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The Senate on Wednesday began working through the trillion dollar spending bill to keep government running through the end of September. Amid all the talk about budgets, the legislation is actually the only one that's necessary to avoid a March 27 government shutdown. Meanwhile, President Obama continued his charm offensive with a visit with House Republicans. Melissa Block talks to Tamara Keith.

On the last day of South by Southwest's Interactive conference, Youth Radio reporter Noah Nelson explores the growing base of independent game developers in Austin.

Listening to Republicans this week, it was often hard to figure out the party's stance on the across-the-board cuts. But while they took different approaches, many made more or less the same argument: They're open to making the cuts more flexible, but they're not sorry to see spending cut.

Attorney General Eric Holder went to Capitol Hill today to answer questions from the Senate Judiciary Committee on everything from guns to Wall Street prosecutions, among other topics. One prominent issue transcended partisan divides: senators' demand for more information about the U.S. use of drones in a targeted killing program for terrorists.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average closed at a record high Tuesday, but only if you look at the Dow in non-inflation-adjusted terms. Adam Davidson of the Planet Money team tells Melissa Block that the Dow is of almost no value as a measure of U.S. economic activity.

The House passed a bill extending the federal government's spending authority through the end of September on Wednesday, while keeping the bottom line cuts required by the sequester that just took effect. Tamara Keith talks to Audie Cornish about what it means in the ongoing battles over federal spending.

Lack of a director can leave a federal agency treading water on policy and personnel issues, and several major agencies have been leaderless for years. The Senate also needs to act before federal judgeships can be filled, and some 10 percent of those jobs are vacant.

One name has been "retired." Others have never been reused. John is the most popular. It's a tradition going back to the year 533 that a new pope chooses a name other than the one he was born with. He's likely sending a message about what type of leader he hopes to be.

Next week marks the anniversary of a landmark Supreme Court decision that says defendants facing substantial jail time deserve legal representation in state courts, even if they can't afford it. Now, many lawyers say the system for providing defense attorneys for the poor is in crisis.

The tropical island set in turquoise water just off the Great Barrier Reef is the site of an experiment to see what will happen to coral reefs as the ocean absorbs ever more of the carbon dioxide and heat we've added to our planet's thin skin. The results weren't so pretty.