflict between the Spanish government and the Catalan regional government. In the Catalan capital, Barcelona, the regional parliament voted to declare independence, prompting the national government in Madrid to approve a central takeover of the region.

"Our beach is a God-given thing," exclaims one Sierra Leonean. "We have to make use of it!" That means walking, working out ... and lots of soccer in the sand.

Iran's presidential election Friday is the most tightly contested contest since the Islamic revolution of 1979, according to preliminary polls. Former President Hashemi Rafsanjani is considered the frontrunner, but analysts say none of the seven candidates is likely to obtain 50 percent of the vote, with a run-off race possible. NPR's Ivan Watson reports from Tehran.

The federal government has been slowly building an insider-trading case against the hedge fund SAC Capital. Last week it arrested its biggest fish yet, portfolio manager Michael Steinberg. One of the trades outlined in the indictment against Steinberg involved shares of the computer maker Dell. It's a prime example of the kind of mutual back-scratching that prosecutors say took place a lot at SAC.

During the first week at the U.S. Open. Serena Williams made her exit, and the top two men's seeds were knocked out. An American is through to the quarterfinals, so will this end the U.S. drought?

Would you trust a robot to escort you out of a burning building? Maybe you shouldn't. NPR's Robert Siegel talks with roboticist Paul Robinette, lead author of the Georgia Tech study, "Overtrust of Robots in Emergency Evacuation Scenarios."

March Madness is set. The men's and women's brackets for the NCAA basketball tournaments have been finalized.

A new National Intelligence Estimate concludes that al-Qaida and the home-grown cells that claim allegiance to it pose a greater threat to the United States than they have in several years.

Closing arguments are expected Friday in a trial against extremist Ammon Bundy. Idaho's largest hospital sued him for $7.5 million after armed protests he led prompted a major security response.

Sen. Hillary Clinton has agreed to be President-elect Obama's nominee for secretary of state; New York Fed chief Timothy Geithner is in line to be treasury secretary; and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson is up for the top job at Commerce.